Category Archives: Top250

“We will care for the care workers as they care for us.” This promise, made by the Prime Minister mid-pandemic, when ‘Clap for Carers’ brought the subject so vividly to life, must not be allowed to wither on the political vine, but driven through to successful delivery, as part of a wider national strategy forContinue reading “To transform social care into a respected, well-rewarded profession.”

The pandemic has drastically accelerated the shift to ‚’online‚’ forms of business. This has presented huge difficulties for those trading physical goods and, in particular, for small businesses, who, unlike larger competitors, had very little of the necessary infrastructure in place at the start of the pandemic. This shift has also resulted in an increasingContinue reading “Harnessing government support for business to catalyse gig economy reforms”

The basic formula used by English local authorities to calculate how much delegated SEN funding each school receives includes factors such as pupils‚’ prior attainment, the number of pupils whose first language is not English, the local deprivation index figure and the number of pupils receiving free school meals. The key factor – the numberContinue reading “The special educational needs (‚’SEN‚’) funding formula does not refer to SEN!”

The pandemic has exacerbated many inequalities in society. This includes economic inequalities, which frequently stem from educational disadvantages. One of the most crucial of the factors leading to poverty of education is poor reading standards, or even illiteracy. This frequently has its roots well before school. My aim is to try to encourage pre-school childrenContinue reading “Pre-school Reading Challenge”

It is repeatedly reported in the media that today’s young people in the UK will be the generation most negatively impacted by Covid-19. The Conservative Government was talking about levelling up prior to the start of the pandemic and this will be even more critical now if we are not to lose a generation toContinue reading “Social mobility and aspiration for our young people.”

The biggest challenge that has been exposed is the gap in security of income between the salaried and low-skilled hourly workers. Sectors with most hourly workers experienced the sharpest drop in hours and wages last April according to the ONS – i.e. hospitality (55% hours fall, 18% earnings fall) and construction (28% hours fall, 8%Continue reading “Whilst the salaried sleep, the hourly are up at night waiting for their orders”

During the summer of 2020 the Prime Minister urged office workers to people to cease working from home, for the sake of our ‚’great cities.‚’ The working from home culture, whilst imperative for reducing the spread of the virus, had the consequence also of reducing footfall in city centres to the detriment of city centreContinue reading “The Dying Hearts of Britain‚’s Towns and Cities”

Culturally, the UK (certainly England) has long held that the only successful way to navigate education and the world of work was purely through academia. Success and virtue, a place in society, and earning potential has been achieved by good grades at GCSE and A level followed by University ‚’ usually culminating in an artsContinue reading “A different approach to education: levelling up and closing the skills gaps”

One positive aspect of the Covid pandemic has been the willingness of individuals to volunteer to help in the community, placing themselves at risk of infection and for no personal reward. This has been illustrated locally across the nation. It has also been illustrated nationally where retired nurses have answered the call to come outContinue reading “An opportunity to build a register of ‚’qualified‚’ volunteers to help tutor with homeschooling.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent normalisation of remote working presents a unique opportunity to improve social mobility in the UK. COVID-19 has forced desk-based workers to move from working in the office, to working from home. The ONS estimates that in 2020 there was a 1000% increase in remote working in the UK, compared toContinue reading “The normalisation of remote working and the opportunity this presents for social mobility.”