Reading for Understanding,
Analysis and Evaluation
National 5
What is it?
• You will be given a non-fiction passage,
perhaps a piece of journalism or an extract
from a book.
• It will be written in detailed language.
• You will have 1 hour to read the passage and
answer 30 marks’ worth of questions about it.
• The exam tests your ability to understand the
writer’s ideas, and to analyse and evaluate
the language he/she uses to put those across.
Using your own words
• This skill is so important that it is emphasised on the front
page of the exam paper:
…attempt all the questions, using your own words as
far as possible.
• This means:
• Explain what a word or expression in the passage means.
• Explain the main point the writer is making.
• Give the reason for something that happens in the passage.
• Show that you understand a piece of information the
passage gives.
'Autism doesn't hold me back. I'm moving up the career ladder'
Driven new generation of people with the condition are showing employers
there is no limit to what they can do
Amelia Hill, The Guardian, Friday 8 March 2013 19.13 GMT
• Jonathan Young has big plans for his career. The business
analyst at Goldman Sachs is on the autistic spectrum. But
this, he says, is not something he allows to hold him back.
• "I'm the company's global go-to guy for all the information
used in every single one of our internal and external
presentations," he says. "I'm moving up the ladder every
year in terms of responsibility or promotion. My ambition is
to maintain this momentum. In 10 years, I want to be
someone fairly big."
• He is part of the most visible generation of young people
with autism our society has ever known. Diagnosed early,
this generation have been educated to expect not just a job
when they leave school but a career on a par with their
"neuro-typical" contemporaries.
• The confidence and determination of these graduates are forcing
the pace of change in organisations previously inaccessible to those
with autism. Businesses, from City law firms and banks to global
healthcare companies, have begun to open their doors to young
people once thought able only to do lowly jobs.
• Young first went to Goldman Sachs as an intern in the National
Autistic Society's specialist employment programme, Prospects. His
time at the investment bank was such a success that the twomonth internship swiftly became a full-time, permanent post.
• "When I arrived, this role was a part-time job but I built it up into a
key, full-time post and made it my own," he said. "Autism doesn't
hold me back because I have had the correct support from a young
age. It's key to have that support, both in education and in the
workplace, but I don't require anything complicated: people just
have to understand that I'm different."
• For all his confidence, Young admits that he considers himself
fortunate. "I never lose sight of the fact that I'm lucky to have a job
that allows me to use all my intelligence and stretch my potential,"
he said.
• Penny Andrews got her job as a library graduate trainee at Leeds
Metropolitan University in August without any help from a charity
or specialist employment agency.
• Having beaten 200 applicants to the job, she believes she has
proved herself to be the best candidate. "Sometimes I feel people
think I should be grateful that I have a job but I'm performing a
useful task and doing it well, so they should be grateful to me," she
said. "After all, they wanted me badly enough to employ me a
month before I had finished my degree in IT and communications
with the Open University."
• Far from feeling that her diagnosis of Asperger's is something to be "got
over", Andrews maintains it gave her a lead over the other candidates. "I
was completely open about my autism throughout the interview process
and even asked for a few special conditions to take account of my
Asperger's, such as working from 8.30am to 4.30pm,for example, so I
don't have to take the rush-hour bus home, taking extra breaks in a special
quiet area if I need quiet, and not having to answer telephones."
• Employers' attitudes might be changing but there is a lot of ground to
make up. Just 15% of those with autism have full-time jobs, according to
research by the National Autistic Society (NAS), while 9% work part-time.
These figures compare unfavourably with the 31% of disabled people in
full-time work in the UK. More than a quarter of graduates with autism
are unemployed, the highest rate of any disability group. Nevertheless,
employers are increasingly coming round to the arguments from disability
advocates that employing those on the spectrum is not about charity or
social responsibility – but the empirical benefit of taking on people with
unique skills.
• Tom Madders is head of campaigns at the society and responsible
for its Undiscovered Workforce campaign to get young people with
autism into employment. He talks of a "vast pool of untapped
talent" among those with autism.
• "When someone has the intellectual ability and ends up doing a job
like working in a supermarket, it's heartbreaking. It's such a waste
because although everyone with autism is different, the things they
bring that are additional to the rest of us include a very high
concentration level, very good attention to detail and analytical
skills that are key in data analysis and when looking for anomalies in
complex spreadsheets," he said. "Why would employers want to
miss out on those skills? In addition, those with autism have very
specialist areas of exhaustive interest which, if these can coincide
with the job in hand, can be extremely useful. They're much more
reliable in terms of timeliness and absenteeism and very loyal.
