Dr Barry Black

The Promise: Six Years On, Four Years to Deliver - MCR Pathways Scotland is six years into The Promise, but there is still some distance to cover. Discover how MCR Pathways is using mentoring to deliver real change by 2030.

Incredibly strong and evidenced article from MCR Pathways on delivery of the Promise here.

Including this from board member Susanne Richards: “We are halfway through The Promise, but nowhere near halfway through its delivery.”

mcrpathways.org/news/the-pro...

Put a tenner on 0-0 at Pittodrie today. My thought was the storm like weather and two struggling teams would produce a borefest.

Eight goals and two red cards later shows how much I know about football…

"If the state is to invest in the education of all children, then asking the families who purchase a premium tier of schooling to contribute a little more is not radical. It is common sense."

Will this be the defining legacy of the VAT policy?

Thank you for sharing and engaging with the post really appreciated!

Nearly a third of kids can't use books when starting school - and try to swipe them like phones Staff also report around 28% of children started school unable to eat and drink independently, and 25% had difficulty with basic life skills.

Heartbreakingly sad findings

‘Nearly a third of kids can't use books when starting school - and try to swipe them like phones’

news.sky.com/story/nearly...

Merry Christmas Everyone 🎄

Early Christmas celebration in our wee house today, and an excellent Christmas dinner if I say so myself 🎄

A fantastically fun evening at Parkhill Secondary’s Christmas show: Toy Story the musical 🎄

Policy Analysis: Why VAT on private school fees will raise more than planned, and why it matters Policy analysis of a debate I was privileged enough to be involved in last year

Policy Analysis: Why VAT on private school fees will raise more than planned, and why it matters

barryblack.substack.com/p/policy-ana...

Policy Analysis: Why VAT on private school fees will raise more than planned, and why it matters Policy analysis of a debate I was privileged enough to be involved in last year

Some policy analysis about VAT on private school fees, why it is set to raise more than originally forecast, and why this matters.

Please read, share, and subscribe for more!

open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...

Thought this was a very interesting piece from Barry. I wasn't aware that the OBR had revised the revenue from VAT on private school fees up. I have had people tell me "this is the politics of envy" and that I was wrong to think private schools are businesses, so good to see this policy analysis.

Thanks Kate, an interesting part of the budget lost in the wider debate of it all - not least the process!

Policy Analysis: Why VAT on private school fees will raise more than planned, and why it matters Policy analysis of a debate I was privileged enough to be involved in last year

Some policy analysis about VAT on private school fees, why it is set to raise more than originally forecast, and why this matters.

Please read, share, and subscribe for more!

open.substack.com/pub/barrybla...

www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...

Schools deserve far better than this hapless exam body Reforming education governance is often a tool used to appear as if action to deal with the issues within an education system is being taken. That doesn’t mean

That call: www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...

Why Scotland's exam body - the SQA - has been scrapped Qualifications Scotland comes into being on Tuesday but is it any more than a rebranding of the existing exams agency?

I was among the first to call for this. January 4th 2021. My call was rubbished and told there were no plans. A few months later it was Government policy.

The reform hasn’t taken the shape I or many others wanted, but hopefully a page has been turned

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

As I, and others, predicted there has not been an exodus of pupils from private schools due to VAT on fees, partly because the price point is not a factor in accessing private education.

The policy is set to raise *more* than originally forecast.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Very much looking forward to the Kilbrandon Lecture by @carlenefirmin.bsky.social in the resplendent Barony Hall this evening

As I, and others, predicted there has not been an exodus of pupils from private schools due to VAT on fees, partly because the price point is not a factor in accessing private education.

The policy is set to raise *more* than originally forecast.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

I have always thought that the value of a Covid inquiry would have been setting out a future framework for how the prioritisation of rights work in an emergency. So many rights violated (many of that necessary which is my point) with so little reflection or those decisions.

SNP blew £1 billion failing to close the educational attainment gap. Labour must learn from its mistakes – Barry Black The SNP’s failure to improve the exam results of the poorest children shows the need to focus on tackling child poverty. Labour should rethink its approach

Two years ago (time flies!) I wrote about why Labour need to scrap the two child benefit cap - for many reasons - including if we as a society want to meaningfully reduce education inequalities.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

SNP blew £1 billion failing to close the educational attainment gap. Labour must learn from its mistakes – Barry Black The SNP’s failure to improve the exam results of the poorest children shows the need to focus on tackling child poverty. Labour should rethink its approach

Two years ago (time flies!) I wrote about why Labour need to scrap the two child benefit cap - for many reasons - including if we as a society want to meaningfully reduce education inequalities.

www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Saturday night kitchen 🐟

‘I had never supported Universal Free School Meals. Then I looked at the evidence.’

barryblack.substack.com/p/i-had-neve...

Totally agree! I was at primary sqchool in the early 2000s, and they used to come round and sell dinner tickets in the morning, with different coloured tickets for free school meals. Of course didn’t think much of it at the time but it is Jaw dropping looking back.

‘I had never supported Universal Free School Meals. Then I looked at the evidence.’

barryblack.substack.com/p/i-had-neve...

The Oversight Board | Monitoring Scotland's promise The Oversight Board monitors whether Scotland is keeping its promise to children, young people, and families.

A really engaging day in Edinburgh for my first meeting as a member of the Promise Oversight Board, reflecting on previous reports, looking ahead to measuring progress in the next year, and hearing from the Chief Social Work Adviser.

oversightboard.scot

La Mesa in Paisley tonight with the tremendous @mrdissent.bsky.social 🍀

Grilling ☀️

They were absolutely tremendous, really nice and sweet