SATS

    If teachers are allowed to contribute to the assessment of their pupils' progress then they are in effect being permitted to assess themselves and their school.   What parents need when selecting a primary school for their child and what society needs is an objective measurement of how well each primary school is performing so that those schools which are failing to provide the basic skills required by every pupil starting secondary education can be identified and dealt with.

 

 

It may well make sense to use a floating three-year average to rank a school fairly but let's not confuse that with allowing the players to referee the match which is in effect what is being suggested here.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13875671#dna-comments

 

John Waghorne

Re: Beware Of Greeks

John

>>I know it's a bit unfair but there's a certain amount of truth in the
caricature that while the Germans are working their socks off producing
excellent products and saving for their old age the Greeks are sunning
themselves on the beach glugging back their wine subsidised by the
Germans.<<

In a nut shell. Socialism at its best. Left left left...strike strike
strike

Jimmy Dunn
Edinburgh
Scotland

http://www.visitlothians.co.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimjdunn/

England thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved on the mountains afar
Oh! For the crags that are wild and magestic
The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar.

Beware Of Greeks

Nearly all the pundits seem to think a Greek default of some sort is
inevitable and discussion is moving towards deciding which would be the
least damaging way for Europe, (never mind Greece) for that to be done.
The exception appears to be EU leaders who remain convinced that just a bit
more money thrown at the problem will end the crisis or, at least delay the
crisis until they are out of power and their successors are left to clean up
the mess.

I know it's a bit unfair but there's a certain amount of truth in the
caricature that while the Germans are working their socks off producing
excellent products and saving for their old age the Greeks are sunning
themselves on the beach glugging back their wine subsidised by the Germans.
If a default of some sort is really inevitable then surely it is far better
to manage the process and the subsequent way back to solvency for Greece
than just to let it happen in some uncontrolled way that could lead to
further problems for other EU countries.

John Waghorne

Another Climb Down

It appears that the govt have decided to drop proposals to increase the
discount for an early guilty plea from a third to half.

Had they acknowledged that this measure was designed purely to save money as
prison sentences for those pleading guilty quickly would have been reduced
and thus the costs of keeping them in prison would be reduced than I could
see the point of it but that was not their argument. They claimed that it
would reduce the number of cases that go right through to the trial date
before the punter finally pleads guilty so that all the costs of preparing
the case have already been incurred and, of course, that it would save
witnesses the stress of giving evidence on more occasions.

I really don't think, from my experience, that it works like that.
Solicitors are directed to inform their clients of the 1/3 discount before
they plead and most of them are going to give their clients responsible
advice on the likelihood of being convicted at trial once they have seen the
evidence against the client. Increasing the discount is unlikely to change
that advice.

The reason why so many cases go right through to the trial date before a
change of plea is that where the evidence leaves some issues to be argued
experienced defendants may decide to hang on to see if prosecution witnesses
actually turn up on the day. If they do then they grab for the 1/10
discount that is still available and plead guilty at the last minute.

I don't think increasing the discount for early guilty pleas would impact on
this situation to the smallest extent.

One way of reducing costs in the criminal justice system would, of course,
be to increase magistrates' sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months. That
way a higher proportion of cases could be dealt with by magistrates' courts
which are a helluva lot cheaper than are crown courts.

That does not mean that mags would hand down longer sentences than now but
that could deal with cases that currently have to be passed up to Crown
court simply because if the punter is convicted the sentence is likely to
exceed our powers so we decline jurisdiction.

I do not know how much money that would save but whereas crown courts are
over-worked many magistrates courts are short of work as a result of so many
minor offences being dealt with by fixed penalty notices handed out by the
police.

John Waghorne

RE: Now I hadn't Thought Of That!

John

>>I did raise the issue of who the public would support if the public sector  but I was a bit tentative about it.unions really did manage to impact on the general public by going on strike<<<

I do not know if you saw Andrew Marr this morning.   They had the Union leader of the PCS. They just cannot help themselves.  He had to get his *Tory Rich Boy* in.  He was clearly out of his depth just answering simple question.  Andrew was very easy on him.   If that is what the union members pay to defend their rights.. Well what can I say

>>Is Cameron really that smart? Thatcher was but Cameron is certainly no  Thatcher.<<

No he is no Thatcher.  But he is no numpty either.   I said  about two weeks ago that when Cable addressed the TUC about strikes.  Legislation is right now on the desk waiting to be implemented to curb the excesses of the crackpots.   If Cameron had any sense he would implement the Union Law now.   After the disaster left by the socialist, the UK is in no financial position to humour those nuts. Thatcher would not have hesitated.   As I keep saying, we are still at the good bit.

>>And it's Labour that has the Balls.<<

Thank christ for that.   He wants a tax cut of £51 billon.   So does everybody.  But he had not a clue how to implement it.  In true socialist fashion.   All the statements,  but when ask how... A blank look 

Jimmy Dunn
Edinburgh
Scotland
 
http://www.visitlothians.co.uk/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimjdunn/
 
England thy beauties are tame and domestic
    To one who has roved on the mountains afar
         Oh! For the crags that are wild and magestic
               The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar. 
 
