Something else to privatise

[Tubby Isaacs]

http://education.guardian.co.uk/scho...281099,00.html

Pupil Referral Units. Haven't various "Westminster watchers" encouraged us to be hopeful about Ed Balls? I wonder how they'll explain this piece of "where Thatcher feared to tread"ism.

As I understand it, Ofsted were satisfied with 86% of the places in PRU's, which hardly warrants changing the whole system. In any case, looking after vulnerable/troublesome children is something the state should do, like running prisons.

Then there's the "best provision, public or private" argument. We're likely to see a load of wasteful new "liaison/contract management" positions in the Dept of Education which didn't exist when it was all in house. And no-one's yet explained why the private sector needs "freedom" to perform well but the public sector needs to be micromanaged. Doubtless good ideas will come from some outsiders but they can be called in anyway, ad hoc, and good practice won't be shared because it's not commercial to do so.

Crap.

[Glass Half Empty]

Something else to privatise

I'm not that bothered who runs them if the regulation of them is consistent and sensible. But there should be more places available, there are numerous pupils in mainstream schools who's presence in a classroom is utterly at odds with the learning of others and Ofsted's ideas about classroom management.

[E10 Rifle]

Something else to privatise

Get modern Tubbs. There's no reverse gear in NewLab thinking - we just need to plough on regardless. Change. Reform. Progress. Choice. Changing Stuff Again. Pissing Around Endlessly with Everything. Permanent Revolution.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Something else to privatise

At least they aren't driven by ideology, eh?

[Anton Gramscescu]

Something else to privatise

You'd think that at least from a tactical point of view, they'd leave education the fuck alone for a bit, wouldn't you? It's one thing to feverishly implement reforms in your first and even second terms, but to keep doing so well into your third suggests, well, that the initial ones might not have been all that serious or even good. And if the initial ones weren't so good, why should these new ones be any better?