Frowning Street

Just back from the first Mock Cabinet meeting - part of a new initiative by the Downing Street Project to see if putting together a group of diverse people correctly reflecting modern society, will change the way we make decisions. As Minister for Education, I played things safe and tried to push through a curriculum change at Key Stage 1 Level - the introduction of a Talking Hour, to put language on a separate footing to literacy. Language is the horse, literacy is the cart. Without children first grasping the power and importance of language they can't appreciate the value of literacy. It is possible to function at a very high level without literacy, as numerous highly successful Dyslexics like Richard Branson, Richard Rogers, Susan Hampshire and AA Gill attest; it is not possible to function at a very high level if you don't have the vocabulary and the confidence to express yourself, including expressing your needs... Alas, the ministers around the table who are teachers did not feel separating the two added value, and the parents were torn over the idea that the results of Year 2 SATS tests be used only for administrative and teaching purposes. The one point they did agree was increased help for stragglers in Years 3 and 4 and there was consensus on literacy standards for teachers being raised from GCSE Grade C, to GCSE Grade A or A*. It is a paper with which I shall have to limp back to the virtual ministry and readdress!! The founder of DSP and the game that is Mock Cabinet, is Indra Adnan, a convert to, and proselytiser of, soft power. Not sure I was very soft. The chap at Work and Pensions, however, had all his ideas passed virtually unanimously: that said, who's going to say no to a 21 hour week? Quite how it works when you have the same overheads as before, I don't know, but I suspect that will be clarified in the next round of consultations.... The debate was far more intense than I'd imagined and there are some seriously bright sparks limbering up for action. Not an easy ride, which suggests this initiative might just work! More men would be good, though. So hot in London today. After nearly six hours of intense and energising brainstorming it's a relief to come home, throw off smart clothes and slob around in a tee shirt with a Shepherd's Pie in the oven...