Surprised to find myself agreeing with Ian... but I think engagement is the most important thing for this group of children and there's good evidence that access to technical education improves attendance and reduces exclusion. Big wins for kids + schools.

Iain Mansfield@igmansfield.bsky.social · 3d ago

Burnham's critics on education are wrong: we cannot keep writing off 1 in 3 children a year. The great strides on academic progress needs to now be matched with the same focus on the 'forgotten third' - with technical and vocational pathways that meet their needs. www.edrith.co.uk/p/burnhams-c...

I've been reflecting on the 'parity of esteem' and technical education debate. I think, partly because of my own experience, I weight engagement in school high. Engagement is obviously a pre-requisite for high standards. But engagement also offers so much more to young people.

The decision of so many people to keep using X in its race-war phase has made me a bit more cynical overall about the ability to draw moral red lines. It’s beyond disappointing.

* They were also explicitly told loans would not affect their ability to get a mortgage. Which is just untrue - student loan repayments absolutely affect mortgage affordability criteria, as they are finding out now www.newstatesman.com/politics/edu...

Government mis-sold student loans to a generation, report finds

A new Treasury Committee report has found that the state did not sufficiently communicate the terms and conditions

newstatesman.com

We heard similar vibes from Boris Johnson over Partygate by the way, where he attempted to delegitimise the privileges committee. Farage isn’t unique in wishing the rules didn’t apply to him, but this was the most forceful exposition of that complaint that I’ve heard.

It's Fouracres I feel sorry for.

Love this as a prevention case study: - Low cost, even revenue raising in the short term - Improves health outcomes and reduces costly hospital admissions Shows political leadership is key: - Politically costly for Khan to implement - Did it despite cost savings landing outside GLA

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2mo ago

Emergency hospital admissions fell after introduction of London’s T-charge and Ulez, study suggests

Pesky reality getting in the way of Farage's narratives- Nowak murder: police accused of ‘anti-white bias’ five times more likely to stop black people www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Nowak murder: police accused of ‘anti-white bias’ five times more likely to stop black people

Hampshire force whose officers responded to the murder of 18-year-old has a higher than average racial disparity

theguardian.com

This is such a beautiful piece on what it means to be “different” and how we should be locating the problem in the environment and the system, not in the child

Jon Severs@jonsevers.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"A child isn’t born with SEND. They aren’t born knowing that they don’t fit," says the writer. "This is something they learn; something that they’re taught." This piece is one of the most beautiful mediations on SEND I have read. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Note that state school numbers are down 1.9% due to falling birth rates over the same time period so the fall in private school numbers attributable to VAT is at most 3.7%.

See there are circumstances in which I could believe the police cynical try to avoid accusations of racism. But the idea that antiracism is a deeply ingrained instinct in police officers is laughable.

Maybe it’s not surprising that the far right has taken the language of institutional racism, of identity politics, of structural disadvantage and applied it to themselves as the victims? But the lack of critical thinking is just so galling www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Protesters clash with police in Southampton over Henry Nowak murder

Demonstration follows family’s plea for death not to be used to create division

theguardian.com

Poor sleep was found to be one of the the strongest drivers of poor mental health in young people by YFF - this is a challenge of social media, of parenting & of our expectation of child and adolescent development. Teenagers should be sleeping 9-11 a night!!

Giles Wilkes@gilesyb.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Extraordinary testimony to the Millburn Report about sleeping habits

Extraordinary testimony to the Millburn Report about sleeping habits

One of the better government reviews I’ve read - in style, but also in breadth. It hasn’t avoided some of the knotty issues around further education, mental health & neurodevelopmental conditions. It sets govt up to do something meaningful and bold on young people.

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Milburn review here - really worth reading in full:

I don't think we talk enough about the policy success of halving pensioner poverty - to the extent that pensioners are less likely to be in poverty than any other age group. The Pensions Commission's interim report- out today- contains some bleak reading - but it also shows what's possible.

We literally have a human rights lawyer as PM and human rights in the UK have got… worse

Equality Network@lgbtiscotland.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Today, ILGA-Europe have released their annual Rainbow Index, which analyses the laws in 49 European countries, from Iceland to Azerbaijan. This year, the UK has remained at 22nd place, its lowest ever position, for the second year in a row. Find out more: rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org

Absolutely mind-blowing to me that we might get a Labour PM who has resided over the restrictive & harmful polices that have seen the UK slide down the scale of equality & protections for LGBT+ people

ILGA-Europe@ilgaeurope.bsky.social · 3mo ago

#RainbowMap 2026 is live! Spain breaks Malta's decade-long hold on top spot. As the rules-based international order fractures and democracy is under pressure, Spain's No’1 ranking stands as proof that political courage remains the most powerful answer. Find out more at rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org!

London’s existence is an affront to people like Trump.”If you’re a nativist, you believe in mono-ethnicity, you believe in mono-religion, then London is the antidote & the antithesis, because we are diverse, we are pluralistic, we are liberal & we are incredibly successful on any objective criteria”

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3mo ago

‘London is a case study in hope’: Sadiq Khan on 10 years as mayor

He's sounding more and more like George Fouracres every day

This does imply the late 1990s figure in the Timpson report was pretty much a peak. There may be holes in that data but I think it is unlikely that PX rates now are 1/3 of the 1990s rate. They probably were around 2012/13/14, but they're more like 2/3 of the 1990s rate now.

But these are almost always duties of last resort, without which many people - the elderly who need care, disabled children who need educating, & homeless families who need accommodation - would be left completely destitute

@ironeconomist.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The real takeaway from this is just what a disaster statutory obligations are for democracy. An attempt to hide where the costs go that has screwed over all the most visible bits of government and has empowered popularism by forcing councils to make choices no one in their right mind would vote for.

Nearly half - 49% - of school suspensions went to children with special educational needs, press release from IPPR think tank points out, based on new DfE data. Education in England is now at a "cross-roads," it adds, with challenge now to support schs to deliver system where needs are met earlier.

1/ New school exclusion data out today - another big rise as schools continue to struggle with behaviour. But it’s not just a story about volume - some children are disproportionately more likely to be suspended or excluded.

Some general possible benefits: shift share of attention to what younger as well as older voters think (and where the young agree + differ) maybe have fewer monolithic caricatures if young if ask/hear them try to close the participation gap for the newly eligible as well as already eligible;

This is such a strong basis for a renewed and progressive sense of national pride

Owen Winter@owenwntr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

It's an underrated part of British culture that we tend to believe other Brits are generally good people. There's such a huge gulf in the Anglosphere between those who believe it (UK, Australia, Canada) and the US

Becoming increasingly obsessed with the living standards debate- interesting that Gen Z is actually more positive about their economic situation than Millennials were at the same age. 53% of Gen Z thought they were 'low income' in 2019, compared to 63% of Millennials in 2008 (who are a big outlier)

“…as a result, opportunities become less a matter of merit but materialise from simply picking up the phone… In these circumstances, an academically unremarkable boy may rise to the very apex of British society, despite being of very low character or ability” absolutely spot on from Darren McGarvey

Given events in the Middle East, the government really need to publicly address some vital questions - are they going to put Winston Churchill or a badger on the petrol ration coupons?

Why every LinkedIn post today sounds like

jordynne, final girl@sick1y.bsky.social · 5mo ago

happy international women's day to all my international women