James Cleverly appointed Education Secretary

James Cleverly has been appointed Education Secretary by Boris Johnson.

Mr Cleverly was promoted to the position on 7 July, replacing Michelle Donelan, who resigned after 35 hours in the post. Donelan had replaced Nadhim Zahawi, who had been promoted to Chancellor after the resignation of Rishi Sunak.

The MP for Braintree, who was first elected in 2015, has previously held four other positions since joining the government in 2019. He has served in the Department for Exiting in the EU and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, where he was appointed minister of state for Europe and North America in early February.

Mr Cleverly also served as co-chairman of the Conservative party from 2019 to 2020.

He is the fourth Education Secretary in the 2021-22 academic year, and the eighth to serve in 10 years.

In a statement, Mr Cleverly said: “As someone whose grandfather was a teacher and whose children are currently in the education system, I am incredibly passionate about education and proud to be appointed Secretary of State.

“From childcare and exams results, to our Schools White Paper, T Levels and the rest of our revolutionary skills agenda, we have a huge amount of work to do and I am looking forward to getting on with the job. That means ensuring children, young people and their families continue to be supported – they have my full commitment.

“I look forward to engaging with our brilliant nurseries, social workers, schools, colleges, universities and all the staff working across these sectors to realise people’s potential – whatever their backgrounds or wherever they come from.”

Mr Cleverly appears not to have spoken on further education or skills issues during his time in parliament, but in 2007, he said that he supported grammar schools, which “provide the best way for bright but poor children to get on in life”.

In late 2018 and early 2019, Mr Cleverly was part of a row with the National Education Union (NEU) about their “school cuts” website. He challenged the claim that 91% of schools face funding cuts and appealed to the UK Statistics Authority about misleading use of data.

The body agreed that the statistic was “misleading”, but the NEU stood by its figures and argued that the funding crisis was “very real”.

Mr Cleverly’s appointment has been cautiously welcomed by figures in the sector.

“Mr Cleverly is the eight secretary of state for education since 2010 and the fourth since the last election. Education is far too important to be subjected to such damaging levels of instability.”

– General Secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “As always, school leaders will welcome a new Secretary of State to their post. I wish James Cleverly every success with his endeavours, he certainly has a packed inbox.

“I hope that we will soon have the clarity of a long-term Secretary of State who can set out a clear plan that deals with the issues, and then stays long enough to see that plan through.

“But I cannot help but reflect that Mr Cleverly is the eighth secretary of state for education since 2010 and the fourth since the last election. Education is far too important to be subjected to such damaging levels of instability. Ofsted would take a very dim view of that level of leadership change in a school.

“The temporary nature of this caretaker cabinet will merely compound the uncertainty. This is simply not good enough. Children and young people deserve better.”

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “These are clearly unusual times and the fact that we have another new Education Secretary less than 48 hours after the appointment of Michelle Donelan has to be seen in that context, although it is frustrating that important government roles currently seem akin to political musical chairs.

“Nevertheless, we welcome James Cleverly to the post and wish him well. It is of paramount importance that there is political stability going forward given the fact that there are several crucial issues facing the education sector including the teachers’ pay award, exam results, teacher shortages and severe funding pressures exacerbated by soaring energy costs.

“We look forward to discussing these matters with Mr Cleverly and we hope to work with him constructively in the best interests of children and young people.”

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “We welcome the appointment of James Cleverly to the post of Education Secretary. As the eighth Secretary of State for Education since 2014, and the third since Tuesday, we hope that he will immediately address the issues that are vital to young children and the teaching profession.

“The causes of the alarming teacher recruitment and retention crisis such as real-terms cuts to pay, excessive workload and the damaging impact of Ofsted, must be resolved. Schools are also seeing serious problems with support staff retention because of poor pay.

“The Schools Bill which is currently making its way through Parliament needs urgent reform to be of any relevance to schools. Instead of repeating the mistakes of previous Education Secretaries, James Cleverly, even as a caretaker Education Secretary, must listen to the profession, parents and students.

“On pay, the Secretary of State will very soon need to look at the latest report of the School Teachers’ Review Body on pay and award an inflation-plus rise for all teachers. Anything less than that would be a failure. Nor is it a decision that can be delayed; summer term ends shortly, and school leaders must be in knowledge of the pay rise and any additional funding in order to plan their budget for next year.”