FROM THE CHAIR

This edition of The House looks at education. One lesson of the pandemic was that the British education system amounts to so much more than just the teaching delivered.

The closure of our schools brought home how important they are to our social fabric. It had a profound impact on children that we are only beginning to understand, as Tom Sasse explores in a feature for this issue.

Our lead interview is with the man in charge of leading the post-Covid education recovery, Nadhim Zahawi. He talks to John Johnston about how he’s going to deliver on skills, schools and families.

As Johnston writes, it says something for Zahawi’s stewardship that education is now being talked of as a potential vote-winner for the Conservative Party – but it will rely on his delivery of an unprecedented recovery programme. Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, tells us that to succeed, Zahawi must focus on skills, social justice, standards and support.

We also hear from Lord Blunkett, who, two decades on from his time as Education Secretary, tells us we must learn the lessons of the past in order to reform the system. “Britain’s strictest headmistress”, Katharine Birbalsingh, stresses the importance of empowering parents. And there’s a debate on grammar schools featuring yours truly.

Away from policy, we catch up with former MP James Frith, hear the latest from Sir Charles Walker on Restoration and Renewal, and meet the first female bishop in the House of Lords, Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek.