On the 13th October, the APPG for Education held a roundtable discussion on the balance between subject knowledge and softer skills. The debate was chaired by Danny Kinahan MP, Chair of the APPG for Education. Participants ranged from teachers and academics to parents and employers, and included: the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the British Council, the Institute of Education, Capita, the Institute of Customer Service, National Citizen Service Trust, the National Literacy Trust and the Parents’ Union, several universities and the Times Educational Supplement.
The debate concentrated on three central topics: whether there is a need for better soft skills education; who should be responsible for teaching those skills; and some examples of best practice that others could learn from.
A full transcript of the discussion can be found here.
The participants were:
Danny Kinahan MP (chair)
Fiona Abankwah, Sydney Russell School
Jonathan Baggaley, PSHE Association
Cara Bleiman, Arnhem Wharf Primary School
Jo Causon, Institute of Customer Service
Janet Clark, Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Laura Gibbon, National Citizen Service
Rania Hafez, University of Greenwich
Dennis Hayes, University of Derby
Mark Herbert, British Council
Lord Knight, TES
Dr Shirley Lawes, UCL Institute of Education
Harriet McCann, National Literacy Trust
Dr James Panton, Magdalen College School
Lin Proctor, Future Academies
Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert, University of Cambridge
Michelle Wildman, PTA UK (?)
Karen Wilkinson, Parents’ Union (?)
Dr Joanna Williams, University of Kent (?)