Email

It hasn't taken long for the political spinning to start over the council's review of our education services.

An email arrives in the newsdesk inbox from a former governor at a Croydon secondary school intended for our letters page, hailing the brave stance of the Conservative administration and Councillor Maria Gatland in particular.

But what's this? Scroll down and it seems the letter may not be all it's cracked up to be.

Before reaching Advertiser House, it appears to have been forwarded around to a select group for their approval including Gavin Barwell and - ta da - Councillor Gatland herself. (The latter's verdict: "I think that's good.")

In fact, it seems the letter underwent some hefty editing before being deemed suitable for our consideration.

The school our contributor was governor of was removed in case it encouraged other people connected with it to write in, and other sections were removed to cut down on any overlap with another missive we are apparently due to receive.

So why am I bothering to blog about this?

Simply because these reforms are hugely important for our current and future pupils and parents, and I've committed the Advertiser to covering them in as much depth as we can.

I think everyone concerned should just set out the facts and listen to the feedback, without trying to influence public opinion.