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Why new tests will help teachers give extra support to those pupils that need it
Policy Exchange’s John Blake – himself a former teacher – appeared on the Today programme to argue that new tests for young children will help teachers identify which children need extra support. In this blog, he says that, done properly, children will not know they are being tested and so union-led scaremongering should be ignored.
Welcome shift of emphasis to vocational training but big questions for PM’s review of University funding
Policy Exchange’s Head of Education John Blake – himself a former teacher – examines the Prime Minister’s speech on tertiary education.
Hinds needs to finish the revolution Blair started
The new education secretary should ignore the sudden deluge of tweets and remain focused on his department’s urgent issues, writes John Blake in the TES.
Dear Education Secretary – The Blob is out to get you. Don’t let it
Policy Exchange Head of Education John Blake writes an open letter to the new Secretary of State for Education.
The challenges behind the figures on teacher recruitment
We’re not recruiting enough teachers – but are we asking the right questions as to why? Policy Exchange’s John Blake – himself a former teacher – explores the challenges behind the latest figures.
The Chancellor should refuse new funding for schools
The Chancellor should not give in to the temptation to “give what amounts to protection money to the union lobby” and increase school funding in next week’s Budget, argues Policy Exchange’s Head of Education and Social Reform John Blake in the Times. “We can have world-leading schools without breaking the bank, but not if our school system believes there will always be more money whatever happens.”
Spielman is right to move Ofsted’s focus onto curriculum – but can the school system step up?
Policy Exchange’s Head of Education welcomes Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman’s powerful statement about the quality and content of the school curriculum in England. Ofsted says there is too little discussion of curriculum planning and too few teachers and school leaders understand what this means. With a decade’s teaching experience, including as a curriculum creator for one of England’s most successful school trusts, John Blake argues in the TES that schools need to look to Britain’s cultural institutions to find the support they need.
Nicky Morgan on character education
Policy Exchange hosted the launch of “Taught Not Caught”, Nicky Morgan’s new book on the necessity of character education in our schools. John Blake – Policy Exchange Head of Education and Social Reform – explains how Morgan makes a powerful case for ensuring that our children are raised at school with the values we want and know that they will need.
School superunion offers even more power to the far left
The merger of the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers has created the largest education union in Europe. The National Education Union (NEU) clearly believes it is a force for good but experience suggests the far-left elements of...
Beware the aftershocks of the youthquake – it’s a bit more complicated than that
John Blake — Policy Exchange’s Head of Education and Social Reform — enters the ongoing discussion about the ‘ever-vexed’ topic of university access. He argues that, regardless of the rising number of young people going on to higher education, ‘an 18-year-old from a disadvantaged background, indeed from any background, should face a choice beyond either a university place they may not really want (even on the generous loan terms we have) and nothing’.