Author: Freddie Whittaker

Nick Gibb, the long-serving schools minister who has been at the heart of education policy for the best part of a decade, will continue his tenure at the Department for Education. Gibb has already served a combined six years and five months in the role of minister of state for schools, and seven years and […]

Gavin Williamson has been announced as the new education secretary, in Boris Johnson’s first cabinet line-up. Here is what we know about him 1. Born in 1976, Gavin Williamson is 43 years old. The average age of an education secretary is 49.5. However he is far from being the youngest to ever take the role. […]

The proportion of pupils being suspended from schools in England has risen slightly this year, with the government blaming the increase on youngsters being repeatedly excluded. Data for 2017-18 shows that the rate of fixed period exclusions, or “suspensions”, increased to 5.08 per cent from 4.76 per cent in 2016-17. The rate of pupils being […]

Gavin Williamson, the former defence secretary, has been appointed as the new education secretary. Downing Street made the announcement tonight as part of a wide-ranging reshuffle of his top team. Damian Hinds, the previous education secretary, confirmed on Twitter earlier this evening that he is returning to the backbenches. Williamson has been the MP for […]

Damian Hinds has confirmed he will return to the backbenches after just over 18 months as education secretary. It is unclear whether the MP for East Hampshire has been sacked by new prime minister Boris Johnson or chosen not to serve under him, but Hinds was not expected to continue in the role either way. […]

The new prime minister Boris Johnson has said he will “immediately” begin work to “level-up” per-pupil funding for schools. Delivering his first speech on the steps of Downing Street, Johnson said it is his job to make sure children “get a superb education, wherever they are”. During his campaign, Johnson initially pledged a measly £50 million […]

Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London and foreign secretary, has been named as the new leader of the Conservative Party and will become prime minister tomorrow. The Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP beat the health secretary Jeremy Hunt by 92,153 votes to 46,656 in the Tory leadership election to replace Theresa May.   1. […]

A former Conservative MP who stood down after being tainted in the parliamentary expenses scandal has been appointed to Ofsted’s board. Julie Kirkbride is one of five new appointments to the board. The other new members are Star Academies chief executive Hamid Patel, Education and Skills Funding Agency board member Martin Spencer, Bath College chair […]