About Our Schools with Professor Mick Waters

Professor Mick Waters is a true heavyweight in the British educational landscape. A former headteacher and Head of Education at Birmingham LEA, Mick then moved into his most known role as Director of Curriculum at the British Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (also known as the QCA). It is within this role where Mick was responsible for the National Curriculum studied by millions of students across the UK.

In this episode, we talk about, ‘About Our Schools: Improving on Previous Best’ the monumental book written by Professor Mick Waters and Sir Tim Brighouse, released in January 2022. The book is a historical expose on the reality of the British education system, with detailed political interviews elucidating the human experience behind the political shifts in our education system. ‘About Our Schools’ also sets out a clear route forward for our education system to reach a new epoch in it’s evolution, made clear by Mick and Sir Tim.

We speak about the why behind the book, the history of some of our former education secretaries, exclusions and pedagogy in great depth, candour and humour.

Links mentioned in the episode

In the episode, we interview Mick on his book written with Sir Tim Brighouse called, “About Our Schools: Improving on Previous Best”.

All royalties from sales of this book will be donated to Barnardo’s and the Compassionate Education Foundation.

In the interview, we also mention another book called, ‘Reinventing Schools, Reforming Teaching: From Political Visions to Classroom Reality’ in which Mick made some comments about the examination system which made national news at the time.