 

Now I hadn't Thought Of That!

I did raise the issue of who the public would support if the public sector
unions really did manage to impact on the general public by going on strike
but I was a bit tentative about it.

I had also wondered about how tough the coalition really could be with their
somewhat ambiguous mandate and I certainly questioned their determination to
fight the good fight after their surrender to the bested interests of the
medical profession but Ed Balls may have hit on something.

Is Cameron really that smart? Thatcher was but Cameron is certainly no
Thatcher.

And it's Labour that has the Balls.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13826271

Exploitation?

When I first heard Davies' proposal I had some sympathy for it but on
reflection it's a thoroughly bad. It may allow a few additional disabled
people into employment but it opens the way to exploitation of some of the
most vulnerable.

If you have a minimum wage law then it must include everybody, not just
those strong enough to defend themselves against unscrupulous employers.

There are ways of levelling the playing field for disabled people in the
area of employment with anti-discrimination laws having a place and govt
support schemes to fund any additional costs an employer might incur also
being very important but I suspect that in times when jobs are not easy to
find anybody who isn't a gold-plated candidate (and that, of course,
includes disabled people) are at a marked disadvantage.

Something that I have observed over the decades in the UK is how far too
many disabled people do seem to be content to live on and campaign for
higher state benefits rather than pushing harder for jobs. It isn't
universal, of course, as I can quote plenty of examples of severely impaired
people working hard and earning a decent living but far too many have
encountered and far too many of the organisations representing them do focus
heavily on levels of benefits.

I don't know how many employment consultants in job centres specialise in
dealing with disabled people these days but back in the sixties there
certainly were officers, DROs, who dealt with disabled people and BPROs who
specialised in helping blind people to find jobs. Society and disabled
people themselves *expected* to work and many employers were very open to
employing them.

And, of course, for those whose impairments made them unsuitable for
employment in "open industry" there were networks of sheltered workshops
where they worked to the best of their ability and received a subsidised
wage. They had all those intangible benefits of employment even if the
public subsidised them to some extent they had the dignity of knowing they
were making a contribution.

From my more recent involvement that has all changed. Society and disabled
people seem to have lower aspirations and apparently employers are less
open-minded.

Still, making employing disabled people an exception to the minimum wage
rules is not the answer.

John Waghorne

Car Crash

Alan Milburn is saying most of what I feel.

This cowardly lame duck govt has backed down to the "forces of conservatism
and reaction", namely the medical trade unions and has come up with a set of
changes to healthcare which will probably result in more bureaucracy, less
patient choice, worse outcomes for patients as services are squeezed by
falling productivity and higher costs than is currently the case.

We have missed the chance to end this state monopoly for yet another
generation and those of us who are getting older and likely to need medical
treatment more than are our younger fellow citizens are going to suffer
inferior services as a result.

Competition would force up standards in the hospital sector except, of
course, now there won't be any worth talking about and allowing hospital
doctors and nurses onto commissioning boards is like allowing the poachers
to participate in the process for selecting gamekeepers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13786924

John Waghorne

Re: Alternative History

John

>>If this is a genuine text then he at least unlike the current leadership
>>understood that if Labour were to regain the trust of the voters on the
>>economy they have to accept full responsibility for the situation we find
>>ourselves in and take urgent steps to reduce the deficit.<<

I do not consider for one moment this is genuine. When Ed the Red defeated
his brother he refused to be part of the opposition front bench, That was
a very shrewd move. He knows Ed the Red pay masters the Unions are hell
bent on destroying the economy of the country by what ever means. And
that is left left left ..strike strike strike. The Arabs are having their
spring. We are about to embark upon and witness a Union Summer. It could
not be more obvious when Cable, who would be at home with the loonie hard
socialist left of the Labour Party was booed by the TUC, by warning them of
this folly. Isn't it just marvellous what a quick shifty of the books can
achieve. But Ed the Red has been ordered by his union bosses .. Do not
listen. They are still in denial regarding the deficit and will not be
satisfied as they move further to the left and the economy has been totally
destroyed. David knows that at the next election Labour face total
decimation such as the Tories suffered in Scotland. They have still not
recovered. In the last election the same happened to Labour in their own
heart land. That was even despite a Parliamentary system so designed
that Labour could not loose. The English voter saved their bacon. But
will it the next time. Well to me it seems not. David Milliband is
clearly putting down his marker. As did Cable. They both knows what the
voter think and wants to hear. In the case of Cable after two minutes in
government they realise they can no longer have manifestos, like Sheridan's
socialists that promise free this and free that. David Milliband foot is
in the door for the election after the next. In the case of the link to
Balls. I have said this already and I will say again. A law should be
passed that stipulate both Ed Ball and Gordon Brown should never ever again
be allowed near public money.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/business-minister-cable-booed-strike-warning-112242585.html

Jimmy Dunn
Edinburgh
Scotland

http://www.visitlothians.co.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimjdunn/

England thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved on the mountains afar
Oh! For the crags that are wild and magestic
The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar.

