1) Shameless

Over the past few weeks, the disappearance and then discovery of Shannon Matthews has been the subject of much press interest and seems to have left many commentators thrashing around for explanation and understanding of disadvantaged Britain, for example http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=557960&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 While coverage has been diverse, the comments are always written from the perspective of outsiders struggling to understand ‘people like that’. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that writers have cast around for a schema that structures and ‘explains’ with the most popular comparisons being with the TV series Shameless, which is seen as prescient or even causal to the events in Wakefield. Apparently we live in post-modern times where fiction shapes reality. I think not, rather it was because the author of Shameless drew on his own life experience, that of growing up in a chaotic and disadvantaged family that he had a repertoire and way of writing about ‘these people’, which others are now borrowing. When reading this Sun article I noted that the family had three computers in the home; one apparently supplied by social services. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1034032.ece It would seem that it is not just the newspapers who try to understand social disadvantage in the UK using categories of analysis borrowed and mediated by fiction, albeit Oliver Twist rather than Shameless. For my part, I can only hope that things work out for Bianca and Ricky.

2) Poverty

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation recently published a report that argued child poverty could double over the next 10 years in the UK unless significant steps are taken to up-rate welfare benefits. See report summary http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/09/welfare.socialexclusion and full report at http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2194-benefits-taxation-poverty.pdf The authors assume a constantly rising median income in the UK over the next 10 years and that government does nothing in response to this; even I think that a little unfair to government. It is however in the context of other reports that claim to show that the poverty gap has not narrowed under labour http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/03/socialexclusion.labour and http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-is-burying-bad-news-of-poverty-study-until-after-elections-803990.html However, despite this pessimism, I would argue that it is still a good time to push the issue of child poverty in the public domain as all three main political parties say that they are committed to abolishing child poverty, albeit none are very clear about how and when they will achieve it. For this reason, I think that The End Child Poverty Campaign, which brings together over 110 organisations, has a potentially important role to play at this time http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/assets/plugins/fckeditor/editor/index.html Maybe we should join?

3) Mentoring

As I’m sure most people are aware, the government are to launch a major mentoring scheme where secondary school pupils are to be mentored by university students http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7328464.stm I think it worth reading the linked description of Westminster’s scheme and how they pay mentors, £7 per hour. Are the days of the free volunteer over?

4) Texas – home of progressive thinking

As we have seen from the gifted and talented scheme in the UK, simply defining the top few percent of children in every school as gifted and talented can create anomalies and complications but I thought that the use of that approach in Texas seems to have achieved some genuinely innovative practice http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/comment/story/0,,2273636,00.html . Whatever the government intention, I’m worried that we are about to put in place a system of qualifications in the UK that will entrench the existing class system in higher education. Private schools are rapidly moving away from A levels to the new Cambridge Pre-U qualification http://education.guardian.co.uk/alevels/story/0,,2273115,00.html . IN state schools, the middle classes will continue to pursue A levels while the rest will be steered to diplomas. The result will be a three tier HE sector, with the old prestigious universities recruiting the Pre-U students, the middle range universities recruiting the A level students, while the old polytechnics will admit the diploma students. Once again, the British class system will be re-enforced and graduates class coded by their university. Rather than that scenario I think we should seriously consider the Texan alternative, which builds on student potential and achievement, rather than family background and school.

5) London calling

The conservative party have sponsored a report that raises many questions about poverty in London, it is entitled Breakthrough London http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/default.asp?pageRef=240 This comes at a time when government are also launching an initiative to help more children out of poverty in London http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0069 It is interesting to note the importance of children’s centres in the government’s plans and how many services, including training and employment, are to be child centre focused.

6) Gold star

A major report from the government looking at life chances in the UK

http://www.dius.gov.uk/publications/life_chances_180308.pdf This is an excellent reference document. Indeed this report was recently given the rarely awarded Sue Maskrey prize for readability and relevance.

7) Firm foundations

Foundation degrees are designed to be organically generated, or at least intimately connected to the skills needs of specific industries and careers. In that sense I see this debate about foundation degrees as paralleling the debate about the new diplomas http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7343027.stm There is some evidence that industry specific training can be the most financially rewarding type of training for individuals at the lower grades. Will this prove to be true for higher qualifications such as the likes of foundation degrees? The government are pushing strongly ahead on this course of action http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2273466,00.html and also see this interview with John Denham for the direction of travel http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2273417,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=8 Also Bill Rammell has launched a consultation on strengthening England’s skills base http://www.dius.gov.uk/press/14-04-08.html. Note the particular attention to STEM subjects. Maybe someone at The Brightside Trust would like to give Bill some advice.