There is always frustration from people who work in schools that things keep changing but it is an unfortunate truth with the world of work changing as rapidly as it is, we do have to change.

Teachers tell me that they'd like to work more closely with parents.

You've got to stop whipping a dead horse sometime.

I would like to see every parent either directly - if they are comfortable with the technology - or through a personal tutor, being able to access real-time information about their child.

I've always said that I favour an elected second chamber and I think it's important that there are members of the House of Lords who are willing to vote for their own demise.

Secondary school parents tell me that they are frustrated, that their teachers ignore them, their children don't give them much feedback because they are adolescents, they feel kind of out of the loop.

Technologically we can deliver the ability of parents to be able to log into a school intranet, be able to see what homework has been set or look at lesson planning, whether the child is attending, see what the timetable is like, all of that is possible and there are some schools that are doing it already.

The changing economic situation, the changing global market means it is understandable that employers are constantly raising the bar. It is challenging the education system to come up with ever higher standards to meet the expectation of employers.