Following the departure of Lord Adonis as schools minister in the ministerial reshuffle, there was a significant debate about the future of academy schools, which Tony Blair had backed and Adonis had championed, but about which Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Gordon Brown appear to be rather lukewarm.
At the same time, questions have been raised about the credibility with employers of the new 14 to 19 diplomas, while other commentators were asserting that the old "gold standard" A-levels were no longer "fit for purpose".
All this took me back to the old debate about the purpose of education - to what extent is it about leading young people into personal growth and development and to what extent is it about equipping young people with specific skills. In between lies the contested territory of soft skills, to which all kinds of non-formal education proclaims to engender in young people.
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