The Ferret: DfE statistics may not tell the whole story
The Ferret
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
It was Mark Twain who popularised the quote, "there are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics!".
As Education Secretary, not to mention a graduate of economics from Trinity College, Oxford, you'd think Damian Hinds would be well versed in the use of statistics.
However, it seems that for the second time in less than a year Hinds has fallen into the Twain trap of misquoting statistics.
Last October, chair of the UK Statistics Authority Sir David Norgrove wrote to Hinds regarding concerns over his - and the Department for Education's - use of statistics when speaking to the media.
One of the instances raised in Sir David's letter was a claim by the Education Secretary that "1.9 million more children are now in ‘good' or ‘outstanding' schools since 2010". Sir David said the figure "while accurate, as far as it goes does not give a full picture", and should instead be set in the context of increased pupil numbers and changes to inspections.
However, the rap over the knuckles appears to have gone unnoticed, as the DfE repeated the figures last month when launching a new round of free school application criteria.
Ferret suspects another letter from Sir David will be winging its way to Hinds very shortly!
Donkey Kong achieves high score for Mermaids
Last month, Ferret highlighted how the Big Lottery Fund - or the National Lottery Community Fund as it has recently been renamed - had decided to review a £500,000 grant it made to Mermaids in light of complaints about the gender dysphoria charity from a number of high-profile individuals.
Before the issue was resolved in favour of Mermaids, YouTuber Hbomberguy, aka Harry Brewis, stepped forward to help raise cash for the charity by playing a marathon session of computer game Donkey Kong.
While Ferret spent many an hour in his youth playing Donkey Kong on his Commodore 64, this pales into insignificance compared with Brewis clocking up 57 hours of non-stop gaming, all the while being watched by tens of thousands of people on YouTube.
Brewis originally aimed to raise $3,000 (£2,300) but ended up receiving $340,000 (£264,000) in donations for the charity.
Brexit warning over school meal nutrition
As "Brexit Day" on 29 March fast approaches, concerns are growing about what could happen if the UK exits the European Union (EU) without a deal.
Recent headlines suggest things could get rather messy, with medical supplies running short, ports clogged with lorries and even some of the nation's favourite ice creams running out.
Now latest guidance from the DfE suggests even school dinners could be affected. The briefing tells schools they can be "flexible" on the meals they serve in the event of food shortages caused by a no-deal Brexit. Could this mean school dinners returning to the pre-Jamie Oliver dark days?
However, fear not, Ferret may have a solution. In the event of a no-deal Brexit the DfE has said that it may need to lend some of its staff to other departments to help supply "mission critical" items like food and medicines. Ferret foresees a brigade of battle-hardened DfE policy wonks undergoing a crash course in Mrs Beeton-style cooking to be sent to help in school canteens across the land.
Foster carers take issue with gloomy report
Coverage in the national press of the Fostering Network's recent State of the Nation report certainly put the cat among the pigeons of the foster care twitterati.
The report, based on a survey of more than 4,000 Fostering Network members, highlighted a lack of support, funding and training for foster carers.
On Twitter, one foster carer said the report painted an unduly negative picture of the role. "Foster carers are in a better place than the report or the survey would have us believe," he said.
The Observer's coverage was accompanied by an opinion piece by writer Lemn Sissay, who said the safety of looked-after children is being put at risk because they are placed with foster carers lacking sufficient skills and qualifications.
One commentator said Sissay's piece "lacked nuance" and would deter potential foster carers. Another went further describing it as "one of the most inaccurate articles about fostering I have known".
Latest Ofsted figures show a fall in the number of foster carers last year - there's little in the report and coverage to suggest this will help reverse that decline.
Duchess of Cambridge helps launch FamilyLine
All-round good egg the Duchess of Cambridge helped charity Family Action launch its new FamilyLine helpline for families recently. The Duchess met FamilyLine staff and volunteers and talked with three families and a group of young carers supported by the charity. She also met FamilyLine volunteers and managers during a training session about maternal mental ill health and watched a short film made to highlight the issue of maternal mental health.