Jon Coles

To clear up the school funding argument (thread).
There is no more money and nothing has changed. *However*, up to now govt statements on affordability have been based on the Schools Costs Technical Note, published in March. 1/6

It's an important announcement. The country has for a long time needed a stronger vocational pathway. Sure - there is a lot to get right, there are past mistakes to learn from, risks to avoid. It'll take detailed thought, hard work and time. But it's needed and do-able.

1/3 So... DfE say today: governors of big maintained school in IL can pay Head up to £198k - or *any* higher sum 'in exceptional circumstances' without need for anyone else's consent. But Academy trust must get DfE permission to pay £175k to that Head or to a regional director...

This is so important. Ofsted find that there are no concerns about Bristol Brunel Academy. Will the people who attacked them without knowing the facts now apologise?

The piece by @michaelgove in @thetimes today is characteristically well written and I'm with him at one quarter distance. But his arguments about citizenship, grammar tests and EBacc don't stack up.