BCP Council news:
More woes for controversial Conservative cllr Phil Broadhead.
The ex-leader was in the news last month, after admitting he'd been caught wrongly claiming Council Tax discounts.
But new revelations could return him to the spotlight...
🧵
Info released under FOI, and shared with me, reveals that Broadhead began to claim a 25% single person's CT discount in July 2022.
He had notice from BCP Council in Feb 2025, after an investigation, but didn't pay off the debt till 9th June 2025.
Why are these details key?
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The English education system.
The UK economy.

Both struck by the same ideology.
Both in need of reform.
And for the same reason.

Behind the curated stats, behind PISA scores & GDP, more & more people are being left behind.
Something is wired into both systems.

Inequality.
🧵 The UK economy is said to be the world's 6th largest, yet there's 15m people living in poverty.
English schools claim improved PISA scores in maths, reading, science, yet have rising exclusions, suspensions, absences & school dissatisfaction.

How is this all possible?
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One of the red flags in the defence of hyper-controlled schools is the straw-man of order vs chaos.
The idea that there can only be utter control or utter chaos.
That kids are either controlled or unsafe.
But in reality there are many, many types of control.
A short 🧵

https://twitter.com/MrColesDrama/status/1941405024212615471

Some rules in schools aren't necessary for education or even to keep order. The rigid enforcement of them won't achieve dignity for children or make them safer.
It just extends the control of the adult over kids, to include clothing, eye movement, body posture, even downtime.
2/6

A curriculum for everyone?

Reading this blog, I was struck at how there's always a straw man close to any use of the neoconservative phrase 'soft bigotry of low expectations'.
And in this piece it comes right at the start.

A short 🧵.

https://twitter.com/EmathsUK/status/1928102118541390029

There are three critical points to be made in favour of adjustments in the English schools curriculum.
None of them are about refusing to challenge working-class kids.
What's needed, what's been demanded so consistently across England for years, is something else.
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A shockingly misleading & dangerous piece from @matthewhood on @SchoolsWeek, lobbying for an end to EHCPs.
With Matt Hood's Oak Academy enjoying influence over @educationgovuk thinking, this should worry all parents & teachers.
And worst of all, the piece is just plain wrong.
🧵 The misdirection begins at once, describing "the EHCP approach" as "the primary cause of the SEND crisis".
But as every parent & school knows, the crisis isn't caused by a child's individual needs, or the attempts to support them.
It's caused by lack of resources & commitment.
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Do councillors really run councils?

The answer may surprise you.
The reality will certainly be a shock for Reform, now holding 10 English councils.
And it might also offer a lifebelt to Labour... if it can actually grab it...
🧵 The key influence over councils isn't councillors, but central govt.
First, funding.
From 2010-20, real-terms funding of councils by govt was cut by 55%. This led councils to cut staff & services by around £25bn in just 12 years.
Less money coming in = less services going out.
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Ofsted's Big Listen.
Did the parent survey show clear parental support for the proposed Report Card grading system?

Short answer? No.
Long answer? 🧵

https://twitter.com/Rory_Gribbell/status/1913525501005623384

The claim is based on this finding in the parent feedback (see link & chart).
Ofsted says this shows that 76% of parents wanted separate grades for each inspection area.
But... does it really?
Um, nope.
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assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66d06d7f…

March 20th is exactly 5 years since I picked my son up from school ahead of UK lockdown.
It would be his last day there for 6 months.
What happened next was a betrayal of all our children.
No, I'm not debating Covid, or protesting lockdown.
I'm talking about what came after.
🧵 To understand what I mean, you have to see that time through the eyes of a young child.
Imagine a Yr6 girl looking ahead nervously to secondary school.
Or a Yr1 boy like my son was, still near the start of primary.
Or a toddler, adapting to preschool.
And now...
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There's only one Attendance Contract needed in England's schools right now.

@bphillipsonMP & @educationgovuk, you'd like to crack down on school absence.
Okay.
But first, you need to crack down on the things schools do which stop kids from learning.

Let's take a tour...
🧵 Kids can't do class learning if they're not in the class.
So crack down on schools isolating or suspending them for their haircuts or socks, for speaking in the corridor or failing to SLANT.
If you want them in the class, stop schools needlessly removing them from the class.

Followers of the BCP Council saga will recognise this: the first shoots of a Conservative media strategy to convince people they didn't actually trash the finances.
Long-suffering BCP residents have seen this at first hand from controversial ex council leader Phil Broadhead...
🧵

https://twitter.com/HugoGye/status/1840671891746402432

Broadhead's party lost power in BCP's 2023 election, in a crushing, humiliating defeat. This followed 3 years of financial chaos, poor governance, police investigation & criticism by their own Govt.
Yet almost from the start, Broadhead was in denial.
2/4
bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23681500.…

Schools from the United Learning group are forcing parents & pupils to sign an Attendance contract with their local school.
The terms include the commitment that kids will attend school "even if you feel unwell".
Parents were informed just yesterday and are said to be furious.
🧵

The United letter expects all families to sign up to the "Attendance Pledge". In return, "we will ensure your child has access to quality first teaching".
The parents I've spoken to are angry, and many are refusing to sign.
A revolt could be brewing...
2/

Superb citizen journalism here from Alex, as always.
As he reports, a fiery Scrutiny session at BCP Council ended with the local Conservatives' leader Phil Broadhead having his ass publicly handed to him by councillors & officers alike.
But what's going on, and why..?
🧵

https://twitter.com/AlexMcKinstry1/status/1838266321307602973

For those catching up with the BCP story: Broadhead was the last leader of a scandal-ridden Conservative administration, before losing the 2023 local election in a crushing, humiliating defeat.
But since then he seems to have vowed revenge...
bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/23504636.…

As rac!st thugs rampage the streets and dominate our screens, don't take your eyes off the conductors of these riots.

