[slilley]

I see the ever lovely Julia Hartley-Brewer this morning was trying very hard to pin this on the last Labour Government on the grounds the first warnings about this concrete were raised in 1995.

Labour of course had a programme in place to rebuild every secondary school in England, which Michael Gove stopped almost on his first day of taking office. he has since described that as the worst decision he ever made.

[Andy McDandy]

So the Tories had 2 years to get things started, and didn't, then after 13 years in opposition nixed what plans there were? Not a great defence, Jools.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

And then Ricky himself cut the inadequate budget by 45%...

[Watchman]

Whats the situation re academy chains and free schools; my understanding is that all ownership of land etc was passed over from LEA control to Gove's mates. With the understanding that they had "control" of all their finances, resources etc and therefore had to manage out of their own budget.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

That was my understanding, although special arrangements may be made for this.

[Oboogie]

Hunt says there will be no new money for repairs. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 04280.html

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Gillian Keegan thinks she's done 'a fucking good job'.

Insane...

[Malcolm Armsteen]

She's now saying she meant the reporter and not her cabinet colleagues (chinny reckon) and blaming him for asking her probing questions. Never her own responsibility, is it?

I wonder if parents think she's been doing a fucking good job as they try to arrange childcare and their kids either start learning at home again, in a portakabin or under a roof of Damocles? I suspect not.

Ricky Sunshine also looking shifty as fuck. Gove emulating Hendrick Van der Vecken.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Good Labour attack.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Absolutely embarrassing from Keegan.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I see the ever lovely Julia Hartley-Brewer this morning was trying very hard to pin this on the last Labour Government on the grounds the first warnings about this concrete were raised in 1995.

Pathetic argument from somebody who has no idea (or purports to have no idea) about prioritisation. It could have been 1895 that the issue was identified, for all that it matters. The view Labour took that it wasn't particularly urgent seems to have been correct, in that the shit didn't hit the fan till 2023. It's not like there wasn't lots of other stuff to be done as well.

I don't know if Julia's ever had a regular job, with long and short term priorities. Let's imagine she has, and picture Julia working away diligently on the more urgent stuff, and getting a well-deserved promotion. She leaves detailed hand over notes for her successor, with the stuff that will need sorting in the future.

She'd presumably have been a bit non-plussed to have a calll from her successor saying "I've a bone to pick with you, Julia, you knew about this problem 5 years ago, your fault it wasn't fixed!"

[satnav]

When the school I work at was taken over by an academy trust the trust sent in a team of surveyors and architects to give the buildings a thorough inspection before the takeover was finalised. I assume that if they had found any major problems the Trust would have delayed the takeover until the issues had be dealt with.

Today we had a training day at school and part of the training included the various departments analyzing their exam results.
The most interesting results were the Maths results because last year the Maths department moved from the inadequate temporary classrooms to the main school building. This years results showed a big improvement and for the first time in years the head of Maths was pleased to announce that he was starting the year with a full department of qualified Maths teachers. This would suggest that the state of classrooms and buildings do have an impact on teaching and learning.

[Andy McDandy]

JHB has passed the point in media work where it goes from precarious to permanent. Or at least, there's another well paid gig lined up for you if you do cock up.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha.ha.

Pure ignorance.

[Rosvanian]

My missus was back to her ramshackled hotch- potch of a school today (kids back tomorrow). The dodgy concrete assessment is in: school library shut, reception area and one main corridor also affected but still open with the instruction to staff "don't knock any nails in the walls".

[kreuzberger]

Today's nonsense and intemperate outbursts might have born us a new addition to the English language.

"Farceholes."

[Watchman]

John’s not very bright is he?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

John’s not very bright is he?

I sometimes wonder if he's doing a Klinger.

[Abernathy]

Getting serious again, I can’t help, in considering this shocking scandal, but be reminded of the Aberfan tragedy of 1966, when 116 schoolchildren and 28 adults were killed by a massive coal spoil heap that slid down a hillside and engulfed the primary school in the village below. A spoil heap that the National Coal Board knew about and was warned about repetedly, but did nothing about. I actually visited Aberfan a couple of years ago, and went to both the town’s cemetery, and the site of the Pantglas junior school, now a memorial garden. It was a sombre and sobering experience, let me tell you.

I might be wrong in making the comparison, but I do think that this is, at least potentially, just as serious.

[kreuzberger]

Aberfan ...

It's my first public memory. We stood silently in the playground at my primary school. I was five.

Everything came flooding back when this story broke. So, yes. I think that comparisons are more than valid.