Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was announced as Education Secretary on 5 July, the day after the Labour Party’s landslide win at the general election, with ministers named shortly after.
Individual portfolios have now been signed off by Downing Street.
Minister for children and families: Janet Daby (MP for Lewisham East)
Key responsibilities:
- children’s social care
- children’s unique identifier
- children in care and children in need
- looked-after children
- child protection
- adoption
- kinship care and foster care
- care leavers
- children’s social care workforce
- unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
- local authority improvement
- family hubs
- families support and parenting
Minister for early education: Stephen Morgan (MP for Portsmouth South)
Key responsibilities:
- early years education including for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- childcare and the home learning environment
- early years workforce
- early communication skills and early intervention
- breakfast clubs
- school food, including free school meals
- independent schools
- maintenance and improvement of the education estate
- environmental sustainability in the education sectors
- school attendance, including register of children who are not in school
- mental health support in schools
- safeguarding, online safety and prevention of serious violence in schools and post-16 settings
- counter extremism in schools and post-16 settings
- behaviour, preventing bullying and exclusions in schools
- use of data, digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in education
- use of research, science and evidence within the Department for Education
Minister for school standards: Catherine McKinnell (MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne North)
Key responsibilities:
- school improvement, intervention and inspection (including links with Ofsted)
- regional school improvement teams
- initial teacher training and incentives
- teacher retention including the early career framework and teacher training entitlement
- school leadership
- teacher pay and pensions
- school support staff
- core school funding
- qualifications (including links with Ofqual)
- curriculum and assessment, including the curriculum and assessment review and creative education
- special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and high needs
- alternative provision
- school governance
- admissions
- faith schools
- school uniform
- school transport
- access to sport, arts and music in education, working with other departments
- pupil premium
Minister for schools: Baroness Jacqui Smith
- Skills England
- technical qualifications, including T Levels
- higher technical education (levels 4 and 5)
- adult education, including basic skills and combined authority devolution
- careers advice and support for young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) (including the Careers and Enterprise Company)
- apprenticeships, including the growth and skills levy
- Technical Excellence Colleges
- local skills improvement plans
- governance, intervention and accountability of further education colleges
- funding for education and training, provision and outcomes for 16- to 19-year-olds
- further education funding, financial stability and workforce
- access to higher education, participation and lifelong learning
- quality of higher education and the student experience (including the Office for Students)
- student finance (including the Student Loans Company)
- international education
Phillipson will also hold the brief of women and equalities minister jointly with Annaliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East and will lead a new child poverty unit alongside Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.