[davidjay]

The future's in good hands.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Good speech, I wonder if Bridget's a Boardwalk Empire fan?

Just because in one episode Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) makes a similarly styled speech to a temperance society. Goes down a storm.

You think she doesn't mean it?

[Andy McDandy]

No, I'm sure she does. I just remarked on the structural and thematic similarities.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

More like Cicero and classical Roman rhetoric, I would have thought.

Point, discussion, analysis, repeat.

[kreuzberger]

I thought that it was a gentle, cross-thread piss-take.

Like the one where our correspondent likened an out-of-control, degenerate, radge, and sociopathic group of lunatics who were lawlessly running around their foetid domain to the characters of Trainspotting.

[mattomac]

They need to focus a bit on Universities.

[davidjay]

I'm lost here.

[satnav]

This week the school I work at gained a gold standard award for its mental health provision. The award is an absolute joke. We paid the awarding body money and sent they shed loads of information and they gave s the award without even visiting the school. To put things into prospective last year 3 members of staff resigned because of stress, at the moment 6 members of staff are off work due to stress, at least three students in Year 11 have not been in school since September because of mental health issues, we also have about half a dozen students in Year 11 who regularly self harm. Most of our mental health provision is provided via are heads of year who are responsible for around 160 pupils at any one time. The only pastoral manager who is trained in helping pupils with mental health issues only works 3 days a week and spends most of her time reacting to issues that have happened when she is not in school.

These awards really are akin to vanity publishing. I really feel sorry any parent who sends their child to a school with a gold award for mental health provision who then discover that the awards are totally meaningless.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Interesting exchanges on this thread. Sam Freedman was a Spad under Gove, but he's pointing out some home truths about academies. (I think curriculum is his thing).

[satnav]

We certainly have lots of visits from Trust Executives and Directors. When we were still under local authority control we had very few visits mainly because the local authority and made most of their advisers redundant. I think Outwood now have 32 schools divided into two regions so in effect each subject director is responsible for around 16 schools so they are able to visit every school at least once a month.