Ex-DfE adviser Lehain becomes think tank head of education

Former Department for Education special adviser Mark Lehain has been named as head of education at the Centre for Policy Studies think tank.

Lehain, a former head of the New Schools Network and the founder of Bedford Free School, was appointed as a policy SpAd at the DfE last October by then education secretary Nadhim Zahawi.

He remained in-post under Michelle Donelan and then James Cleverly over the summer.

But he was replaced last month by former Downing Street education adviser Rory Gribbell after Kit Malthouse became education secretary.

The CPS was founded in 1974 by Margaret Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph, and still holds an influential role in Conservative policymaking.

Its director, Robert Colvile, co-wrote the party’s 2019 manifesto with Rachel Wolf, also a former government education adviser.

Caroline Elsom, a former CPS head of education, is now responsible for the brief under a broader “public services” banner at Downing Street.

Well-known in the education sector and a regular media commentator on schools issues, Lehain is a vocal proponent of traditionalist education ideologies including a knowledge-rich curriculum and strict behaviour policies.

After six years at Bedford, Lehain went on to lead Parents and Teachers for Excellence, a campaign group for education reform founded by Dame Rachel de Souza, the now children’s commissioner.

Lehain also served as interim director of the New Schools Network, a government-funded charity, for a brief period in 2018.

He was also a director of the Campaign for Common Sense, which has published research on culture war issues including gender identity and “wokeness”.

Lehain contested Newcastle North for the Conservatives at the 2019 election, but lost to Labour MP Catherine McKinnell, who has held it since 2010.

He was educated at the University of Cambridge, and was a maths teacher before moving into school leadership.

Given his seniority in the DfE, Lehain’s appointment to the CPS had to go to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) for sign-off.

Colville said he was “delighted” to have Lehain join the team.

“Mark brings a wealth of experience with him, having previously headed up the New Schools Network, Parents and Teachers for Excellence and founded one of the very first free schools.

“Mark’s knowledge of the educational landscape will be a huge asset to us as we continue to develop the CPS policy platform in this area.”

Lehain tweeted that he was “chuffed to be joining the CPS team”, and “looking forward to getting stuck into some projects”.