Sure start proves to be a slow start

Not much noise this week about the report that research has shown limited progress among the children involved in the Sure Start programme.
Sure Start is supposed to operate in deprived areas, and is costing £21 billion.   But three-year-olds taking part are showing no improvement in verbal skills or in curbing poor behaviour as compared with [...]

Has parental choice of schools worked at all?

Interesting piece in today’s Independent where Deborah Orr considers whether parental choice on school admissions has achieved anything, do read it here in full.
She starts by saying:-
“Long ago when the concept of parental choice was introduced into the state education system, it was done under the assumption that this would somehow create a market in which schools [...]