Taught Not Caught: Educating for 21st Century Character

As Education Secretary from 2014-16, Nicky Morgan had a job she describes as "one of the best in the UK Cabinet". In her time in office, she announced a GBP3.5m programme to be spent promoting classes and extra-curricular activities that build "grit" and "resilience" in a generation of schoolchildren. Here, she reveals why she believes that building characterful children has a positive impact on academic attainment. In writing this book, she had the privilege of visiting some of the schools who won Department for Education character awards. Hearing their stories, looking at the work they've done to promote character education and identify the values they want to embed in their schools and seeing how positive they are about this area of their school life confirmed to her that focusing on character sits alongside gaining knowledge. In fact, the former helps the latter.The generosity of the schools enabled her to capture key examples and bring character education to life. Change in education doesn't happen by accident. It needs a deliberate push.Public awareness needs to be raised, government needs to make it clear to those in the education system that this is a priority and they will support it and, most importantly, the frontline namely schools, heads, teachers, governors and communities need to be enabled to create the conditions to allow systemic change to happen, to take hold and to grow. Education is the greatest investment we can make in the future of our country. And the greatest investment the education system can make in our pupils is to ensure they gain both knowledge and character.