Category Archives: Education

The Blair Government invested heavily in early years education and the Cameron Government began well by promising to retain childrens centres. That has become one more piece of this Governments hyperbole at best. The truth was that Blairs reforms did not go far enough and now the ground is being moved from under our childrens feet. No stone should be left unturned as we protect the future of our next generation.

Lets have some real action

Posted on January 9, 2017 by ianchisnall

The news that our Prime Minister has woken up to the damage caused to men, women and especially adolescents and children by mental ill-health is of course very welcome. In terms of the speech she is due to make at … Continue reading →

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The Casey Review part 2

Posted on January 5, 2017 by ianchisnall

At the beginning of December Louise Casey published a document entitled “A review into opportunity and integration” which attracted a lot of press attention. A large part of this was because it seemed to focus on issues to do with … Continue reading →

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A very professional career

Posted on December 30, 2016 by ianchisnall

Over more than a decade I have had an extensive privilege to meet and occasionally work alongside Police Officers mostly in Sussex. My role as a member of the Independent Advisory Group in Brighton & Hove which began in 2004 … Continue reading →

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The ignorance of high office

Posted on December 22, 2016 by ianchisnall

One would imagine that the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Civil Society would have some understanding about volunteering and charities. Particularly as he has been in this role for over 2 years. However it appears that Rob Wilson MP is … Continue reading →

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A dangerous distraction

Posted on December 19, 2016 by ianchisnall

A few days ago I wrote my first response to the Casey Review which is concerned about a lack of cohesion across our society. In due course I will write some more. However in the meantime the Government has stood … Continue reading →

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A deeply disturbing perspective

Posted on December 1, 2016 by ianchisnall

The news today that under the leadership of Theresa May, the Home Office offered a written proposal, tabled by Mrs May in Cabinet that the children of illegal immigrants should be moved to the worst performing schools in a given … Continue reading →

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The Government must do better

Posted on November 29, 2016 by ianchisnall

Although the Government has backed down from forcing all Schools to become Academies, it has still to deliver on its previous ruling that all ‘failing’ schools should become academies. According to a recent study, there are at least 26 Schools … Continue reading →

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The pipers who play their own tunes

Posted on November 26, 2016 by ianchisnall

From April 2017 all businesses will be assessed to see if their wage bill is high enough to pay a new form of tax called the apprenticeship levy. This will only become payable if the wage bill exceeds £3M or … Continue reading →

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How to make a wrong mess

Posted on November 16, 2016 by ianchisnall

The news in this article that “The government has launched a consultation on whether to scrap controversial qualification requirements for childcare apprentices that have been blamed for causing a recruitment crisis in the sector.” suggests that the Government has ignored … Continue reading →

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Lets not cut corners

Posted on November 12, 2016 by ianchisnall

Imagine a scenario where the skills and qualifications of staff in a low cost setting are generally lower than in the rest of the sector. If the work involved was something that is nice to have, but not likely to … Continue reading →

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