Mike Baker is an award-winning freelance journalist , broadcaster, and education expert who spent 18 years as the BBC’s education correspondent on TV and radio. He joined the BBC in 1980 as a graduate news trainee and was a political correspondent from 1983 to 1989. His BBC career has included short spells as deputy home news editor, foreign affairs correspondent, and working in the Moscow bureau.
He is the CIPR National Education Journalist of the Year, 2008.
He is a columnist for the BBC and The Guardian, broadcasts regularly on BBC radio, and is presenter and anchor for several series on Teachers’ TV.
Mike is a highly experienced chair and facilitator of conferences, workshops and awards ceremonies, and offers media training, especially to education clients.
His clients include the Royal Shakespeare Company, UCAS, The British Council, The Training and Development Agency, Cambridge Assessment, the CBI, Neil Stewart Associates, EdComs, Goldsmiths College, Communications Management and the Royal Veterinary College.
A recent engagement saw Mike return to co-host with Floella Benjamin OBE. the 2008 Star Awards in London. This was a repeat booking for both Mike and Floella as they worked together so successfully on the 2007 awards.
He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He has been a school governor and is married with two daughters. Mike enjoys football (he is a lifelong Ipswich Town supporter), jazz, local history, and walking.
Up-date The latest series of Need To Know is now running on Teachers TV. Topics include the Primary Review and Childrens’ Trusts.
TESTIMONIALS
”Mike Baker…is one of the best journalists in any specialism around today. He specialises in taking a very complex series of events and making sense of them for anybody to read. Perhaps more importantly, he leaves it up to the reader, listener or viewer to make up their own mind about the truth of the matter,having given them both a truly objective diagnosis and a list of the challenges they should consider”.
Judges in the CIPR Educational Journalism Awards, 2006.
”Mike Baker is a excellent conference chair. He is extremely knowledgeable and ensures everyone is able to enjoy the event to its full potential. As conference chair he is a vital part of a successful event, drawing on his superb journalistic experience, and we always know it will be a good day if he is in charge. Mike inspires confidence in speakers and really engages the audience. He ensures speakers and delegates are getting the most out of an event”.
Neil Stewart, Chair & Chief Executive, Neil Stewart Associates
”I would like to thank you for a most enjoyable day’s training. It is quite possibly the most useful training day I have ever attended”. ”It is possible to teach old dogs new tricks” ”Awesome!”
Attendees on media training course for senior examiners at Institute of Assessors, July 2008.
”..the compere, Mike Baker, former BBC education editor and now columnist for Education Guardian, lightened the atmosphere superbly. Not only is he a skilled speaker and broadcaster but he knows and understands the issues”.
Peter Kingston, The Guardian, June 26 2007
”I personally would like to thank you for doing such an excellent job in chairing our annual summit you connected perfectly with the audience and made the whole day appear seamless.”
Lynne Sedgemore CBE, Chief Executive, Centre for Excellence in Leadership, May 2007.
”..you eloquently teased out the cathartic and frustrated emotions and opinions of a profession on the back foot in a refreshingly constructive way. It was brilliant to have an impartial chairman like yourself, and you made a very difficult task look simple”.
Dick Rainsbury, Director of Education, The Royal Collge of Surgeons, March 2007.
”The publishers claim that Baker’s book strips away the rhetoric and jargon to explain what is really happening in schools today. I think it does – and with some style”.
Michael Duffy, book review of Mike’s book ”Who Rules Our Schools”.
”…the evaluation sheets score you very highly – perhaps next year you could enter the Eurovision Song Contest!”
David Johnson, head teacher, King’s Collge, Madrid, COBISEC conference May 2007