Alternative History

I gather the Graud has today published the text of the speech that the other
Milibrand, David, would have made had he and not his brother won the contest
for the leadership of the Labour party.

If this is a genuine text then he at least unlike the current leadership
understood that if Labour were to regain the trust of the voters on the
economy they have to accept full responsibility for the situation we find
ourselves in and take urgent steps to reduce the deficit.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002413/Speech-David-Miliband-given-Labour-leader.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

And then, of course, the Telegraph publishes compelling evidence of how
Brown and the Labour govt were warned by senior civil servants that govt
spending was out of control long before the credit crunch.

As the old saying goes, the time to mend the roof is when the sun is out.
The Germans did, Labour did not.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13736406

etc

John Waghorne

Pay Your Share

Robert Gates, in his farewell speech, has warned the European wing of NATO
that the American taxpayer, up to his eyes in debt, may not be prepared to
subsidised their security much longer.

The US has expended huge amounts of both blood and treasury, sometimes it
has to be said unwisely, as Europe largely sat on its hands making only
token gestures of political support.

Europe needs to take a greater share of the defence burden onto its budget
but of course if we do that then America must realise that the quid pro quo
will have to be a greater political influence over the actions that NATO
takes.

John Waghorne

Re: So Who Voted For Him?

John

>>However as an unelected office-holder is he really the right person to be
>>offering such high-profile criticism?<<

He is entitled to an opinion. But he is a religious crackpot, brought
about by a church that was invented by a king so he could shag somebody
else's wife. So that about sums up his position. But as I understand,
churches like the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church are some
of the richest institutes in the world. Indeed the head of one of them
known as Her Majesty, is one of the richest woman in the world. So do you
not think if the Queen, the Church of England and the RC Church got
together and in a civic gesture gave all their money away to the starving
and the poor who cannot afford the latest 42 inch super dooper digi telly.
Instead of doing a loonie socialist left moan on how to spend everybody
else's money

Jimmy Dunn
Edinburgh
Scotland

http://www.visitlothians.co.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimjdunn/

England thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved on the mountains afar
Oh! For the crags that are wild and magestic
The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar.

So Who Voted For Him?

The chief druid has been at the communion wine again.

He has just noticed that we have a coalition govt and, as a govt which
nobody voted for, it is implementing policies which it can be argued nobody
voted for and is no doubt failing to implement policies that many people
voted for. That is the nature of coalition govts and the major reason why
we should avoid them like the plague as they give the politicians far too
much opportunity for avoiding the will of the voters.

However as an unelected office-holder is he really the right person to be
offering such high-profile criticism?

Oh, and who voted for his policies?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13706710

John Waghorne

A Welcome Change Of Heart

Mostly I'm annoyed how spineless this govt is but I am pleased Ken Clarke is
having second thoughts about increasing the discount on sentence for an
early guilty plea. If a third off doesn't persuade somebody to plead then
I doubt if half will.

Besides, I don't think it works like that. A decent solicitor will advise
a guilty plea to claim any discount available if the evidence looks as if a
conviction is pretty certain so I doubt increasing that discount will make
much difference or save much money in practice. And the old hands know
that it's always worth pleading "not guilty" on less evidence than that and
wait until the day of the trial to see if the prosecution witnesses turn up
on the day and then change the plea to guilty claiming the 10% discount
currently available.

I doubt if Ken's proposal would have changed that.

John Waghorne

Playboy Returns

Two stories with, I think, a not very subtle linkage.

I am concerned by the way our children are exposed to sexual images and
references so early in their lives and I do wonder if this contributes to
the "post-feminist" trend that so annoys my Mrs as young women seem to have
one main ambition, to be a celebrity based on their looks or to marry a
footballer. What happened to wanting to be PM or Astronomer Royal?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13641451

Which may explain why the women objecting to the re-opening of London's
Playboy club are on a hiding to nothing.

From what I hear Playboy is pretty tame stuff compared to some of the bars
and clubs on pretty much every high street these days.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Womens-Rights-Group-Slam-Hugh-Hefner-After-He-Re-Launches-His-Playboy-Club-In-London/Video/201106116005281?DCMP=News-search-sslc&lid=VIDEO_16005281_WomensRightsGroupSlamHughHefnerAfterHeRe-LaunchesHisPlayboyClubInLondon&lpos=searchresults

John Waghorne

The Money Wins

It's a great mistake to run the Bahrain GP this autumn.

Even if there are no more killings and no more suppression of opposition
protests on the island surely the race is going to be a focus for activists.
And what sort of message does it send out to the repressive regimes of the
region other than "business as usual" and sod democracy.

John Waghorne