Often, they're very happy in jobs other people find boring."
• William Thanh is a student at the TreeHouse school, a nonmaintained special school founded by Ambitious About Autism, a
charity set up in 1997 by parents of children with autism. Thanh has
such severe autism that he can only communicate through his iPad.
But his work at the Paul bakery in London is of such high quality
that the manager, Salina Gani, is keen to increase his hours.
• "When we decided to take on three young people with autism last
year, we thought there would be limits to what they could achieve,"
said Gani. "But these young men have shown us that we shouldn't
assume anything on the basis of their autism alone. Yes, they need
work that's repetitive and structured, but much of the service
industry is like that anyway. We would gladly take them on full-time
and increase the numbers of people with autism working for us
across all our outlets."
Put these sentences into your own
words.
• You do not need to change every single word.
• Some long sentences can be reworded better as two or even three shorter
ones.
1. My ambition is to maintain this momentum.
2. The confidence and determination of these graduates are forcing the
pace of change in organisations previously inaccessible to those with
autism.
3. For all his confidence, Young admits that he considers himself fortunate.
4. Having beaten 200 applicants to the job, she believes she has proved
herself to be the best candidate.
5. Far from feeling that her diagnosis of Asperger's is something to be "got
over", Andrews maintains it gave her a lead over the other candidates.
Put these sentences into your own
words.
• You do not need to change every single word.
• Some long sentences can be reworded better as two or even three shorter
ones.
6. Employers' attitudes might be changing but there is a lot of ground to
make up.
7. When someone has the intellectual ability and ends up doing a job like
working in a supermarket, it's heartbreaking.
8. They're much more reliable in terms of timeliness and absenteeism and
very loyal.
9. When we decided to take on three young people with autism last year, we
thought there would be limits to what they could achieve.
10.Yes, they need work that's repetitive and structured, but much of the
service industry is like that anyway.
Understanding
1. Penny Andrews ‘believes she has proved herself to be
the best candidate’. In your own words, explain how
paragraph 9 illustrates this idea.
Having beaten 200 applicants to the job, she believes she
has proved herself to be the best candidate. "Sometimes I
feel people think I should be grateful that I have a job but
I'm performing a useful task and doing it well, so they
should be grateful to me," she said. "After all, they
wanted me badly enough to employ me a month before I
had finished my degree in IT and communications with
the Open University."
Understanding
2. What are some of the advantages for companies who
hire members of staff with autism? Refer to
paragraph 10 in your answer, using your own words.
Far from feeling that her diagnosis of Asperger's is
something to be "got over", Andrews maintains it gave
her a lead over the other candidates. "I was completely
open about my autism throughout the interview process
and even asked for a few special conditions to take
account of my Asperger's, such as working from 8.30am
to 4.30pm,for example, so I don't have to take the rushhour bus home, taking extra breaks in a special quiet area
if I need quiet, and not having to answer telephones."
Understanding
3.
In your own words, explain in what ways ‘there is a lot of ground
to make up’ for people with autism in the workplace. Give
evidence from paragraph 11 in your answer.
Employers' attitudes might be changing but there is a lot of ground to
make up. Just 15% of those with autism have full-time jobs, according
to research by the National Autistic Society (NAS), while 9% work parttime. These figures compare unfavourably with the 31% of disabled
people in full-time work in the UK. More than a quarter of graduates
with autism are unemployed, the highest rate of any disability group.
Nevertheless, employers are increasingly coming round to the
arguments from disability advocates that employing those on the
spectrum is not about charity or social responsibility – but the empirical
benefit of taking on people with unique skills.
Understanding
4. Read paragraph 15. Identify Salina Gani’s attitude to
employing young people with autism and give
evidence to support your answer.
"When we decided to take on three young people with
autism last year, we thought there would be limits to
what they could achieve," said Gani. "But these young
men have shown us that we shouldn't assume anything
on the basis of their autism alone. Yes, they need work
that's repetitive and structured, but much of the service
industry is like that anyway. We would gladly take them
on full-time and increase the numbers of people with
autism working for us across all our outlets."
Context
• You may be asked to work out from the
context what a word or expression means.
• The questions may be worded like this:
• Explain in your own words what is meant by
‘___________’ in this context.
• How does the context of lines xx-xx help you to
work out what is meant by ‘___________’?
• Work out from the context what is meant by
‘___________’ in line xx.
