The Conservatives continue to disregard evidence in their attempts to develop education policy. During the coalition government I worked relentlessly with the Liberal Democrats to push back this tide of ignorance. I helped to get Gove, Truss and Gibb removed from their roles and replaced with ministers who listened to evidence; we established the pupil premium; and we set up the Chartered College of Teaching to nurture professionalism and representation in teaching. But the tide came crashing in in 2015. Instead of listening to our schools, Mark Jenkinson MP has copied the actions of Michael Gove and sent them books. His comments last week about schools reopening were a wonderful opportunity for him to demonstrate some insight into the issues teachers are facing just now but he didn’t do that – presumably because he isn’t listening and he doesn’t know.