Off the Record

We shouldn’t be too surprised that a group of Kent head teachers of nonselective schools have intervened in the debate about whether we should have more grammar schools.

They certainly pull no punches, with a letter to Theresa May saying that it is “a moral purpose” that has compelled them to write to register their “deeply held vehement” opposition to the idea.

The letter also refers to a “paradigm shift” no less than three times, saying that the most significant paradigm shifts result from a tide of research “that points to the direction of the required shift.” We think we get it.

On the same topic, there will be smiles all round in Scotland as a result of the government’s decision to allocate £200m to help the expansion of grammar schools in England. Why? It is all connected to something called the Barnett Formula, a complex system designed to ensure equality of funding between England and the rest of the UK. So, Scotland’s education budget has been given a £40m fillip – and there aren’t even any grammars there.

There was a deep mood of gloom around at this week’s KCC cabinet meeting where councillors pondered how they might address an £8.2m overspend in this year’s budget. The cabinet member in charge of specialist children’s services was especially glum. Asked if there was any good news about recovering money from the government to meet the costs of looking after asylum-seeker children, Peter Oakford, in a distinctly Eeyore tone, told the meeting: “I have no real optimism at all.”

Well, in politics it often pays to tell it like it is, rather than what you’d like it to be.

I am taking a short break but will be back in 2017. Happy Christmas!