This is such a beautiful piece on what it means to be “different” and how we should be locating the problem in the environment and the system, not in the child

Note that state school numbers are down 1.9% due to falling birth rates over the same time period so the fall in private school numbers attributable to VAT is at most 3.7%.

See there are circumstances in which I could believe the police cynical try to avoid accusations of racism. But the idea that antiracism is a deeply ingrained instinct in police officers is laughable.

Maybe it’s not surprising that the far right has taken the language of institutional racism, of identity politics, of structural disadvantage and applied it to themselves as the victims? But the lack of critical thinking is just so galling www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Poor sleep was found to be one of the the strongest drivers of poor mental health in young people by YFF - this is a challenge of social media, of parenting & of our expectation of child and adolescent development. Teenagers should be sleeping 9-11 a night!!

Extraordinary testimony to the Millburn Report about sleeping habits

One of the better government reviews I’ve read - in style, but also in breadth. It hasn’t avoided some of the knotty issues around further education, mental health & neurodevelopmental conditions. It sets govt up to do something meaningful and bold on young people.

I don't think we talk enough about the policy success of halving pensioner poverty - to the extent that pensioners are less likely to be in poverty than any other age group. The Pensions Commission's interim report- out today- contains some bleak reading - but it also shows what's possible.

We literally have a human rights lawyer as PM and human rights in the UK have got… worse

Absolutely mind-blowing to me that we might get a Labour PM who has resided over the restrictive & harmful polices that have seen the UK slide down the scale of equality & protections for LGBT+ people

London’s existence is an affront to people like Trump.”If you’re a nativist, you believe in mono-ethnicity, you believe in mono-religion, then London is the antidote & the antithesis, because we are diverse, we are pluralistic, we are liberal & we are incredibly successful on any objective criteria”

He's sounding more and more like George Fouracres every day

This does imply the late 1990s figure in the Timpson report was pretty much a peak. There may be holes in that data but I think it is unlikely that PX rates now are 1/3 of the 1990s rate. They probably were around 2012/13/14, but they're more like 2/3 of the 1990s rate now.

But these are almost always duties of last resort, without which many people - the elderly who need care, disabled children who need educating, & homeless families who need accommodation - would be left completely destitute

Nearly half - 49% - of school suspensions went to children with special educational needs, press release from IPPR think tank points out, based on new DfE data. Education in England is now at a "cross-roads," it adds, with challenge now to support schs to deliver system where needs are met earlier.

1/ New school exclusion data out today - another big rise as schools continue to struggle with behaviour. But it’s not just a story about volume - some children are disproportionately more likely to be suspended or excluded.

Some general possible benefits: shift share of attention to what younger as well as older voters think (and where the young agree + differ) maybe have fewer monolithic caricatures if young if ask/hear them try to close the participation gap for the newly eligible as well as already eligible;

This is such a strong basis for a renewed and progressive sense of national pride

Becoming increasingly obsessed with the living standards debate- interesting that Gen Z is actually more positive about their economic situation than Millennials were at the same age. 53% of Gen Z thought they were 'low income' in 2019, compared to 63% of Millennials in 2008 (who are a big outlier)

“…as a result, opportunities become less a matter of merit but materialise from simply picking up the phone… In these circumstances, an academically unremarkable boy may rise to the very apex of British society, despite being of very low character or ability” absolutely spot on from Darren McGarvey

Given events in the Middle East, the government really need to publicly address some vital questions - are they going to put Winston Churchill or a badger on the petrol ration coupons?

Why every LinkedIn post today sounds like

Side note, but it is still striking how little Reform actually look like the rest of Britain in basically any polling and yet their base is treated as quintessentially authentic.

Very clear that for Starmer, 'sectarian voting' is when British Muslims don't vote Labour, and for many others, it is just when British Muslims vote.

