Highlights of the week ending 15 July
As the Conservative Party leadership contest continues, this week saw confirmation of the Department for Education’s new ministerial team has now been confirmed. Supporting James Cleverly is Brendan Clarke-Smith as Minister for Children and Families, Will Quince as Minister for School Standards, Andrea Jenkyns as Minister for Skills, Further and Higher Education, and Baroness Barran as Lords Minister/Minister for the School System.
Like all ministers appointed over the past week, the team is working in a caretaker capacity in order to keep Government business functioning during this interim period. A new administration is due to be formed with the announcement of the new Prime Minister in early September.
The world of education policy has not come to a standstill despite the political turmoil, with Ofqual publishing a number of reports, including research into Teacher Assessed Grades, UCAS figures showing a record number of disadvantaged students applying for university, the continuation of the passage of the Schools Bill, and the Education Committee latest evidence session on the future of post-16 qualifications.