Politics is a brutal business. For 14 months, Catherine McKinnell had her “dream job” as schools minister.
But not much more than 24 hours after Angela Rayner’s resignation as Labour’s deputy leader, a move that kicked off a big reshuffle, she’s now left government.
The Newcastle North MP says she was offered a different role, but decided to return to the backbenches.
When we meet in Parliament a few days later, she won’t go into what happened, but says she “absolutely loved” her job. “So obviously, when that changes in a flash, it’s a big jolt.”
But she is an “eternal optimist”. Being free of the ministerial brief means she can again speak in parliament about non-education issues.
During her tenure, McKinnell says she is proudest of the two pay rises for teachers – 5.5 per cent last year and 4 per cent this year.
“They enabled us to be really clear how much we value teachers and teaching and schools and education and children”.
She also mentions the government’s new RISE improvement teams for schools that make sure that, while some schools need “fundamental change in terms of structure”, others get that support in “as fast as possible”.
Schools bill ‘hugely important’
Labour was criticised for its children’s wellbeing and schools bill, rushed out before Christmas with many of its academy reforms catching the sector off-guard.
McKinnell insists the team had a “very clear vision for what we wanted to achieve.
“The process of putting that into legislative form is obviously complex, but there are time restrictions. You get a take-off and landing slot in parliament, and you have to deliver within that.
“I actually think it’s a hugely important piece of legislation. It is going to visibly and tangibly improve outcomes for children, particularly not just the safeguarding aspects of it, but also how schools interrelate in a local community.”
The early days of the bill’s passage were humiliating for Labour, with McKinnell forced to announce an amendment over concerns it would prevent academies from paying teachers above national scales.
She rejects criticism she was not across the detail of the bill, including from the Conservatives.
“No, no, absolutely no,” she says. “They don’t agree with our approach. That’s politics.”
The Tories, licking their wounds after last year’s huge election defeat, often boast of their record in improving England’s standing in international league tables.
“But it’s not good enough,” says McKinnell. “Nobody should be satisfied with the numbers of children that still leave school without the qualifications that give them that springboard to the next stage. It has to change.”
‘I’ve never underestimated feelings of SEND families’
The reshuffle comes at a crucial time for education policy.
McKinnell was preparing a schools white paper for release this term that will set out the government’s approach to wide-ranging SEND reform, another key policy area in her previous brief.
But she’s confident the reforms will be delivered, with Bridget Phillipson remaining as education secretary.
McKinnell says a key part of her role over the past 14 months has been “really close listening and working with children and families”, particularly on SEND.
Rumours of plans to change or scrap education, health and care plans have prompted a fierce backlash from families.
But McKinnell says she has “never underestimated how deep those feelings run for families that are trying to navigate the system”.
“That is what has always motivated me to want to improve it, not just to improve the outcomes, which clearly need to be improved, but to really change that whole experience for families.”
‘I gave it everything’
McKinnell says her time in office has shown her “how incredible our educators are, whether that’s the support staff, the headteachers, the teachers, the governors and trustees.
“The absolute love, sweat and tears that goes into educating our children is something to behold.”
Is there anything she would have done differently? She pauses, her voice faltering.
“It’s a natural question to ask, you would think I’d be asking it of myself. But…no, I genuinely got up every single day and gave it everything.”
Reflecting on her government departure, she adds: “For the first time in a long time, I took my dog for a proper walk. And I helped to make the family a proper meal.
“It’s good to have the energy to do [things like that]. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”
If only I could believe her passion. my MP
Has been pushing for an investigation into our Trust. No one including this lady gives a dam about accountability.