In so many ways - student loans that take 9% of your marginal income without ever being paid off, higher rate tax threshold freezes, mortgage and housing costs - we have seen the return of the "squeezed middle". A huge political opportunity/risk. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

You also have to earn something like £60k for your payments to go towards the principle rather than the interest, meaning people on ~£28k up to ~£60k are just chucking money at the void.

Quite glad that the big story in British politics is whether Andy Burnham will apply to stand in a by-election and not people being gunned down by state militias. Solidarity with Minnesotans resisting this barbarity.

In my latest podcast, @eleanorrrlouise.bsky.social from @thedifferenceed.bsky.social explained why it is essential that the Government works hard to show parents they will be better off as a result of any reforms to the SEND system. Listen to the full episode here: insideyoured.com

And honestly I don't give a fuck if it's popular or not. It's going to make a lot of kids' lives better. That's the point of government. Not an opinion poll.

🚨NEW PODCAST🚨 Everyone agrees the SEND system is broken, but how do you fix it? @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social and @eleanorrrlouise.bsky.social joined me to talk through the analysis and proposals in their new @ippr.org report on reforming SEND. Listen here: insideyoured.com

America: No Kings Britain: No Dukes of York

This is a must read. 💬“you cannot magic quality into existence by writing it on a legal document.“ The legislating of rights does not necessarily equal quality of support or good outcomes. Our focus must be on securing the latter, not lobbying for a status quo that fails so many.

Frustrating how "it's hard to change people's views" has metastasised into "there's no point ever making an argument".

There is no solution to any of these problems that doesn’t involve building 500k or so homes a year that will bring real negative pressure on rent by materially outstripping new housing demand.

Israeli tactics: 1. Stop aid entering Gaza 2. Deny famine is taking place 3. When famine becomes undeniable, stall as long as possible 4. When western pressure mounts, do the minimum possible 5. When western attention moves on, return to step 1.

‘There is nothing to buy’: Gaza’s descent into mass starvation https://on.ft.com/4o5I46b

In policy terms, the search for 'things that are not scrapping the limit but tackle child povery' has just led to a bunch of policies that don't work all that well. Labour well on its way to spending enough on 'things to make Labour MPs less unhappy about not doing two child' to have done two child.

Great illustration of getting schools right for SEND in this post - kids who needs the most teaching, getting the best teachers: “Double staffing for classes with higher levels of need or vulnerability reflects building teaching and learning for the needs of the most vulnerable first”

Hidden in this post is a really important point on education & ‘white working class boys’. 💬 “We’d be much better off talking about persistent or multi-generational disadvantage than ethnicity and it would lead to the same policy solutions.”

Great to see another piece of ace research by @thedifferenceed.bsky.social helping shape inclusive school practice

After good conversations with @eleanorrrlouise.bsky.social and @rlrossi64.bsky.social I now think the root EHCP problem is: There are too many and lots shouldn't need them. Some do need them and will drown if they are taken away. We can't tell the difference between the two groups.

A Brief History of Young People Today Don't Want to Work 🧵

The unbelievable condescension we’re already seeing today towards working class people- suggesting they don’t travel to Europe or their kids might not want to go to university and study in Europe- is quite something to behold.

🚨 NEW POST 🚨 ‘Learning Barriers, not labels’ “Would you teach differently if you were to learn about the designation of the special educational need?” alexquigley.co.uk/learning-bar...

We launched @inclusioninpractice.org.uk to understand more about the good work already taking place across the school system. More on this from @andrewoneill.bsky.social here in @schoolsweek.bsky.social and how you can contribute before next week's deadline of May 1st.

‘What goes up, must come down: Promoting pupil independence through scaffolding’ - a @kirstinmul.bsky.social blog unpacking different practical scaffolding approaches - visual, verbal and written: educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/what-go...

A great read 👇 “But voters are not going to tell you how to govern the country. It is not their job. Relying on their opinions to try to deduce what to do leads not only to incoherence, but to a negative loop… if they just get their existing views fed back to them, there is nothing to learn from.”

Brutal and scary picture of how teenage girls are feeling ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2025/04/the-...