Don’t pay the NHS an extra £350million a week, but well done to Simon Steven’s who may have single-handedly moved the Brexit debate on from political machinations, to life after Brexit and what we want it to be. The NHS will always need more cash, and there should be a steady increase of what it […]
If we’re going to have ‘British values’, can we add these?
Teachers all over the country are trying to find ways to add the government’s ‘British values’ to their lessons. The British values are: democracy the rule of law individual liberty mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith
Since when did we allow news to be supplanted by commentary?
I’m fed up with commentary and opinion masquerading as fact and news! This happens when those who are supposedly ‘reporters or correspondents’ have become pundits, yet there has been no indication of the change in their role. That’s not to say I don’t engage with commentary: I buy news magazines, I read blogs, I watch […]
A place for faith in the public square? Grenfell response suggests there is.
There are so many legitimate responses to the terrible fire at Grenfell. We have seen care and compassion, but there will also be a need for inquiry and justice. The local community responded practically with food and clothes, so rapidly that some reception centres had to ask for the temporary halt of spontaneous giving. And […]
Manchester Attack Fails As People Open Their Doors
Wouldn’t it be good if the lasting image of the Manchester bombing was that homes, hotels and taxi drivers opened their doors to those who were in distress and trying to escape the horror? What a superb counter-response to this act of terror – if what was intended to bring fear and separation instead results […]
Five Handy Hints For Weddings, Conferences And Running Events
Whether it’s your wedding, birthday party, family meal or conference, it is always key to remember that it isn’t just your day – well, unless you are planning on just having hologram friends there!
SATs – When teachers don’t teach
Despite all the effort I gave as a student, at GCSE, A-level or degree, I was never an ‘A’ grade student like some of my friends. My effort was not going to be enough: I was restricted with the brain power I had. However, SATs are about the progress of students in a school. They help give the school a place on the league tables, not the students.
Integration: We Think We Might Have Found The Answer!
What makes a Briton and a ‘British value’ is the thorniest of issues, but whether we agree with current government policy or not, we can agree that speaking English is a key entry point for anyone who is to integrate within the United Kingdom today. That’s why, amid the cries back and forth over the […]
Bullying is not ‘just banter’
A couple of weeks ago, it was Anti-Bullying Week. Like mental health issues, which affect one in four of us, bullying affects many of us at some point of our lives. As parents, it is very hard to watch your child face this most cruel of ‘rites of passage’ – and thankfully we no longer accept bullying as an inevitable experience of childhood.
Faith is undoubtedly a force for good in the UK
Increasingly, politicians across the country are recognising faith-based communities for what they are – an untapped well of skills, assets and dedicated citizens already hard at work. The Cinnamon Network recently estimated the value of faith-based social action and community service to be £3bn annually, and the think tank Demos found that ‘religious people are […]