Education, education, education. Tony Blair’s legacy endures at least in the sense that we continue to debate education again and again and again. No one seems to be able to agree what should be taught in our classrooms (viz the attrition of the history curriculum spat) or even if anything should be taught at all (best to let the children develop themselves aka ‘learn to learn’). It has become an unquestionable dogma to make arts education compulsory as a good career move while music teachers and even nursery staff are afraid of any physical contact with their pupils. Meanwhile parents who hope to send their children to private school to escape state-led edu-fads find themselves pilloried by the media and chattering classes. Are we in the throes of a cultural revolution or have we lost belief in the value of education per se?

Introduced by Toby Marshall, Curriculum Manager BA (Hons) Social Welfare and Policy, Havering College of Further and Higher Education