By Geoff Gee and Karen Wespieser
There will be much on the mind of Theresa May as she returns to Number 10 as Prime Minister, not only with a much reduced majority, but also relying on the support of the DUP. This poses a particular problem for education – as a devolved issue, the DUP are unlikely to be able to help on any legislation in our sector.
Continue reading
Since devolution of responsibility for education and training to Wales following the establishment of the National Assembly, NFER’s research has recognised the increasingly divergent approaches to education policy and practice across the UK. One question is, will the forthcoming election mean that Wales continues to develop its own educational policy and practice? What next for devolution and education? Continue reading
By Karen Wespieser and Maire Williams
In the two televised debates that have taken place so far, a teacher has been in the audience each time to ask the politicians about their education pledges. In the first debate, a teacher asked a panel of leaders “what would you do to support teachers in schools to make sure every child gets the best start in life regardless of background?” Last night, even though education didn’t feature highly, a teacher asked Theresa May “how will you ensure schools are adequately funded?” Continue reading
By Karen Wespieser
This blog first appeared on TES, Monday 22 May 2017.
We all know that in the British political system, the electorate doesn’t actually vote for the prime minister – they vote for their local MP. Except I do. I live in Maidenhead – Theresa May’s constituency. So next month, her name will be on my ballot sheet. She therefore pops up at all the local events that one expects a constituency MP to attend: the local marathon, visiting local businesses and opening fetes. Continue reading
Four weeks have passed since Theresa May called a snap general election. Through this time, we have been waiting for the manifestos to be published and speculating how much focus education and evidence would receive. Continue reading
By Claudia Sumner and Tami McCrone
With the 2017 general election in sight and all major parties preparing to release their manifestos, we look at the top education issues that all the parties should be talking about… Continue reading
One of the challenges of working in the education sector, is everyone has an opinion because everyone has been to school. Whilst this can be unhelpful in some contexts, it should be a real strength during a general election campaign. Yet, for nearly 20 years, education has not been a priority issue for politicians or the electorate. In 1997, nearly half the population thought that education was the most important issue facing Britain. Since 2007, this figure has been less than a quarter. Continue reading
