Recently by Shahid Naqvi

"It's a bit like throwing your kid to the wolves" is how one of my colleagues described sending their child to secondary school.
And he's right. Parents across the land currently deciding which secondary to send their precious ones to will understand what he means.

I see the Conservative Party has taken up the fight against the inequality gap within our schools.
Hardly surprising really, given the sad vacuum left by New Labour in this area. Gordon Brown's problems are not just about his unexciting public image. Nor do they stem completely from his dithering over holding an Election or the failure of his "safe pair of hands" to save us in the teeth of a recession.

I met the Fonz the other day. He's a childhood hero and the only person I've ever asked for an autograph. Never thought I'd actually get to meet him.
Before going I asked a few friends if they had any questions for him.

Now then. I went to a conference the other day held by Birmingham City Council which was all about "Creating a Brighter Future for Children and Young People in Birmingham".
I always get a bit confused by these things - there was a glossy booklet to go with it (why do they have to waste public money on top quality paper?) spelling out the "Birmingham strategy" that had a lot of diagrams in it. There was talk about "priority outcomes", "multi-disciplinary leadership", "evidence-based initiatives" and "population-wide prevention".

It appears students are increasingly cheating. As well as cutting and pasting the work of others off the internet, they are now paying freelancers to do their work for them. It's called contract cheating.

I've met a few people of note in my time as a journalist. Heads of state. Sporting heroes. Dames and Knights of the Realm. Religious leaders. Celebs. But none have impressed me as much as Maureen Mitchell.

You've got to admire the Government. It's basically hung an axe over the head of 638 secondary schools it believes aren't doing well enough.
These schools now either need to shape up or face the consequences, which could include being shut down.

Scandal is the word that springs to mind. I'm talking about a Government report that shows children from the poorest areas have the least qualified teachers.
It makes you wonder what education is for in this country. Is it to perpetuate social inequality or is it to help children no matter what their background make the most of their lives?

Awards. What are they good for? Advancing careers, mostly.
These days there's an award for everything, from best restaurant to best inside leg measurer. OK, I made up that last one. But you get the point.

Take a look at the diagram below. Still awake? Or have you sunk into a state of near death.

If you work for Birmingham City Council's education services you should be very excited by it.
Tony Howell, head of the service, certainly is. It appears beside an article penned by Mr Howell in the latest edition of Brighter Futures, a glossy magazine produced by the authority that goes out to everyone working in children's services in the city, including headteachers.