Justine Greening has been replaced with Damian Hinds in a bid to ‘raise school standards’ as part of the Conservative’s New Year relaunch.
After a history of disagreement between Greening and Theresa May, including over grammar schools, the Prime Minister was keen to pass Education to someone else. Justine Greening, herself educated in the state system, was asked to take the Department of Work and Pensions but refused to budge from her position and, in keeping with the other somewhat shambolic proceedings of the day, waited in number 10 for two and a half hours while a decision was made. Greening ultimately chose to resign.
More change for schools and colleges a worry
Schools and colleges now will be anxious that yet another new minister for education will mean yet more change for the sake of change. Damian Hinds is the MP for East Hampshire and former chair for the all-parliamentary group on social mobility. As a new Leader of education, Damian Hinds is obliged to sweep clean and bring round fresh changes when in fact any more change to education policy could be the death knell for many schools.
Just send funding
The only radical overhaul schools need now is for their funding process to leave each and every one of them in a better position than the 2017 ‘fairer funding formula’. If Damian Hinds wants to make his mark then it’s stability that the education sector is looking for, with no further policy change for at least 5 years so that the curriculum and current policies can actually be implemented, bedded in and improved upon. Only if he can grasp the concept that retention is the issue in hand (not teacher recruitment) will he be the person to turn around the education sector for good.
New faces for a competent party
Mrs May is under significant pressure to demonstrate that the Conservatives have the knowledge to both lead the UK in its withdrawal from the EU as well as deal much more capably with the historically high pressures on domestic issues, specifically education and the NHS. Other prominent ministers were replaced, including Cabinet Office minister and First Secretary of State, Damian Green who gave ambiguous statements about pornography on his work PC. James Morris MP is vice chair for training and development, Ben Bradley MP is vice chair for youth, Maria Coulfield is vice chair for Women and Brandon Lewis is the new chairman of the Conservative Party.
About the author
Katie Newell
Katie Newell BA(Hons) PGCE is an ex-primary school teacher, Head of Maths, Head of Year five and languages specialist. Katie qualified in Psychology at Liverpool then specialised in Primary Languages for her PGCE at Reading. Katie feels passionately that teachers are the unsung heroes of society; that opening minds to creative timetabling could revolutionise keeping women in teaching, and that a total change to pupil feedback is the key to solving the work life balance issue for the best job in the world.