Employment without work

At last! A proper assessment of the number of ‘zero hours’ contracts. After the ONS upgraded its estimate to 250 000 the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development now puts the figure at 1 million. Sufficiently high enough to make newspaper front pages, it raises a further question; particularly with today's Guardian ( 06/07/13) reporting 90% of the … Continue reading Employment without work →

Is the economy ‘on the mend’?

As the UK economy records 0.6% growth for quarter 2 and the service sector reaches its pre-recession peak should Labour critics now be on the defensive? Or, with workers experiencing the longest fall in real wages for over a hundred years are Osborne and friends living in fantasy land? For some alternative analysis see: (http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/07/how-osborne-disguised-truth-about-living-standards) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/25/economy-osbornes-moment-editorial) … Continue reading Is the economy ‘on the mend’? →

Labour and youth unemployment

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary was quick to respond to recent Youth Contract statistics which show just 4,690 wage incentive payments have been made since the scheme began. (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2373637/Nick-Cleggs-plan-jobs-160-000-young-people-far-helped-just-4-600.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490) (www.politicshome.com/uk/article/82422/labour_youth_contract_has_utterly_failed_byrne.html) Survey’s also continue to indicate that many employers don’t know much about it , or are not interested in taking on young … Continue reading Labour and youth unemployment →

Curriculum campaigns must go on.

Martin Allen Michael Gove’s new National Curriculum requirements might have been finalised, but the debate about what young people should learn and how; must continue. If there is an area where Gove is both weak and wobbly, then it continues to be on the curriculum, where he has made a series of retreats, if not … Continue reading Curriculum campaigns must go on. →

Robbins Remembered and Dismembered

'Young people who succeed in education today find ascent difficult because most mobility is downwards' http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/34278 Patrick Ainley argues that widening participation has not led to fair and equal access to higher education or outcomes in the labour market as systemic inequalities have deepened between institutions and subjects. System-wide reform is therefore necessary as well as … Continue reading Robbins Remembered and Dismembered →

Doing it the German way?

It is often difficult to be in agreement with Andrew Adonis, but the one-time New Labour schools minister, now a cheer-leader for Michael Gove’s academies programme, does make some creditable comments about apprenticeships. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/01/youth-unemployment-not-age-lack-of-skills As Adonis observes, just 1 in 10 school leavers are able to sign up for an apprenticeship and many of … Continue reading Doing it the German way? →

NUT and NASUWT strike for education

Even if last week’s strike by members of the NUT and NASUWT in the North West received little attention from the national media, it represented an important step in the campaign against Michael Gove’s ‘war on teachers’. With industrial action at a low, teacher organisations, relative latecomers– a legacy of their past traditions as ‘professional … Continue reading NUT and NASUWT strike for education →

Rioters return to London streets……..

Rioters returned to London streets when public school pupils trashed a £2 million house, later boasting about their exploits on social media sites. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10150379/Public-school-students-trash-2m-Hampstead-home-in-end-of-exams-party.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/2m-hampstead-home-trashed-in-party-as-public-school-pupils-clash-with-police-8681264.html

The Blob Strikes Back!

Patrick Ainley and Martin Allen The Blob Strikes Back! A review of Schools at Risk! Gove’s School Revolution Scrutinised edited by Trevor Fisher for the Socialist Education Association Gove has characterised his critics in ‘the academic educational establishment’ as ‘The Blob’. If there is an academic educational establishment, some of the authors of this pamphlet … Continue reading The Blob Strikes Back! →