Conor Ryan

About Conor Ryan

Conor Ryan is a writer and consultant. He was senior special adviser to David Blunkett from 1993-2001 and Tony Blair’s senior education adviser from 2005-07. He blogs at Conor's Commentary and has written a number of books on educational issues.

Data overload

27 January 2012 | Conor Ryan

Is the coalition government making the same mistake as its Labour predecessor in bombarding the public with too much information? The latest incarnation of school league tables suggests it might be Read more

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Classrooms, capability and culture

13 January 2012 | Conor Ryan

Michael Gove’s plans to make it easier to sack underperforming teachers are sensible, but they will be meaningless unless there is a major cultural shift in schools Read more

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Arguing the case for academies

4 January 2012 | Conor Ryan

Michael Gove should cease preaching to the converted on academies and try to win over sceptical parents, governors and teachers Read more

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Give and take on schools funding

5 December 2011 | Conor Ryan

The Chancellor’s announcement on capital funding for schools is only giving back a bit of the sums taken away when Building Schools for the Future was cancelled. And it is not being shared out fairly Read more...

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Education spending: all shall not have prizes

26 October 2011 | Conor Ryan

With education spending facing its largest cuts since the 1950s, the pupil premium is one of the few areas to gain. But how shall we measure its success? Read more

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Francis Maude and the Fox fiasco

13 October 2011 | Conor Ryan

The Cabinet Office minister’s opposition to political advisers has proved disastrous for the government and has exacerbated the problems faced by both the defence and health secretaries Read more

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Miliband speech: produced the goods?

28 September 2011 | Conor Ryan

Ed Miliband’s ‘producers vs predators’ speech to Labour conference helped the party leader move out of the political shadows. Now he needs to supply some detail  Read more

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Clegg speech: no such thing as a free summer school

21 September 2011 | Conor Ryan

Nick Clegg’s summer school idea is neither new nor costed. In all likelihood it will mean a raid on the pupil premium funding pot   Read more

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A pointless cull of MPs

14 September 2011 | Conor Ryan

Reducing the number of Westminster MPs by 50 is a waste of time and money, and will not produce the gains in seats expected by the Tories Read more

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Hot air on free school profits

5 September 2011 | Conor Ryan

Nick Clegg’s promises on free school profiteering didn’t amount to much, but his comments on the restored role of local authorities slipped under the radar Read more

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