Have you heard of the Big Education Conversation?

Some 100 teachers, heads, parents, business and community leaders gathered at Manchester University to kick off the Big Education Conversation last week. The aim of BEC is to get everyone – students, grandmothers, business people, you name it – discussing what the point of our education system should be. The event saw three ‘provocations’ to get us all thinking: one from David Price, who edited Education Forward, out of which BEC has emerged; Mel Ainscow, Professor of Education at the University of Manchester and an authority on promoting equality in education; and Rosie Clayton, who launched the Reimagining Education project for Big Change. The event seemed timely as the media have got on board with a highly charged discussion about this summer’s GCSEs and A-Levels. Student stress has reportedly gone through the roof. What’s the point of these exams? Do high test scores really equal high standards? It’s time to ask some fundamental questions about what it is all about…