The former academies minister Lord Agnew has joined the board of the group running the National Institute of Teaching, the government’s new flagship teacher training provider.
The Conservative peer was also appointed chair this month of the Inspiration Trust, the Norfolk-based academy trust he founded but left in 2018.
Agnew’s increased involvement in education follows his resignation from a Treasury and cabinet office role earlier this year in protest at the government’s handling of Covid loan fraud.
Agnew is the latest appointment to the board running the NIoT, which the government handed a £121 million contract to deliver all phases of teacher training earlier this year. It was formed by a group of four large trusts, known collectively as the School-Led Development Trust.
Other new SDLT directors include Rachel de Souza, now children’s commissioner but also previously at Inspiration Trust as its chief executive, who joined in June.
In July, another peer, Lord Hastings, also joined. The former teacher and campaigner for racial equality is currently chair of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Black Business Association, according to his parliamentary register of interests.
He also works as a leadership professor at the Utah State University, and is vice president of both youth charity Catch 22 and Unicef UK. Former University of Birmingham vice-chancellor Sir David Eastwood joined too in June.
A spokesperson for the NIoT said: “We are delighted that our already very strong Board of Trustees has been further bolstered by Lord Agnew and Lord Hastings.
“They, Dame Rachel de Souza and Sir David Eastwood all bring significant expertise and will help make sure that the vital work of the National Institute of Teaching is a success.”
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