Minsters and their behaviour adviser should listen to Izzy

The Department for Education’s behaviour adviser, Tom Bennett OBE, took to Twitter recently to rebuke a member of the Youth Parliament about a speech she made in the House of Commons.

He tweeted: “Oh God this is terrible. I applaud the speaker’s moxie, but this is the Biff & Chip guide to progressive instrumentalism.”

What – you may wonder – had the speaker, Izzy Garbutt, said to warrant Mr Bennett’s scorn? 

You can judge for yourself here. But, from where I sit, her speech seems a heartfelt and pretty reasonable appraisal of the government’s efforts to turn the education system into an exam factory. What’s more, it is a speech based on her direct experience of that system, so that in itself surely deserves to be taken seriously.