How does the context of the second paragraph help
you to work out what is meant by ‘philanthropic’?
• At Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, an initiative
was set up two years ago to help people aged 18 to 30 with
autism gain work experience.
• Staynton Brown, associate director of equality and diversity
at the hospital, dismisses any suggestion of the initiative
being a philanthropic one. "This is not a charitable gesture,"
he said. "We want to make sure we have the most talented
workforce possible. It's in our interests in multiple ways.
We've all benefited from the changes we've incorporated
to accommodate those with autism. By clarifying the way
we give information to and help introduce the interns into
the hospital, we've made communication clearer for
everyone, which leads to better patient care."
Formula
• The word / expression ‘___________’ as used
here means ___________. I can work this out
from the context because…
Philanthropic
• Charitable and Generous:
showing kindness, charitable concern, and
generosity towards other people
• devoted to helping other people, especially
through giving charitable aid
How does the context of the second paragraph help
you to work out what is meant by ‘accommodate’?
• At Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, an initiative
was set up two years ago to help people aged 18 to 30 with
autism gain work experience.
• Staynton Brown, associate director of equality and diversity
at the hospital, dismisses any suggestion of the initiative
being a philanthropic one. "This is not a charitable gesture,"
he said. "We want to make sure we have the most talented
workforce possible. It's in our interests in multiple ways.
We've all benefited from the changes we've incorporated
to accommodate those with autism. By clarifying the way
we give information to and help introduce the interns into
the hospital, we've made communication clearer for
everyone, which leads to better patient care."
How does the context of the second paragraph help you to work
out what is meant by ‘intern’?
• At Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, an initiative
was set up two years ago to help people aged 18 to 30 with
autism gain work experience.
• Staynton Brown, associate director of equality and diversity
at the hospital, dismisses any suggestion of the initiative
being a philanthropic one. "This is not a charitable gesture,"
he said. "We want to make sure we have the most talented
workforce possible. It's in our interests in multiple ways.
We've all benefited from the changes we've incorporated
to accommodate those with autism. By clarifying the way
we give information to and help introduce the interns into
the hospital, we've made communication clearer for
everyone, which leads to better patient care."
Word Choice
• Certain words are deliberately chosen to obtain
particular effects or suggest particular meanings.
• Words have a denotation (dictionary definition), and a
connotation – the ideas or other words a particular word
suggests.
• Different words can create a different mood, tone, or
atmosphere.
• Travel brochures, for example, specialise in trying to
make their resorts sound appealing:
For Example…
• Hastings is not only a fabulous resort but is of course linked
to the best known date in history, 1066. From the year of
this most famous battle of all time, the region has been
acquiring a greater wealth of history and fascination than
can be found anywhere else in the country. Within
comfortably short journey times you will discover
magnificent castles, ancient towns steeped in over a
thousand years of history and pretty villages with famous
pasts. All linked by glorious rolling countryside with
welcoming old world pubs and restaurants along the way.
Discuss:
How does this writer put over a positive impression of the place he is
describing?
Pick out all the words and phrases that imply this place is either unique
or the best of its kind.
Word Choice - Connotations
For each group of pairs or trios of words, work out the
denotation that they share, and the different
connotations of the individual words.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Bright
Walk
Form
Naughty
Bolted
Baby
Unusual
Decorative
Old
Clever
Stroll
Questionnaire
Bad
Ran
Infant
Weird
Fussy
Senile
Genius
Hike
Survey
Evil
Sprinted
Word Choice
2. How does the word choice in paragraph 3
suggest that there is a lot of rubbish?
Among the mounds of refuse, however, are used
oven trays and paint pots. Cast aside by the 2
million residents of the capital of Paraguay, they are
nonetheless highly valued by Nicolás Gómez, who
picks them out to make violins, guitars and cellos.
Gómez, 48, was a carpenter and ganchero but now
works for Favio Chávez, the conductor of Paraguay's
one and only landfill orchestra.
Word Choice
3. What does the word choice of paragraph 4 imply
about the environment of the rubbish dump?
The Cateura Orchestra of Recycled Instruments is
made up of 30 schoolchildren – the sons and
daughters of recyclers – whose instruments are
forged from the city's rubbish. And while its
members learned to play amid the flies and stench
of Cateura, they are now receiving worldwide
acclaim, culminating earlier this month with a
concert in Amsterdam.
Word Choice
4. How does the word choice in paragraph 8
give the impression that Gomez is a skilled
maker of musical instruments?
