Shout it from the rooftops

There are a lot of us in the education sector who spend a great deal of time commenting on issues and concerns.

This includes the government, regulators, think-tanks, trade unions and the education media. Inevitably, a lot of what is said focuses on problems – whether that is the government making remarks about “underperformance”, or unions, politicians and think-tanks criticising government policies or highlighting issues such as underfunding and teacher shortages.

It is, of course, entirely reasonable and healthy in a democracy to have a vigorous discourse about such important issues. However, I am acutely conscious that the cumulative effect, over a period of time, can create an overly gloomy picture. It is important that in the tumult of debate we don’t forget to make positive statements about the education system – by which I mean the schools and colleges which collectively constitute that system.