• Front Page
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Search
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Menu

ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
  • Front Page
  • Newsletters
    • Digital Education
    • Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
  • RSS
  • Search
  • Info
    • Welcome
    • The "About" Page
    • Testimonials
    • CV/Resumé
    • My Writing
    • Published articles
  • Corrections Policy
Sherlock Holmes, by Terry Freedman

Sherlock Holmes, by Terry Freedman

Let's keep the arms length body at arms length

October 24, 2022

The Department for Education in England has expressed the wish to take the Oak Academy into a form of public ownership in the form of an arms length body (ALB), which probably doesn't mean what it seems to mean. "Arms length" would imply no interference in the market for educational resources, so the very existence of an ALB is a contradiction in terms.

If the original plans go ahead (which considering we're now on our fourth education secretary since the plans were launched in March 2022 is not guaranteed I shouldn't have thought), the DfE will start commissioning resources from the Oak Academy. The Oak provided useful resources during the lockdowns, and continues to create them. But there are four things wrong with the DfE's plan…

Continue reading

In News & views Tags Arms Length Body, Oak Academy
← The factory of the future (what a load of tosh)Dystopian visions: a partial index (Updated) →
Recent book reviews
When.jpg
Review: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

Hopefully, neither you nor I will ever find ourselves in court, undergoing a medical procedure, or taking an important exam.

Read more →
finding fibonacci.jpg
Review: Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World

Finding Fibonacci is a memoir of the authors’ quest to find out about Fibonacci.

Read more →
The Teachers' Standards in Primary Schools.jpg
Quick look: The Teachers' Standards in Primary Schools

This is very well set out. It takes each standard, and gives you ideas on how to achieve it, and what success in this context looks like.

Read more →
How Computer Games Help Children learn.jpg
Quick look: How Computer Games Help Children learn

When I was teaching Econnures I realised that I could have taught quite a chunk of the synabus if I'd been able to run Sim City on the school network.

Read more →
Reinventing Project-Based learning.jpg
Quick look: Reinventing Project-Based Learning

I can verify from first hand experience that PBL kept students highly engaged, and helped them to develop skills such as working with others and independent research.

Read more →
The human touch.jpg
Quick look: The Human Touch

Although this book is published by the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, the focus is not on IT at all.

Read more →
Better Living through science.jpg
Quick look: Better Living through science

I have often thought that I would have been much more interested in science at school, and been much more successful at it, had the teachers taught us anything of practical value.

Read more →
Tubes.jpg
Quick look: Tubes: Behind the scenes at the internet

We are all so accustomed to using the internet, searching the world wide web — "going online" — that most of us most of the time probably do not stop to consider the question: yes, but where exactly is it?

Read more →
profits, prophets.jpg
Quick look: Profits, Prophets, Coaches and Kings: (When) do leaders make a difference?

I have somewhat dichotomous views of this question of whether leaders make a difference, or much of a difference.

Read more →
power up.jpg
Review: Power Up, by Matthew Lane

This book looks at the maths concepts — and, to some extent, the physics concepts — hidden in popular video games.

Read more →
Dig+Ed+Banner.jpg

Contact us

Privacy

Cookies

Terms and conditions

This website is powered by Squarespace

(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved