Posts Tagged “schools”
On Budget day: What Lib Dem members think of the Coalition’s economic policy and ring-fencing of spending
by Stephen Tall on March 20, 2013
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 650 party members have responded, and we’re publishing the full results. Just 26% of Lib Dem members support Osborne’s ‘Plan A’ Thinking of the current state of [...]
A reply to Iain Dale’s post, ‘Eastleigh by-election gets dirty’
by Stephen Tall on February 16, 2013
Here’s a quick response to Iain Dale’s blog-post Eastleigh by-election gets dirty, itself a response to my post earlier today, So this is why the Tories have been trying to keep their Eastleigh candidate quiet. I like Iain, admire his (…)
From ‘Gove Levels’ to EBC and back to GCSEs – 5 quick thoughts
by Stephen Tall on February 7, 2013
The EBC is dead! Long live the GCSE! That appears to be the headline from this morning’s news that Michael Gove is about to U-turn on his plans to reform the exams sat by 16 year-olds in England. Five initial (…)
London schools and the paradox of choice
by Stephen Tall on January 28, 2013
I’ve started reading David Boyle’s Barriers to Choice Review, published last week. David, author, academic and life-long liberal, was appointed by the cabinet office to ‘look at the barriers faced by disadvantaged people, in particular, when it came to accessing (…)
A little bit about my job. A whole lot more about the importance of evidence-based policy and RCTs.
by Stephen Tall on November 23, 2012
A rare work-focused post follows… It’s been almost a year since I started a new job, working at the Education Endowment Foundation. It’s a new grant-making charity, a rare combination of a start-up with money (you can normally be one (…)
CentreForum’s ‘Liberal Hero of the Week’ #16 – Stephen Twigg & Lord Ashcroft
by Stephen Tall on October 5, 2012
Welcome to the 16th in our series — Liberal Hero of the Week — as chosen by Stephen Tall, Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, and Research Associate at CentreForum. The aim is to showcase public figures who help promote the four liberal tenets identified in The Orange Book: economic, personal, political and social liberalism. We highlight [...]
Stephen Twigg backs ‘local pay’ for teachers while also opposing ‘local pay’. Very even-handed
by Stephen Tall on October 4, 2012
Of course he didn’t use the phrase ‘local pay’ because Labour, like the Lib Dems, are opposed to it. But local pay is what Stephen Twigg today announced in his education speech to the party’s Manchester conference: We will have (…)
What Lib Dem members think about EBacc, academies and free schools
by Stephen Tall on October 3, 2012
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum before conference to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. More than 550 party members have responded, and we’re publishing the full results. Narrow backing for replacing GCSEs with EBacc LDV asked: Nick Clegg and Michael Gove [...]
The pupil premium isn’t a quick-fix solution, it’s a long-haul policy
by Stephen Tall on September 20, 2012
The pupil premium — additional cash targeted at the most disadvantaged children — is the policy of which Nick Clegg is proudest and with which he is most closely associated. The policy itself dates back to Julian le Grand in the 1980s (when it was touted as a progressive version of school vouchers) but it [...]
Clegg and Gove show united front on plan to overhaul GCSEs
by Stephen Tall on September 17, 2012
Nick Clegg and Michael Gove will today present a carefully joined up front as they present proposals to overhaul GCSEs. In June, the two clashed after the education secretary let slip his desire to return to O-levels, swiftly dubbed ‘Gove-levels’. The Lib Dem leader immediately dismissing any notion of a return to a two-tier system [...]
