Academy of Ideas

As war breaks out in Ukraine, the Academy of Ideas team is joined by Professor Frank Furedi and international affairs correspondent Mary Dejevsky to discuss Vladimir Putin's invasion and the fallout among Western nations.

Articles discussed in the podcast: Patrick Cockburn in the Independent / Tom McTague in the Atlantic / Brendan O'Neill in spiked

Panel discussion organised by the Academy of Ideas Education Forum on 21 February 2022.

INTRODUCTION As the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) approaches its 30th birthday, many are increasingly concerned that Ofsted is becoming overly political and moralistic and insufficiently educational in its approach. The anniversary of Ofsted’s creation seems a good moment to take stock.

Ofsted employs more than a thousand people and has an annual budget of close to £130 million. For this, it takes responsibility for regularly inspecting all publicly funded schools and colleges in England. In addition to setting the agenda of her inspection teams, Ofsted’s head, Amanda Spielman, writes a widely read annual report on the state of state education. Spielman herself has strong educational, political and moral opinions, and intervenes regularly in public debates. Last year, for example, she rejected calls to decolonise the school curriculum.

Ofsted was established in 1992 in the final phase of the Thatcherite reform of English state education. The creation of a national inspectorate that reported in public followed the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1989, as well as a new national examination system that included the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Results from these national exams were from this point onwards reported in national league tables, in which the performance of all state schools was ranked.

At the time, many teachers opposed this power grab from central government, and these criticisms have continued to be voiced. For many, Ofsted represents an unwarranted extension of central state control over education, as well as a mechanism by which the autonomy and the professionalism of teachers has been undermined. It is certainly true that teachers in England experience extraordinary levels of central state control and that Ofsted is one of the mechanisms by which this control is exercised. However, sociologist Stephen Ball perhaps overstates the case when he describes the accountability pressures experienced by English state-school teachers as giving rise to the ‘terror of performativity’.

It was under the government of John Major that Ofsted was first introduced. As we might expect, his account of its purpose differs from that of its critics. Writing in his autobiography, he observes that when he came into office, producers – rather than consumers – controlled public services and that health and education in particular was ‘run carelessly, wastefully, arrogantly … more for the convenience of the providers than the users, whether they were parents, pupils or patients’.

More recently, however, Ofsted has faced criticism from conservatives. They argue that Ofsted has been captured by progressivist educators, who are using the inspection system to impose woke values on education. Ofsted, the conservatives allege, has become a cuckoo institution, a mechanism by which a progressivist elite lodged within the state are imposing their values on young people. This charge could not be more serious, as Ofsted ought to remain impartial on matters that divide the nation morally and politically. It is, after all, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate.

Is Ofsted now exceeding its official remit? Do we even need a national inspectorate when we have a national examination system? Can state-employed teachers be trusted to do the job for which they are paid and trained? Is it time that we inspected the inspectors?

SPEAKERS Neil Davenport writer and teacher

Rowenna Davis teacher; former journalist and Labour Party parliamentary candidate; new mum and community organiser

Alex Kenny secondary school teacher and NEU Executive member

Joseph Robertson director, Orthodox Conservatives think tank; education research fellow, The Bow Group

CHAIR Toby Marshall teacher and member of the AoI Education Forum

Recording of the Academy of Ideas International Salon panel discussion on 3 February 2022.

https://academyofideas.org.uk/event/boiling-point-russia-and-the-west/

INTRODUCTION:

Russian troops on the border of Ukraine, riots in Kazakhstan, brutal suppression of recent protests in Belarus, talk of a new Cold War, threats of catastrophic sanctions from America, and demands from Russia for new security guarantees. As negotiations begin between Russia and the West, how do we make sense of the confusing – and highly charged – state of East-West relations?

Why have tensions continued to rachet up in the first place? Is there some validity to Russian security concerns amidst the enlargement of NATO and the EU, or is Russia to blame for seeking to expand its sphere of influence? Is this a genuine opportunity for Biden and Putin to lower tensions, or even negotiate a new settlement for relations between the West and Russia, after the chaotic collapse of the Soviet Union? Or is this just a prelude to further hostilities? Why does the whole area of the former Soviet Union seem such a hotbed of geopolitical tensions today?

