Ruth Kelly

[Derek McMillan]

I remember the joke about Ruth Kelly.

A teacher went to the DFES and asked to talk to Ruth Kelly.

The receptionist said 'Mrs Kelly is no longer Secretary of State for education.'

The next day, she went to the DFES and asked to talk to Ruth Kelly.

The receptionist said 'Mrs Kelly is no longer Secretary of State for education.'

The next day, she went to the DFES and asked to talk to Ruth Kelly.

The receptionist said 'Mrs Kelly is no longer Secretary of State for education.' and added, "I told you that yesterday."

"I know, I just love to hear you say it."

The problem is that subsequent incumbents will have/had some teachers harking back to the good old days of Ruth Kelly. During the writing of this, I hesitate to tell you how many times I had to use “Find and Replace” for the Secretary of State. And of course it will be out of date by the time you read it. They don’t get any better of course because they each have to make a name for themselves and bring in“the biggest shake up in education for a century”. As this happens every two years it must be inaccurate but “the biggest shake up in education for two years” does not have the same cachet.