John Bald: Academy scandals. Hinds now needs to take control to stop them.
We must listen to whistleblowers, cut out the graft, and make sure that the money is spent for the benefit of children.
Posts by John Bald
John Bald began teaching in 1973, and has extensive experience as an adviser with Essex and Hackney, as a trainer of new and experienced teachers and as an Inspector. He has written two books on the teaching of reading and spelling.
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John Bald: A lesson from Great Yarmouth about how to combine school discipline with happy pupils
The misery of bullying and vandalism has ended. I did not hear a raised voice during my visit, except for the loud recitation of poems learned by heart.
John Bald: Mixed ability teaching is still stopping our children learn languages
Vacuous proposals for a “national strategy” are made – with no reference to standards or teaching methods. Wishful thinking won’t fix the system.
John Bald: How to boost technical education in our schools
Practical skills such as bricklaying, electrical work, carpentry, and plumbing, can be taught alongside GCSEs.
John Bald: How Twitter’s dogs of war were unleashed on me
The clear aim of most of the torrent was utter destruction. It was a warning of what we can expect if Corbyn and his nasty supporters ever get into power.
John Bald: Misbehaviour in classrooms is often due to a failure to teach children to read
Behind most disorder is the idea of anxiety. A great deal of that is caused by a feeling that the pupil can’t do their work.
John Bald: The effective teaching of multiplication tables is long overdue
Does the National Education Union want teenagers to count on their fingers? That’s the consequence if one severs mathematics education from its base in arithmetic.
John Bald: School inspection is not a “little extra”
There is no evidence of funding cuts reducing school standards. But Ofsted does need enough staff to thoroughly assess the performance of classroom teachers.
John Bald: Special Needs pupils are being let down by the system
When support is provided, the quality is often so poor that the pupil would be better off without it. Often the work is done for the pupil, preventing learning from taking place.
John Bald: What teachers can learn from tutors
Those who spend their time in classrooms and rigidly follow the handbook may fail to meet the individual needs of each pupil.
John Bald: Labour threatens to set our schools back by over a decade
The reality of local authority control of schools was not democratic, but rule by officers and party hacks.
John Bald: This year’s exam results are another milestone on the road to restoring rigour in education
At the local level, there is also good news in the successful reform of Great Yarmouth Charter Academy.
John Bald: It’s time to boost the Further Education sector
It is funded at a lower level than schools, and yet is expected to put right much that has gone wrong. Technical courses need higher esteem.
John Bald: Schools are still failing to exclude bullies
The perpetrators of school violence and disruption inflict more harm on the education of other pupils, and to the morale of teachers, than they do on themselves.
John Bald: It is becoming harder for Leftist academics to attack phonics
Teaching children to spell is not an act of cruelty – they have a large smiles on their faces when they get something right.