Category: “Education”

Here is a copy of the debate in today’s Observer between me and psychotherapist Oliver James, arguing for and against major employers providing onsite psychiatric support for their staff. Alastair Campbell – I was really pleased to see the headline proclaiming “MPs to get mental health clinic in parliament amid rise in depression and anxiety”. [...]

The BBC did a brilliant job with their Sports Personality show on Sunday. If I had one small complaint it was in the air-brushing of any politics or politicians from the narrative. ‘Keep politics out of sport’ has a certain compelling appeal, but sport is an intensely political area. Always has been (think Eastern Europe, [...]

Michael Gove, with his little army of supporters in the media and on the Tory backbenchers, is not used to being challenged over his potty policies which win the support of the mainly privately educated, privately educating editors, but are widely disliked and mistrusted by the public. When I blogged on the discrepancy between media [...]

I hope those inside the political bubble who constantly define Michael Gove as ‘one of the few successes’ of the Cameron government find time to listen to Friday’s Any Questions on Iplayer. Gove’s main success, so far as I can tell, is in persuading the media and the Tory Party that he is a success. [...]

I was out last night raising cash for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research at the Midtown Business Club dinner, to whom thanks for your cash and your support. In my speech, I talked a bit about the Boris phenomenon and said his appeal was rooted in his positivity, which is why it was odd that he [...]

It is technical uselessness, rather than modesty, that prevents me from putting on here the photo I tweeted yesterday from the summit of Mont Ventoux. Now I cannot claim to have got up this legendary Provençal mountain quickly. Indeed, my times over the past few years represent something of a study in ageing. But I [...]

Out this morning for a pre-Wiggo-triumph two-hour ride through small French towns and villages, I popped into a little bike shop to get a few bits and bobs. Bradley Wiggins’ yellow helmet took pride of place in the helmet stall. Black socks were doing better than usual. And despite the hefty price tag, the shop [...]

One of the more repellent aspects of the play POSH that I keep going on about is, as I said in this review in The Independent, the sexism of the young aristo Oxford Tory members of the Riot aka Bullingdon Club. I wonder if it was sexism, cowardice or sheer incompetence that persuaded George ‘I [...]

As Michael Gove reflects on his latest intervention, what will have the greater impact on him as he surveys the weekend papers with his usual careful reading? … the fact that he has annoyed huge numbers of heads, teachers, parents and children with his ill-timed (in the middle of exams for heaven’s sake), regressive (he [...]

In its latest morale-destroying assault on State school teachers (a breed not terribly well-acquainted with the current Cabinet) ministers are considering performance-related pay for them. Perhaps if they go ahead with this, they could see it as a pilot for a similar system for ministers. At the current level of performance, this could lead to [...]