Education

The New Section 28

The government is due to release guidance for schools around trans pupils, but it has been repeatedly delayed due to concerns it will not comply with the 2010 Equalities Act. What was initially meant to be advice for single-sex schools regarding the legality of refusing to admit trans pupils, now looks to be much wider ranging and incredibly alarming for trans youth and school staff. The guidance is likely to compel schools to inform parents if a child discloses that they are trans or questioning their gender; to establish the need for parental consent for a child to socially transition or...

Education: capitalism warps its own work

Over the last fifty years or so, universities have expanded hugely, in Britain and in other countries. The world average “enrolment” rate is now around 40% of the age group.

In Britain it’s about 50%: it was 8% in 1970, about 2% in 1950.

The driver seems to be the thirst of capital for more...

Battling a 2.5% pay offer in FE

Workers from Lewisham College joined the University and College Union (UCU) strike of 23 Further Education (FE) colleges on 6 and 7 October. Two further days next week and three the following week. Six other colleges are striking on other dates. The picket was lively, noisy and well supported by students and other supporters. The strikers rally heard speakers from Lewisham College, an RMT tube driver, UCU speakers from Lambeth College and Goldsmiths University and from UCU General Secretary, Jo Grady. Speakers pointed to the increased salaries of the college's principal and the leadership of...

Letter: Correct usage is not middle-class

Do you care whether the correct word to use with uncountable nouns (e.g. furniture, milk, money, fun) is “less” or with countable nouns (e.g. books, chairs, melodies) is “fewer”? Well, you should. The Deputy Labour Party Leader Angela Rayner appears to think not. According to the Daily Telegraph Rayner was angry that Hansard (the record of who says what in the House of Commons) wanted to correct her use of “less” to “fewer”. She retorted: “I won’t let Hansard correct my working-class grammar”. The Hansard scribes were just doing their job. Why not just accept the correction and have done...

Marching for Moulsecoomb

Hundreds of parents, kids, workers and supporters braved the rain to march from Moulsecoomb primary school to a rally at The Level in Brighton on Saturday 15 May, demanding that the school remain in local authority control.

Despite overwhelming opposition, the Department for Education is...

Class struggle in the Age of Covid — Conference document

Although it is to be hoped that vaccination programmes are successful in substantially suppressing the virus, it is likely to be many years before Covid fades into the background to such an extent that anything resembling a pre-Covid “normality” returns. Working-class struggle against the hegemony of market logic and the profit motive, to assert the interests of social and ecological need, is imperative. We fight for the labour movement to take up demands implied by the pandemic, such as: Full sickness and isolation pay for all workers, regardless of contractual status - a demand we will...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.