How dare you?
“I think Sir Michael Wilshaw must have been reading my blog… His latest speech ‘warned’ that too many teachers have no respect for authority and are hampering schools’ attempts to improve standards.” Teaching personally argues that Sir Michael Wilshaw’s assumptions about teachers are wrong.
Are organisations hotwired to look towards central government?
“Does the existing policy-making process mean that the public shout from afar at politicians, while wealthy and/or connected interests butter them up out of sight?” Puffles argues for opening-up policymaking to much greater public scrutiny.
Shadow politics: Three reasons why public services feel increasingly less public
In the shadow politics, public services feel increasingly less public - from the development of policy to the delivery and regulation of services - in a way that may come back to haunt the political class itself.
Shadow politics: How outsourcing and privatisation have got their teeth into public services
In the shadow politics, some policies - such as outsourcing and privatisation - are beyond the need for evidence. And once they sink their teeth in, they don’t let go.
Scrutiny and Police & Crime Commissioners
Police and Crime Commissioners are hugely powerful and have direct and sole control over multi-million pound budgets. Those of us who have closely followed the implementation and election of PCCs know this, but still many of the public don’t understand exactly what this role is. Awareness is growing, in part due to intense media scrutiny […]
The Parliamentary Hypocritical Oath
“…there is in fact very little in place to “police” MP’s in the same way all other sections of the public sector are “policed”. …They are “monitored” by a group of their peers with not a single impartial, independent person amongst them.” Snapper explains why it’s one rule for MPs, and another for those who work in the public sector.
Accountability, assessment and the new National Curriculum (a work in progress)
Interim introduction This post is something of an experiment, since I am publishing it initially as a ‘work in progress’, while waiting for outstanding documentation to be produced by the Government. It will eventually examine whether three major reforms – the revised proposals for the new National Curriculum, its assessment from 2016 when National Curriculum […]
Accountability and responsiveness in the Senior Civil Service: a response
Summary My thoughts on the IPPR’s report It feels like I’ve got blogposts coming out of my ears at the moment. It’s that time of year where lots of organisations get their publications out before they head off for the summer. The IPPR’s report is here. Irrespective of its recommendations, this is an interesting report […]
Are there some moral lines that outsourcing of public services should not cross?
Summary Should all public services and state functions be open for outsourcing or are there some lines that should not be crossed? The difference with this blogpost compared to others I’ve covered in public policy is that it looks at an issue through the prism of principle and disposition, rather than through a pure technocratic […]
A Vision for Education in 2040 – Part 1
This week I was one of a number of school leaders who met as part of the SSAT’s Vision 2040 group under the stewardship of Tom Sherrington, the @headguruteacher. The first question Tom put to the group was what we thought teachers and school staff looking in from the outside might expect of us. This […]
Frontline Friday round-up 17th May 2013: Through the looking glass
Here’s our round-up of frontline blogs we’ve particularly liked from the week of 12th May 2013. Frontline bloggers often see things differently from the mainstream media. This week we go through the looking glass to see things from the frontline perspective.
The transparent Queen’s shilling
I have written about this matter before but after a couple of blocked FoI requests recently, I thought I would raise the subject again. I think the Freedom of Information Act should be made to apply to all organisations / alliances / partnerships that spend the Queen’s shilling (our money in other words). Increasingly, I suspect, more and more […]
Accountability we can trust
I’m convinced that our existing accountability framework is preventing schools from improving at the pace that they could be or in the way that they should be. OfSTED and Performance Tables dominate the thinking of too many Heads and teachers to a degree that is unhealthy, unnecessary and counterproductive. I have written about these issues […]
A person centred NHS and why successful change takes time
At the heart of the 2010 Healthcare Quality Strategy for NHS Scotland was an ambition to ensure a person centred, safe and effective health service. While significant progress has been made in some areas, most notably through the much lauded Patient Safety Programme, it’s harder to demonstrate how this central plank of Scottish Government health policy […]
“Yeah, you’re gonna need a licence for that tweeting dragon fairy of yours”
Summary Trying to work out what the proposed royal charter means for this blog – and for my tweeting dragon fairy I’m still trying to work out how the Exocet missile that was supposed to be heading towards the corporate print press guilty of a huge number of hacking-related crimes has ended up targeting social media world. […]
Lower your shields!
“Accountability” is very much the theme of the day. It has certainly become part of the language of government in that their use of the term “holding to account” has become frequently heard. The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners was one such initiative. Their arrival was hailed as the dawn of a new era […]
Public accountability and private loyalty
Over the next few weeks, I want to explore some of the key concepts of community organising and how they apply to a British context. Most of the practice and theory of community organising has been developed in the States but the key concepts transfer across continents and cultures with ease. This week, I want […]
Rehabilitating politicians
I am genuinely concerned about the widening gulf between the public and politicians…and the level of sheer contempt for our representatives. I understand why and how this has happened and all parties and participants are to blame for continuing to ‘play the game’ how it is has always been played for fear of losing what […]