SPEAKERS:

Mary Dejevsky

international affairs correspondent, Independent

Professor Frank Furedi

sociologist and commentator; author, 100 Years of Identity Crisis: culture war over socialisation

CHAIR: Jacob Reynolds

partnerships manager, Academy of Ideas

This is a recording from the Arts & Society Forum event - What’s in store for the arts in 2022? - that took place on 10 January 2022: https://fb.me/e/7cT8pWcle

What can we expect of the arts in 2022? On the one hand, the measures taken to protect us against COVID19 have imposed onerous restrictions on the arts, closing down theatres, museums, galleries and most other venues. But the arts seem to be returning to life with renewed (if somewhat cautious) energy.

On the other hand, controversy continues to dog the arts, whether it’s what to put on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, sponsors and patrons with unsavoury histories, artists who fall foul of new moral codes, or increasing calls for censorship and cancellation. These controversies might help to keep the arts in the public eye, but what impact do they have on artistic development and production? What can we expect in terms of new work of artistic merit?

As 2022 gets started, after two years of hiatus and disruption, can we expect things to get better or worse? Are there any potential events or developments that we can anticipate with excitement or dread? How will the arts respond to the challenges likely to face us in 2022? How will each of the arts fare in the coming year?

Listen to Niall Crowley, Jonathan Grant, Rachel Jordon, Michael Nath, Vicky Richardson and Wendy Earle discuss.

For our first Sportscast of Ideas of 2022, Geoff Kidder is joined by Academy of Ideas colleagues Alastair Donald and Rob Lyons, with special guest and Aussie, Charlie Pearson.

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

WHAT ARE WESTERN VALUES - AND SHOULD WE DEFEND THEM?

A new #BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021:
 https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/what-are-western-values-and-should-we-defend-them/

The recent abandonment of Afghanistan by the UK and the US is widely seen as a humiliating defeat for the West. Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the hurried exit and its consequences have led to a soul-searching discussion about what the West really means today. Are we prepared to fight for Western values, and do we even agree on what Western values are?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

THE POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY: HOW IS IT GOING?

A new#BattleFestrecording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/the-post-pandemic-recovery-how-is-it-going/

Will the post-pandemic recovery continue? Why has the UK economy experienced such a long period of relative stagnation, with productivity barely growing for years? What, if anything, can be done to change this dynamic? How can living standards be boosted in more deprived areas? The Covid-related economic crisis is itself unlikely to ‘change everything’, but to what extent could it be the catalyst for accelerating economic changes already underway?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

CAN SPORT SURVIVE THE CULTURE WARS?

A new#BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/can-sport-survive-the-culture-wars/

Is sport in danger of being consumed by these wider cultural issues or is it part of a healthy cleansing process? Is the praise heaped upon Biles and Osaka a sign that sport needs to change to put athletes wellbeing first?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

CARE FOR THE ELDERLY: THE FORGOTTEN MINORITY?

A new#BattleFestrecording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/care-for-the-elderly-the-forgotten-minority/

Negative attitudes to the elderly go far beyond financial support. Long before COVID, social policy has been ambivalent about increased longevity. Far from being treated as unalloyed good news, the trend has often been problematised as a demographic time bomb, a financial burden to be paid for by the young and a drain on the NHS. Are these problems solely down to governments? If politicians have out-sourced elderly care, have some families themselves done the same, with Covid only highlighting the underlying weaknesses in intergenerational family bonds? How should we view care of the elderly in the future? What lessons have we learnt from the pandemic?

Thanks for listening to the BattleFest podcast - you can support us by subscribing, sharing and leaving us a review. Check back next week for more recordings from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021.

FROM GB NEWS TO BEN & JERRY’S: BOYCOTTS OR CENSORSHIP?

A new#BattleFest recording from the Battle of Ideas festival 2021: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/from-gb-news-to-ben-jerrys-boycotts-or-censorship/

If boycotts are simply legitimate expressions of preference or political opinion, can we complain about them? Or, if they stray into the territory of suppressing political debate, do they then become more of a threat? Are boycotts an attack on free expression or a weapon for those fighting for accountability? How has the use of boycotts changed over the years, and why have they become so contentious?