Will Quince is the new schools minister following a reshuffle prompted by mass resignations last week.
The MP for Colchester served as children’s minister from September until last Wednesday, when he resigned in protest over Boris Johnson’s leadership.
However, he rejoined the department on Thursday as a minister of state, and was confirmed as schools minister today.
Quince has announced he will retain responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities, including the SEND green paper, which he led as children’s minister.
Quince replaces Robin Walker, who also resigned last Wednesday. He had told Schools Week he was willing to return to the role, but has not rejoined the DfE ministerial team.
Brendan Clarke-Smith is the new children’s minister, while Andrea Jenkyns is minister for skills, further and higher education.
Universities and skills were previously two separate briefs but have now been combined, indicating the DfE will continue with just five ministers, one fewer than before the resignations.
James Cleverly was appointed education secretary last week, the third person to hold the title in just two days. Baroness Barran continues as academies minister.
Meet the ministers
James Cleverly, education secretary
Responsible for
Early years
Children’s social care
Families
Teacher recruitment and retention
The school curriculum
School improvement
Academies and free schools
Further education
Apprenticeships and skills
Higher education
Oversight of the departmental coronavirus (covid-19) recovery
Will Quince, schools minister
Responsible for
Qualifications (including links with Ofqual)
Curriculum including relationships, sex, and health education and personal, social, health and economic education
Standards and Testing Agency and primary assessment
School accountability and inspection (including links with Ofsted)
Supporting a high-quality teaching profession including qualifications and professional development
Supporting recruitment and retention of teachers and school leaders including initial teacher training
Teaching Regulation Agency
Support for raising school standards including the National Tutoring Programme
School revenue funding, including the national funding formula for schools
School efficiency and commercial policy
Education Investment Areas, Opportunity North East and Opportunity Areas (jointly with Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School System))
Pupil premium
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including high needs funding
School food, including free school meals
Coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery for schools
Brendan Clarke-Smith, children’s minister
Responsible for
Children’s social care
Families
Children in care, children in need, child protection, adoption and care leavers
Early years and childcare
Disadvantaged and vulnerable children
School sport
Alternative provision
Behaviour, attendance and exclusions
Children and young people’s mental health, online safety and preventing bullying in schools
Policy to protect against serious violence
Coronavirus (covid-19) recovery for children’s services and early years
Baroness Barran, academies minister
Responsible for
Academies and multi-academy trusts
Free schools and university technical colleges
Faith schools
Independent schools
Home education and supplementary schools
School governance and intervention in underperforming schools
School capital investment (including pupil place planning)
Education investment areas, opportunity north east and opportunity areas (jointly with minister of state (minister for school standards))
Admissions and school transport
Digital strategy and technology in education (edtech)
Safeguarding in schools and post-16 settings
Counter extremism in schools and post-16 settings
Departmental efficiency and commercial policy
Andrea Jenkyns, skills, FE and HE minister
Responsible for
T-levels
Qualifications reviews (levels 3 and below)
Higher technical education (levels 4 and 5)
Apprenticeships and traineeships
Further education providers, workforce, funding and accountability
Institutes of technology
Local skills improvement plans and local skills improvement fund
Adult education, including, the national skills fund and the uk shared prosperity fund
Careers education, information and guidance including the careers and enterprise company
Reducing the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training
Further education and higher education quality
Higher education reform
Lifelong loan entitlement
Student experience and widening participation in higher education
Student finance (including the student loans company)
International education strategy and international students
Coronavirus (covid-19) recovery for further education services, universities and higher education institutions
Don’t get too comfortable in your seats, hopefully a new ministerial team will take over soon, with a better vision for primary and secondary schools, an improved process for university admissions and financial support for students.