Gómez travels three times a week to Cateura to
dig out material. He shapes the metal oven trays
with an electric saw to form the body of a violin
and engineers cellos from oil barrels. The necks
of his string instruments are sculpted from old
strips of wood, called palé.
Word Choice
5. Show how the word choice in paragraph 10 creates
an unpleasant picture of the gancheros’ living
conditions.
But he has a goal that goes beyond music. Chávez
believes the mentality required to learn an instrument can
be applied more widely to lift his pupils out of poverty.
Paraguay is the fastest-growing country in the Americas,
but nearly a third of its population lives below the poverty
line. The gancheros and their children live in slums, called
bañados, which occupy the swamps between Asunción
and the River Paraguay.
Imagery
• Writers use images to strengthen what they say
by putting all sorts of pictures in the reader’s
mind.
• Imagery is not the same thing as description.
• A description tells us what something is like. An
image shows that one thing is somehow like
another.
• The comparison tells us more about the thing
that is being compared. Similes, metaphors and
personification are all different sorts of image.
How to analyse an image.
• Begin with what the image literally is like, or
literally means.
• Then move on to the metaphorical meaning,
showing how that image applies to and adds
meaning to the subject under discussion.
• Just as… (explain the literal meaning), so…
(explain the metaphorical meaning).
How to analyse an image.
• He has a mountain of work to do.
• Just as a mountain is large and challenging to climb,
so too the amount of work he has to do is enormous
and will be really difficult.
Read your close reading example, and
Answer the questions starting on
p. 4.
Look at the following image. Explain what
the image means and analyse its effect.
2. ‘Technology embraces our children’
Our children, like most of their friends, are accessorised with
both laptop and mobile phone. As a result, the potential for
constant communication with their friends is ever present.
Texting begins early morning and lets up last thing at night.
Friends wake them up, friends say goodnight and Facebook
fills all the gaps in between. The sweet, individualised ring
tones that signify when a particular friend is texting beep from
6.30 am to 11pm, chirruping their insistent way through
supper, homework, bath time and sleep. On the bus, kids
attach their headphones and carry on. Technology embraces
our children, like ourselves, in a warm electronic sea, and the
tide of it comes ever higher.
Just as an embrace physically completely
surrounds us, so too does technology’s presence
in our lives seem to be ever present and
surrounding us.
Look at the following image. Explain what
the image means and analyse its effect.
3.
‘A warm electronic sea’
Our children, like most of their friends, are accessorised with
both laptop and mobile phone. As a result, the potential for
constant communication with their friends is ever present.
Texting begins early morning and lets up last thing at night.
Friends wake them up, friends say goodnight and Facebook
fills all the gaps in between. The sweet, individualised ring
tones that signify when a particular friend is texting beep from
6.30 am to 11pm, chirruping their insistent way through
supper, homework, bath time and sleep. On the bus, kids
attach their headphones and carry on. Technology embraces
our children, like ourselves, in a warm electronic sea, and the
tide of it comes ever higher.
Look at the following image. Explain what
the image means and analyse its effect.
5. ‘Allowing electronic strangers into a girl’s
bedroom…’
Sue Palmer, in her new book, 21st Century Girls,
goes all out for total technological cold turkey.
"Allowing electronic strangers into a girl's bedroom
before her mid-teens is an extremely bad idea. If
parents want their daughters to establish healthy
sleeping habits they have to bite the bullet and
insist that their bedroom remains a technology-free
zone."
Link Questions
• These questions will ask you how a sentence
creates an effective link between one
paragraph and another.
• You must:
• Show how one part of the sentence links back
to the previous paragraph.
• Show how another part refers forward to the
new paragraph.
Link Questions
• Various ‘markers’ will link the stages of the
argument.
• These could be conjunctions or phrases like ‘but’,
‘yet’ or ‘on the other hand’ which mark a change in
direction.
• If an argument is to be added to, expressions like
‘furthermore’, ‘moreover’, ‘a further advantage’ or
‘in addition’ will point to this.
• Sometimes a whole sentence will be used to mark a
turning point, and you may be asked a question on
this.
Look at the following example:
• Following the Roman invasion in 43 AD, the south of Britain
was totally subdued within thirty years; many Britons were
sold as slaves and the land was covered with Roman roads
and towns. Soon, south Britain was to be a complete
Roman province, the townsmen speaking Latin and building
for themselves those comfortable Roman houses with
central heating. A Roman temple to the god Mithras has
been excavated in the heart of London. But, unlike their
easy victory in the south, the north of the country resisted
the foreign invaders. Here the Romans were never able to
do more than hold down the natives for short periods.
