Education

A plea for sensible policy-making – and more cash

Legal Services Commission chief Matthew Coats has a reputation for carrying problematic services through political storms. Matt Ross asks him about organisational reform, service quality – and the looming cuts to legal aid

CBI director-general John Cridland writes (CSW p4, 12 April 2012) that the government has made little progress with its public service reforms over the past nine months. Those working in health and education witnessing major changes being pushed through might beg to differ, as might the civil servants trying to make sense of proposals from ministers for the ‘right to challenge’, ‘right to provide’ and now the ‘right to choose’.

Funding has been cut for efforts to broaden student intakes. What now?

The Cabinet Office is to run a central academy to train civil servants and local government employees in commissioning and procurement, the department has told CSW.

An inner-city school struggles to juggle the demands of disadvantaged pupils and national attainment targets

The head of Civil Service Learning (CSL), Jerry Arnott, has told CSW that he’s relying on departments’ procurement and finance professionals to ensure that all training purchases pass through CSL’s ‘Gateway’ – a key element of the reforms to civil service training set to come into force on 1 April.

When I joined the CSW team in June 2010, the Efficiency and Reform Group had just been created, the civil service had 43,000 more employees, and IT contract renegotiations were but a glint in Francis Maude’s eye. Since then the civil service has – while developing a brand new set of policies – experienced wholesale reforms in fields such as pensions, redundancy pay, training and HR, and the ERG has delivered £8.75bn of savings. Even if you don’t agree with everything that’s being done, the pace of change is impressive.

Vince Cable has ignored the advice of the Commons’ Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and appointed Professor Les Ebdon as director of fair access to higher education.

After nearly 22 months, the Commons select committees’ first elected chairs have had plenty of time to size up their Whitehall counterparts. Joshua Chambers asked them how the departments they watch have been performing

Departmental select committee chairs have provided mixed reviews of the departments they scrutinise for a Civil Service World Special Report, which has found that 40 per cent of them are dissatisfied with departments’ responses to their reports.

Leadership development in schools could be improved, says this teacher, and workloads must be tackled.

A PE teaching coordinator laments the changes to school sport which he believes have undermined an effective network.

Since the election, education secretary Michael Gove has driven his department at breakneck pace. And the DfE is already producing results, permanent secretary David Bell tells Matt Ross – despite the odd stumble on the way.

A university lecturer discusses the importance of good decision-making and a holistic education

A college business manager complains that government endlessly changes the rules

Tuition fee and student visa policies are creating dangerous uncertainty, a lecturer argues

A sixth form modern languages teacher thinks that schools and teachers should be given more powers to shape their curricula.

This week, an architect explains why school design matters – and warns that current policies will damage pupils’ education.

BIS permanent secretary Martin Donnelly would like to protect an insipid image while his department handles some political hot potatoes and sheds staff. But Joshua Chambers finds that his job is anything but bland.

Schools have improved in recent years, says a primary school teacher, but the renewed emphasis on testing won’t work for all pupils – and the cuts present a danger to many children’s education

A teacher reflects on how turning a school into one of New Labour’s academies affects the quality of the teaching, the management – and the logos

Michael Gove’s flagship reform of the school system is well under way, but questions have been raised over the pace of change and the funding to back up long-standing policy pledges. Suzannah Brecknell reports.