Nick Gibb will continue as the minister for school standards after a minor reshuffle of the Department for Education team.
Justine Greening, the education secretary Gibb has served under for the past year, was also re-appointed as education secretary over the weekend.
Gibb was first appointed as school minister for the coalition government in 2010, having been a Conservative spokesperson on education since 2005.
In 2012 he returned to the backbenches but was re-appointed as minister for school reform in 2014 and was returned to the brief after the Conservative election victory in 2015 and again after May took over as Prime Minister last year. His official title is now minister for school standards.
Gibb was responsible for much of the curriculum and assessment reform of the last few years, including new tougher SATs, the English Baccalaureate and the roll-out of synthetic phonics.
There was speculation following the announcement that primary tests are to be reviewed that Gibb could be reshuffled.
However, the inclusion in the Conservative manifesto of some of the projects he has most advocated during his tenure, including plans for a times tables test for 11-year-olds and a renewed commitment to ensuring more pupils study the EBacc subjects, made his position look safer.
It has also been announced that Anne Milton and Robert Goodwill will join the DfE ministerial team, although their exact jobs are yet to be confirmed.
The consultation on Primary Assessment, one of Gibb’s obsessions, ends on 22 June. Here’s the link if you want to respond: https://consult.education.gov.uk/assessment-policy-and-development/primary-assessment/