Category Archives: Education
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This election was about education too
Leave a commentJune 22, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
Lots of focus has been put on the young vote and the old vote. The older vote might have been …
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The proper case for free university tuition
Leave a commentMay 31, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The debate over university tuition fees rumbles on. Abolishing them would cost over £11bn a year. Labour has committed to …
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VAT on Private School fees to fund free school lunches for Primary pupils – the devil’s in the detail
Leave a commentMay 20, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
The idea, introduced by the Labour Party, of putting VAT on private school fees to fund free school meals for …
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Think the education funding debate is ideological? Think again.
Leave a commentMay 4, 2017 by Paul Goldsmith
This is about real people, and the future of this country. The state primary school of which I am Governor …
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The three episodes that helped me learn most about behaviour management
1June 23, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
There’s been a major focus in the media this past week on behaviour management in schools, prompted by the …
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Labour’s tuition fees discussions are like watching a slow-motion car crash
1February 11, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Sometimes, political parties do things that are actually hard to watch, so utterly amateurish and nonsensical are they. Trying to …
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A fall in GCSE results is not a lowering of standards, and vice versa
Leave a commentFebruary 3, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
Sometimes, particularly with an interviewer as clever as Andrew Marr, you have to wonder if journalists are being deliberately stupid. …
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Let’s give all our children the skills to succeed
2February 2, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
This weekend, the Conservatives launched a new policy that demands that children are able to perform a variety of literacy …
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There is only so much a school can do
3January 17, 2015 by Paul Goldsmith
The first day I met David (not his real name) he walked very slowly into the tutor room at my …
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It’s not whether you set pupils – but how you do it that matters
Leave a commentSeptember 5, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The “setting by ability” debate flared up again on Wednesday when Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, had …
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Why we should welcome the introduction of free school meals for all
Leave a commentSeptember 2, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
From today, every single child in the first three year of school will eligible for a free school meal. That …
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Think all children love summer holidays? Think again.
2August 30, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Back in 2008, the school I taught at got inspected by Ofsted. One of the most shocking statistics that came …
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Non-compulsory languages – the government decision that has done most to harm social mobility in the UK
Leave a commentAugust 22, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
10 years ago a decision was made that destroyed the life chances of many a bright student. In a move …
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Today’s GCSE results are more reliable than ever before.
Leave a commentAugust 21, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Statistics on GCSE can be and have been misleading for quite a while now. But that has been changing. Not …
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Fewer A-level retakes may result in ‘worse’ grades but also ‘better’ students
1August 16, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
It used to be that beneath the ‘good’ news of constantly improving A-level grades was some rather ‘bad’ news of …
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Universities UK tuition fee impact figures should lead to a discussion about what a university education is for
Leave a commentAugust 12, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
So Universities UK published a report recently that is the first proper attempt to analyse the effect of raising university …
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Why does a publicly funded academy think good teaching is ‘commercially sensitive’
Leave a commentJuly 29, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
Sometimes you hear something that makes you stop in your tracks and realise that our education system is going in …
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Gove’s removal means the election was put above education
5July 18, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
During his time as Education Secretary, Michael Gove would often quote a passage of Machiavelli: ‘There is nothing more difficult, …
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Gove’s removal was correct cowardice
Leave a commentJuly 16, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The big news in the education sphere in the Cabinet reshuffle yesterday was the moving of Michael Gove from Education …
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Lib Dems education policy – pushing them Ed-wards
Leave a commentJune 14, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The most interesting aspect of the Lib Dems’ announcement this morning of a manifesto promise at the next election for all …
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Education spot – In Praise of Nearpod – improve engagement and assess learning as you teach
2May 24, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
How would you like to know what every single one of your pupils have learned and understood as the class is …
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A legacy for Ann McGuire would be better mental health services for teenagers
Leave a commentMay 16, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The funeral for Ann McGuire, the school teacher who was fatally stabbed last month, takes place today in Leeds. She …
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Free school meals for 4-7 year olds – The best of intentions, but are the consequences worse than we thought?
Leave a commentMay 10, 2014 by Paul Goldsmith
The leaked emails yesterday between the Department of education and the Office of Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, reveals …
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