When you visit the DfE offices in London you are greeted by a wall of portraits of every Secretary of State for Education since 1945. There are a lot of framed pictures. Since the Second World War there have been 34 different incumbents, equivalent to an average tenure for each new Education Secretary of just under 2 years.
Judging by the response at the recent Westminster Briefings in London and Manchester, the concept of ‘Being Secondary Ready’ is a controversial one. Asked by the organisers to speak at the events on the subject, it was clear that Gove’s latest proposal to test and rank 11 year olds was a non-starter.