There’s nothing like a good debate in a busy staffroom to awaken the intellect on a dreary winter morning. This week our discussions centred on the decision of a primary-school head teacher to send a letter to parents requesting that they refrain from doing the school run in their pyjamas. Some of them apparently even wear pyjamas to assemblies and meetings. My colleagues were unanimous in condemning the adults who decided to remain in their nightwear and equally united in their support for the head. The main charges levied against the offending individuals were about low aspirations and the notion that the laziness of the parents might imply permission to children to approach their schooling in a similarly lacklustre way.I wanted to disagree with my colleagues, citing some great, p