What exactly is this woman's position in the government?

She is totally bonkers I think and I despair for our GC education truly.

She has this awful demonic look too- seriously worrying (did we just agree again Anya !?)

I think we did

OMG - did she actually write 'sincerily'? That is terrible. I think she looks more terrified than demonic, to be honest, granjura. Is she in fear of losing her job? Well, so she should be.

And what is that woffle about children learning to write? My two little GC don't seem to be able to tell the difference between capital letters and lower case but apparently that it the way they are taught. I despair!

is not it!!!!

And then they wonder why teachers have so little respect for them! Why does education keep getting complete weirdos? Gove and then Nicky Morgan it's unbelievable.

Waffle not woffle

I think she does a lot of both !

Wish I hadn't seen this as all it makes me want to do is bang my head against a wall, or better still, Nicky Morgan's.
So glad I am out of education and the DC but despair for my DGC.

To nod vigorously in PMQs and to look like a rabbit in headlights. Unclear as to what else she contributes.

I do think she is a good representation of the Peter principle though.

As Michael Rosen said (that photo was taken from his FB page) it's not so much that she can't spell, or write as prescribed for a 7- 8 year old, but that they have the nerve to impose, for example, highly prescriptive and weird unrealistic, weekly spelling tests on young children.

Finland has the right idea when it comes to teaching handwriting.this is an interesting article

not sure this is perhaps a step too far? Also the author of the piece is using the term 'cursive writing' I suspect incorrectly.

Is this a continuation of 'joined-up government'?

However, I am very proud to announce that DGD2 was awarded her pen licence a few months ago at the age of just 7!
www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-pen-licence
I must ask her if she can spell sincerely.

DGC was awarded its pen licence recently , aged 11. The child is dyslexic and has received endless help and encouragement at school to build its self-esteem. School has told DS that the child will fail its SATS next month. I could weep for the damage this Government are doing to children

Oh fgs oldgoat, oh dear.
Well done to your DGS for getting his pen licence!
Not sure that Nicky Morgan should have hers yet

Mind you, it is not just this government, they are just continuing what was introduced years ago. League tables - what are they all about? Not about children, certainly.

oldgoat I so agree with you. DD went into school and put her foot down because DGS was getting so upset about not getting his 'pen licence' (and how ridiculous is that?!) when the other children had theirs. There is more to intelligence than handwriting. These SATS have got completely out of hand.

It is all out of hand - and destroys the joy in learning. Such a shame. I think that Morgan is a puppet of DC with no mind of her own - she's obeying orders like some kind of robot. There is no real thought or imagination in her policies and her pronouncements are crass and insensitive.

Yes, another worrying one in charge of education. It's dispiriting and infuriating in equal measure. No wonder so many young teachers have had enough within 5 years. Why can't the government keep out and leave the teaching profession to do their job

Pen licence? WTF? Why don't we just go back to the simple system they had at my junior school? Every Friday we'd be lined up round the hall and tested on spelling and maths. Get your question right, you moved up, get it wrong you moved down. The 4 or 5 who brought up the rear at the end got their hands slapped with a ruler. And fancy, it was the same children every week

I've never heard of this pen licence. What do the kids have to do to get it?
As for Nicky Morgan, I agree with Luckygirl that she is a puppet (muppet?) of DC. He's pulling her strings alright. As someone above also says, the Peter Principle is demonstrated perfectly by NM's appointment.

Maggiemaybe I cannot see anything to be gained by children who have difficulty with spelling and/or maths (or would that just be arithmetic in junior school?) through slapping their hands with a ruler – apart from humiliation and pain.

Info about pen licences:

www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-pen-licence

:-(