There were no Roman towns, no country houses, no
temples, only forts and camps where soldiers lived for a
time.
Question: How does the sentence underlined form a link in the
argument?
• The accepted method for doing this is to pick out the parts
of the sentence that sum up the two ideas to be linked.
• You must quote these, and then explain in your own words
the ideas they are referring to, making clear which idea
comes before the linking sentence and which follows.
• In the above example the two parts of the sentence which
provide the link are ‘easy victory in the south’ and ‘the
north of the country resisted’.
What should my answer look like?
• The answer should read:
• The words ‘easy victory in the south’ refer to the
romans’ quick transformation of Southern Britain
which is discussed in the first part of the paragraph.
The words ‘the north of the country resisted’ link to
the next idea which describes how little the Romans
were able to achieve in the north.
Formula
• The word/expression ‘___________’ links back
to ____________, which was discussed in
paragraph ___.
• The word/expression ‘___________’
introduces the idea of ____________, which is
going to be discussed in paragraph ___.
How does the sentence ‘Needless to say, my efforts to explain this to my
daughter were pretty hapless.’ form a link between paragraphs 8 and 9?
• Especially for girls, with their intimate, gossipy, social
natures, the drive to remain as connected as possible
with friends is overwhelming. Yet perversely, floating in
an electronic sea has the deeper effect of depriving
them of the habit of being alone, developing their own
thoughts.
• Needless to say, my efforts to explain this to my
daughter were pretty hapless. I dredged up the
example of the hostage Terry Waite who got through
years chained to a radiator in Beirut by the sheer
strength of his interior life. My daughter listened
politely, but her expression was incredulous. When was
she ever going to be chained to a radiator in Beirut?
Has Liz Truss tried looking after six toddlers? I have.
I scored myself six kids to test-drive the minister's theory that adults should be allowed to
look after more children.
Zoe Williams, The Guardian, Friday 1 February 2013 16.58 GMT
• The Conservative MP Liz Truss, like so many in
public policy, has noticed that childcare is
unaffordable – families in the UK spend nearly a
third of their income on it; more than anyone
else in the world.
• Truss is unique, I think, in identifying the problem
as over-regulation – specifically, she thinks the
current adult-to-child ratios are too stringent. In
her plan, one adult would be able to care for six
two-year-olds (at the moment it's four).
• Did anybody test-drive her theory for her, even in
its planning stage? I do not think they did.
• So in the interests of public policy research, I
scored myself six toddlers between 9.30am and
1pm. These are not standard nursery hours, so I
cannot vouch for the poor humans who would
have to do this professionally. I should note here
that I don't have any childcare qualifications,
though I do have maths and English GCSEs, and
am educated to degree level. That didn't help.
• Sid and Sam are twins, Lucas and Ryan are good
pals, Harper is my daughter and is actually three,
and Gus rounded it up.
• Ryan was the godsend of the group: fascinated by
the taxonomy of the Pixar Cars franchise, he
made precisely no demands, apart from "where's
the red one?", "where's the blue one?", "where's
Sally?" and "batteries". He was also potty trained,
along with Lucas, who is a charmer. The twins
were in nappies; Gus was not in a good mood.
• Basically, the Ryan of a gang this size will get precisely no
attention at all. He will just occasionally be handed a car.
That might be fine. He might be a mini-version of those
adults who like to read poetry at parties. But I think the
authorities would expect him to have some interaction.
• On the subject of regulations, they require a carer to take
the kids out at least once a day. I want to make a
complicated analogy about a horde of ferrets and a
motorway, but actually, anybody who thinks an adult could
take out six two-year-old children has simply never met a
pre-verbal child. It would be the apex of irresponsibility.
People would stop you in the street. I couldn't even get
them all into the same room at the same time.
• Gus's mood was not bad, he just wasn't feeling very vivacious and wanted
to be in someone's arms the whole time. It's incredibly cute, like having a
marmoset, but now I have no arms to look after the other five. They didn't
fight with each other; I think they knew on some instinctive level that I
wouldn't be able to intervene.
