Dear Damian Hinds: tree climbing, lifesaving classes … why this policy flurry?

All this ‘busy-work’ from the Department for Education is achieving nothingA phrase I learned some years ago working in schools is “busy-work” – work that keeps children busy but has little value in itself, as the dictionary puts it. It first cropped up in an education report in South Carolina in 1886.This old tradition has taken a hold on you and your department. Since late November, you’ve been issuing policy statements at least once a week covering tree-cli