Thread 15 Starmer - Nolite te bastardes carborundorum

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5244293-thread-14-starmer-the-starmeristas-strike-back?page=40&reply=141334312

Not sure the public sector workers have time or energy to train and support 100s of prospective politicians in their midst. Can you imagine the photo opportunities?😬

I think we would benefit from having a more representative spread of state educated individuals across politics (both houses), senior CS leadership, law and media.

@Notonthestairs - but how is growing the gap further between those who can pay for an education vs those who cannot, whilst not substantially increasing the state education offering going to achieve that?

More likely private businesses will simply end up hiring more and more overseas talent.

Fees have risen far in excess of inflation (20% plus?) for the last 20 years and p/s pupil numbers have remained largely steady.

By narrowing the gap and fund state education properly?

14 years of underfunding.

Absolutely 💯

As far as I understand it the funding gap is something like £6-7k per pupil, per year between state and p/s children. I don't believe that this spending doesn't transfer in to a different experience of education. There is a reason why every private school offers smaller classes than state schools.

I feel much more strongly about charitable status however - I think that is being misused right, left and centre, pun intended (see also 'think tanks'). Heaven only knows when we will have a government with an appetite to unpick that particular legal problem though.

.

If the voting public refused to vote for someone who hadn't we could make it happen.

Currently in my local FB group(s) there is a lot of whining about the local council. I'm not making too many friends when I point out that around 70% of the electorate are clearly happy with things.

Do we think prospective politicians will pass DBS checks?!

(Do they need to now? I have no idea)

No, they do not

Well, given that politicians and their staff must have to work with/for vulnerable constituents I think they probably should need to pass DBS. It doesn't seem like a massive hurdle.

A really worthwhile exercise would be to know how many MPs would fail a DBS check. They are after all being paid for by us.

My exposure to PS vs comps is limited but I remember a 13 year old me playing cricket in the English schools cup against Oundle School. I overheard a discussion regarding upcoming choices they were making regarding lesson options for the following year. We too were making decisions, which humanity shall we drop, can the timetable accept French and German, could I do both woodwork and metalwork, and/or technical drawing. Turned out they were discussing the sports options, whether to drop hockey in favour of swimming, or to continue with badminton, table tennis, hockey, rugby and cricket. It's a different world, the inhaling different oxygen comment is spot on.

Just reading another thread, waves to lurkers /watchers 😂

Funny how when these threads were called Sunak, nobody called us fan girls

My dc have been doing a sport outside of school since they were in reception. When they got old enough there was/still is an annual national school competition.
Dc from our club are spread over 6 secondary schools, and so shared 1 coach.

Harrow arrived with an entire team of coaches. Oh how I laughed when ds1 beat their players (I know, I'm not perfect). Their overconfidence was not a good look.

This thread is moving very fast and I am trying to keep up. I just want to add point re media and private schools. I subscribe to the i and they (and other papers) seem obsessed with private schools. I do wish that the media would spend a fraction of their time talking about state education. The good and the bad. How schools are doing their best with a shoe string budget, the amazing work of school governors, how schools are closing at a pace (due to various factors). There is some reporting out there but not enough.

Behind paywall

Brussels orders X to hand over documents on algorithm

Brussels has ordered Elon Musk to fully disclose recent changes made to recommendations on X, stepping up an investigation into the role of the social media platform in European politics.

The expanded probe by the European Commission, announced on Friday, requires X to hand over internal documents regarding its recommendation algorithm. The Commission also issued a “retention order” for all relevant documents relating to how the algorithm could be amended in future.

In addition, the EU regulator requested access to information on how the social media network moderates and amplifies content.

www.ft.com/content/a6dc562c-4fa0-4ec6-9f3a-ad3be594bc7c

Anyone got a cat/dog/rabbit/goldfish called Keir? Someone’s asking.

I shout “Here!!!!!!!” repeatedly at my dog when she’s offlead. Maybe they have overheard that and become confused?

It is very amusing how much they care about our thread titles.

Well, that's nice 👋
Every now and then we should include Rayner's name in the thread title. Really give them something to get excited about.

(My dog is called Cooper and my cat is called Lammy if that helps anyone).

Have just listened to Barbalsingh on LBC regarding proposed state school reforms. Marxism was mentioned. She made it clear she didn’t vote Conservative in the last election.

Then if I heard rightly there was another head who seemed to insinuate that even offering GCSE music is “gaming the system”. At which point I switched it off!

Finally catching up on this thread - it's been going along at quite a lick!

RE: the NHS. Yes, spending has reached an all-time high, even under the Tories, but what has been ignored it the fact that because waiting lists were becoming so very long that even the Tories couldn't ignore them any more, they put all that extra money into their friends and donors in the private healthcare system, so not a penny has gone in to improving the infrastructure of the NHS, or providing more doctors or nurses, or anything for the benefit of the NHS in the long term.

Yes & when they had Boris in the title, wonder why that is 🤔