• The twins are in that call-and-response phase, where they show you
something and tell you what it is, but they won't really rest until you show
them something else, tell them what that is, and then you swap. It's not
time-consuming so much as concentration-breaking, so you can never
follow through on what you're doing, and what you're normally doing is
looking for the child you can't immediately see. Quite often, that child will
show up in the time it takes you to remember that you were looking for
him, but not always, so there is a hell of a lot of running up and down
stairs and blind panic. I wasn't going to admit that, because I thought their
mothers would freak out. But now I've given them all back alive, I figure
it's OK. And because she's three and won't choke, I didn't take any notice
of my daughter at all. For all I know, she took off and spent the time in
Caffè Nero.
• Long-term, or rather, for any period longer than three hours, you
would basically have to pen them into a smaller space, otherwise
you would go mad. That's fine, it's not dangerous, but again, it's not
very Ofsted. You can't keep kids in a single room for a whole day
with no fresh air. Those are battery conditions.
• Twins poo at the same time, who knew? But you have to prioritise
the toddlers who are using a loo, as they seem to have some autosuggestion and need to go as soon as they smell anything that
reminds them of a loo. Building in some time to lose track of what
you were doing, I'd put this job at an hour, from poo-alert to the
second twin getting a fresh nappy. I don't even know where Ofsted
stands on this, but I don't think they would give me a medal.
• I want to put you through this in real time, but I've got to pick peas
out of the weave of my carpet. This is, on mature consideration,
and with no offence meant, the worst idea a person in government
has ever had.
How does the sentence, ‘So in the interests of public policy research, I scored
myself six toddlers between 9.30am and 1pm’ (paragraph 4) form a link at
this stage in the article?
• Did anybody test-drive her theory for her, even in
its planning stage? I do not think they did.
• So in the interests of public policy research, I
scored myself six toddlers between 9.30am and
1pm. These are not standard nursery hours, so I
cannot vouch for the poor humans who would
have to do this professionally. I should note here
that I don't have any childcare qualifications,
though I do have maths and English GCSEs, and
am educated to degree level. That didn't help.
How does the sentence, ‘On the subject of regulations, these require a carer
to take the kids out at least once a day ’ (paragraph 8) form a link at this stage
in the article?
• Basically, the Ryan of a gang this size will get precisely no
attention at all. He will just occasionally be handed a car.
That might be fine. He might be a mini-version of those
adults who like to read poetry at parties. But I think the
authorities would expect him to have some interaction.
• On the subject of regulations, they require a carer to take
the kids out at least once a day. I want to make a
complicated analogy about a horde of ferrets and a
motorway, but actually, anybody who thinks an adult could
take out six two-year-old children has simply never met a
pre-verbal child. It would be the apex of irresponsibility.
People would stop you in the street. I couldn't even get
them all into the same room at the same time.
Tone
• You will have to:
1. Identify a tone.
2. Quote words which create the tone.
3. Explain how the words that you have quoted
create the tone.
How does the writer establish a tone
of surprise in the second paragraph?
• Long-term, or rather, for any period longer than three hours, you
would basically have to pen them into a smaller space, otherwise
you would go mad. That's fine, it's not dangerous, but again, it's not
very Ofsted. You can't keep kids in a single room for a whole day
with no fresh air. Those are battery conditions.
• Twins poo at the same time, who knew? But you have to prioritise
the toddlers who are using a loo, as they seem to have some autosuggestion and need to go as soon as they smell anything that
reminds them of a loo. Building in some time to lose track of what
you were doing, I'd put this job at an hour, from poo-alert to the
second twin getting a fresh nappy. I don't even know where Ofsted
stands on this, but I don't think they would give me a medal.
• I want to put you through this in real time, but I've got to pick peas
out of the weave of my carpet. This is, on mature consideration,
and with no offence meant, the worst idea a person in government
has ever had.
What is the tone of the final sentence
and how is it made clear?
• Long-term, or rather, for any period longer than three hours, you
would basically have to pen them into a smaller space, otherwise
you would go mad. That's fine, it's not dangerous, but again, it's not
very Ofsted. You can't keep kids in a single room for a whole day
with no fresh air. Those are battery conditions.
• Twins poo at the same time, who knew? But you have to prioritise
the toddlers who are using a loo, as they seem to have some autosuggestion and need to go as soon as they smell anything that
reminds them of a loo. Building in some time to lose track of what
you were doing, I'd put this job at an hour, from poo-alert to the
second twin getting a fresh nappy. I don't even know where Ofsted
stands on this, but I don't think they would give me a medal.
• I want to put you through this in real time, but I've got to pick peas
out of the weave of my carpet. This is, on mature consideration,
and with no offence meant, the worst idea a person in government
has ever had.