27 may 2010, worth a second look

Iain duncan smith was the butt of many jokes whilst an active politian, but matured in obscurity, with his centre for social justice now putting him at the heart of reform. There's good work on early years, highlighting in an unusual setting both that deprivation is intergenerational and that it is all but carved in stone by the time a child reaches school. By helping prevent at source expensive social ills such as crime, poor health and low attainment, investing in deprived children and their families in the earliest years is the gift that keeps on giving. Another point well made is that children should only start school when they are ready. Both one of mine and all my hungarian nieces started at six or even seven - and they are doing extremely well. The english have a mania with a tidy system, and are seemingly blind in this respect to their obsession, of evidence-based policymaking. My favourite dictionary definition is "Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it".