Conor's Commentary

After nearly six years at the Sutton Trust, my reflections on some of the research findings that most interested me and helped to advance the policy debate.Today is my last day at the Sutton Trust after nearly six years in post. It has been a privile...

I have blogged on the PM's post-18 education review for the Sutton Trust and Public Finance.It was 16 months before the 1997 election and Conservative education secretary Gillian Shephard had a problem. It was a time of austerity. University intakes...

I blogged at the Sutton Trust on what the reshuffle means for education and social mobility.Reshuffles are a funny – and brutal – business. For Prime Ministers, they rarely go according to plan, and this week’s was no exception. I’ve been in...

I've blogged at the Sutton Trust on the aftermath of Alan Milburn's weekend resignation as Social Mobility tsarAnyone who thought Alan Milburn would go quietly underestimated the doughty champion of social mobility who first gained the ‘tsar’ rol...

I've written this piece for FE Week on a new Sutton Trust apprenticeships report.The government says it wants to see three million more apprenticeships by 2020. Promises of improved quality, and the push on large employers through the levy, are meant...

I blogged at the Sutton Trust website and HuffPo on problems with the government's free childcare plansIt is nearly twenty years since a long-cherished goal of early years campaigners was delivered by the Blair government: the right to free nurs...

This piece appeared in the TES print edition on 14 July 2017.Nearly 20 years ago, as then education secretary David Blunkett’s special adviser, I helped to introduce a programme for gifted and talented pupils in urban secondaries. The initiative fo...