A new poll confirms what i have long suspected.  That the majority of people do not think that Labour has lived up to its promises on education.  It is hardly surprising when under this government, so many kids leave school unable to read or write.  True, there has been lots of money poured into the education system, but much has been frittered on a range of top down initiatives that have little relevance to the individual circumstances of each school or the communities in which they are located.

There remain huge social problems that have been ducked over the last decade.  A lack of role models, especially for young boys in working class areas, is a major concern.  So too is the reliance on the benefits system - with 3 million plus households having not a single working person over the age of 16, many kids ask why bother going to school at all?  Here, in Greenwich, we have one of the highest rates of truancy anywhere in the country, and the worst in London.

As a school governor I despair at the paperwork, bureaucracy, regulations, dictats and boxes that need to be ticked - while we have so little time to be innovative or creative in tackling the specific issues our schools face.  Children are too valuable to be let down and betrayed in this way.  An incoming Conservative government will give teachers and schools far greater freedom.  And not before time.