The likes of Reform & their spokespeople will never get their hands dirty, but they perform two key roles in tandem with the mob.

A short 🧵 The hard-right appears every week on Question Time, and assumes the guise of respectability within politics & media.
But its message is the fuel for the fires burning this week.
Without Farage & others, there'd probably be no riots this week...

It's curious to see some #EduTwitter accounts now urging more help for SEND services, after years banging the drum for high-control schools.
There's something they don't seem to grasp, which is painfully clear to many SEND families.
A lot of content here has been anti-SEND.
🧵 You see, the SEND crisis isn't just about money.
The reason many vulnerable kids lose access to education, suffer from poor mental health, experience diminished life opportunities, isn't just about funding.
It's also about the way children are treated & understood at school.
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Election aftermath: BCP Council.
One curious local story was the decision of Conservative group leader Phil Broadhead to abandon most of the home campaign & go on a tour of 16 vulnerable Tory seats.
Yet BCP Tories were in 4 tough battles here at the time.
So, how did he do?
🧵 The self-styled "Leader of Local Government" visited 16 Conservative constituencies, in his caravan.
He also returned to BCP briefly to leaflet for 4 home seats.

Total score:
Seats: 20
Lost: 18

11 went to Labour, and 7 to LDs.

The 4 home seats? All lost. Poole, by 18 votes.

The collapse of England's councils is bad enough. But there's not enough discussion about what happens next.
This isn't just about budgets, but service cuts, job losses, asset sales, and perhaps the demise of local businesses & economies.
And it will affect every region...
🧵 [Reminder: every year, councils have to produce a balanced budget for the year ahead.
If they can't do that, they enter insolvency.
It's an annual challenge, but after 14 years of under-funding, it's never been harder, and many are at breaking point.
Okay, let's move on.]
2/

Schools & Safety Valve.
An intriguing meeting yesterday at BCP Council, on the Govt's controversial programme for SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities).
So, what just happened? Tonight's thread looks at the key highlights.
Brace yourselves: this is gonna hurt...

https://twitter.com/AdamHighcliffe/status/1742604658663620979

1. The DfE's Safety Valve project is alarming.
As shown last night, it demands savage cuts across a range of SEND services, especially EHCPs, and a major movement of SEND kids from special to mainstream schools.
The aim is reduction of costs.
The effect is reduction of services.

How Propaganda Works:
Suella Braverman's attack on homeless people today is possibly her most cruel, contemptuous, irresponsible & deceitful piece of Culture War propaganda yet.
To explain exactly what she's doing here, I've broken down the whole appalling thread.
Buckle in:
1/

https://twitter.com/SuellaBraverman/status/1720730450556006714

Tweet 1.
She sides with 'compassionate' Brits. As someone representing them, she implies she's one too.
So, anything she does is out of 'compassion' - for you, and for 'true' homeless people.
This sets the stage for what follows.
2/

BCP Council latest.
A closure of sorts for BCP, as an independent report is revealed at tonight's Audit & Governance Cmtee.
The audit covers the 2021-23 era of former Conservative leaders Drew Mellor & Phil Broadhead, and slams their chaotic time in government.
1/ The headlines:
Red flags were raised against BCP's financial management, governance, efficiency & effectiveness.
Auditors found "risks of significant weakness in the Council’s arrangements" in 5 areas.
Leadership & political decision-making during 2021-23 was panned.
2/

Dozens of UK councils face bankruptcy in 2026.
In response, Govt is forcing councils to slash their Special Educational Needs & Disabilities budgets.
The plan won’t work.
And thousands of SEND kids could be needlessly cast adrift as a result.
But there's a simple way out.
🧵
1/ How did this crisis arise?
Since 2010, councils have faced two huge pressures.
Core funding from UK Govt is about *half* pre-austerity levels. That noose was tightened by Covid & inflation.
And in 2014 the Children & Families Act set a new statutory duty of care on councils...
2/

Bournemouth is in trouble.
The centre is in decay, with big brands fleeing, violence hogging the headlines, and boarded-up windows a common sight.
But the legacy plan won’t work. Empty stores aren’t the problem. They’re the symptom.
So what's the answer?
Read on...
1/ The business-as-usual approach won't work. The so-called City Vision definitely won't.
Bournemouth needs surgery. The heart has stopped beating.
And that heart is here, in the area around the Square, Westover, Lower Gardens & beachfront.
Solve this, and you save the patient.
2/