By Sarah Presswood, Chair of Trustees – Early Years Alliance and Dr Anita Soni, School of Education The education secretary Gillian Keegan has said that she can’t guarantee the government’s free childcare pledge will be met on time. The staggered pledge is due to start in April 2024, with working parents of two-year-olds able to … Continue reading “Underfunding and Inequality: Unravelling the Two-Tiered Childcare Sector”
Tag: policy
Safeguarding children of colour in White institutions
By Dr Saba Hussain, Assistant Professor in Education, Department of Education & Social Justice Even ‘safe’ spaces such as schools are not safe for racialised children. Being pinned down to the table, handcuffed and accusations of ‘smelling like marijuana’ are not experiences one would normally associate with school going children. However, some of the accounts … Continue reading “Safeguarding children of colour in White institutions”
Hijab ban controversy in India, and Muslim girls’ education
By Dr Saba HussainAssistant Professor in Education and Social Justice, School of Education Talking to me over sips of hot sugary tea, the school-teacher in India’ North Eastern state of Assam told me: “I have found Miyah (Muslims of Bengal origin) girls to be somewhat different from the rest of the girls, I mean from … Continue reading “Hijab ban controversy in India, and Muslim girls’ education”
LGBTQ+ History Month 2022: The Legacy of Section 28
By Dr Sophie King-Hill, Senior Fellow in the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) The Local Government Act 1988 included a clause that became synonymous with LGBTQ+ discrimination, especially within the education system. The notorious Section 28 stated that: ‘A local authority shall not— (a) intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting … Continue reading “LGBTQ+ History Month 2022: The Legacy of Section 28”
The Future of ‘Citizenship Policy’ in the UK
Co-authored by Tendayi Bloom, Katherine Tonkiss, Agnes Czajka, Eleni Andreouli, Devyani Prabhat, Cynthia Orchard, Nira Yuval-Davis, Kelly Staples and Georgie Wemyss As the Windrush scandal has shown, when a person is unable to show evidence of their citizenship, the results can be devastating. In August 2019, the think tank British Future launched an independent inquiry … Continue reading “The Future of ‘Citizenship Policy’ in the UK”
How Do We Ensure That Primary Care in the UK Remains in Good Health?
By Professor Robin Miller School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham General practice in the United Kingdom has long had an international reputation as a positive exemplar of primary care. Free at the point of access, funded on basis of population and needs (i.e. not a fee for service), and led by clinicians, our model … Continue reading “How Do We Ensure That Primary Care in the UK Remains in Good Health?”
Trumpian Diplomacy and UK-US Relations
By David Dunn, Professor of International Politics Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham For Trump, however, both at the NATO summit in Brussels and in his criticism of the May government in The Sun, the apparent intention was to challenge the value of continued partnership; to chastise allies for their alleged … Continue reading “Trumpian Diplomacy and UK-US Relations”
School progress measures are a missed opportunity for a fairer and more informative approach
By Tom Perry, Teaching Fellow, University of Birmingham, MA School Improvement and Educational Leadership Research Manager, Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE) The Progress 8 measures of school performance compare pupils’ GCSE results across 8 subjects to those of other pupils with the same primary school SATs results. There are many reasons … Continue reading “School progress measures are a missed opportunity for a fairer and more informative approach”
Taking responsibility for our prisons: lessons to be learnt from Norway
By Dr Anna Kotova, Lecturer in Criminology Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology, University of Birmingham Only about 25% of former prisoners in England and Wales are in employment after release, as per the government’s 2016 figures [ii]. About half of employers would not consider employing someone who had been to prison [iii]. In a recent … Continue reading “Taking responsibility for our prisons: lessons to be learnt from Norway”
Thoughts on the Foster Care Review
By Simon Haworth, Teaching Fellow Department of Social Care and Social Work, University of Birmingham In aid of Foster Care Fortnight (14 May-27 May) this post focuses on the recent review of foster care in England. The post could have concentrated on a variety of topics related to fostering, in fact I had even considered commenting … Continue reading “Thoughts on the Foster Care Review”