Michael Gove is called 'Mr Sloppy' for making a basic error Michael Gove has made much of how his policies are "evidence-based," but the Education Secretary has retrospectively had to go through a speech that he delivered to the Policy Exchange last month with a red pen. "In schools like Woodpecker Hall Primary in Edmonton or Durand Academy in Lambeth, far more children than the national average are registered as having special educational needs," he told the assembled gathering. But every child - regardless of the challenges they face - achieves far above the national average in numeracy and literacy. It has since been changed in its online rendering to: "In schools like Cuckoo Hall Primary or Durand Academy, far more children than the national average are registered as having special educational needs. But the vast majority of children - regardless of the challenges they face - achieved at or above the expected level in numeracy and literacy. Gove's spokesman tells me: "Our website makes clear that the published version of the speech was corrected for accuracy. The Secretary of State mistakenly cited Woodpecker Hall, instead of Cuckoo Hall. Both Durand and Cuckoo Hall have far more children than the national average registered as having special educational needs and 90 per cent and 94 per cent (respectively) of their pupils achieved at or above the expected level in numeracy and literacy. Last year, there were 223 schools with far more children than the national average registered as having special educational needs, where every child - regardless of the challenges they face - achieved at or above the expected level in numeracy and literacy. Kevin Brennan, Labour's shadow schools minister, was quick to give Gove a caning: "Oh dear, it appears Mr Sloppy has struck again." All I can say is that when Gove worked on The Daily Telegraph's diary, a much greater level of accuracy was expected of him.