It’s all change in the government. Theresa May has been sworn in as our new Prime Minister, and there is wholesale change across the political Cabinet.
In education and skills, there are several ministerial changes, and responsibility for skills, along with Higher Education, has returned to the Department for Education (DfE). We look forward to seeing how bringing education, universities, FE and Apprenticeships under one minister’s remit will ensure joined up decision making for the benefit of learners.
Responsibility for all of this lies with Justine Greening, the new Education Secretary. She’s also been appointed Minister for Women and Equalities. The added brief of skills and HE makes her position more influential than that of her predecessor, Nicky Morgan.
Ms Greening is the first person in this role to have attended a comprehensive school and a sixth form college. She studied economics at the University of Southampton, before going on to train as an accountant and being elected to Parliament in 2005. Previously, she was International Development Secretary since 2011.
We welcome Justine Greening to the education portfolio, and look forward to her working with the sector to take forward the wide-ranging reforms currently being progressed in education. It’s great to see someone in this post that has first-hand knowledge of further education, in particular the work that sixth form colleges do and how valuable they are.
Following the resignation of Nick Boles as Skills Minister, Rob Halfon takes on a the role of Minister of State for Apprentices and Skills. This seems like a sensible appointment aimed at a smooth transition, as he has a history of championing Apprenticeships and university technical colleges. He has Cabinet experience, having moved from the role of Minister without Portfolio (attending Cabinet without a specific brief).
Nick Gibb has remained as Schools Minister, and we expect him to push to continue reforms around teaching methods such as phonics, and testing.
We cautiously welcome these changes, and hope that bringing skills and HE into the Department for Education will provide opportunities to improve transition at 19 years old, and to cut down on bureaucratic processes of working across two departments. We’ll be watching with interest to see where responsibilities lie and how budgets are aligned as the two departments merge.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss these developments, feel free to contact our Policy team at [email protected].
