As I’ve said before, I don’t think that anyone in a role like mine should publically take a party political view. School leaders have to work with whoever the public elects, both nationally and locally. We need to keep relations positive to avoid creating more barriers which could impact on our ability to provide the education our children deserve.

The appointment of Nadhim Zahawi as Secretary of State for Education is, I think, the 16th person in that role since I began my teaching career. I don’t think that anyone would envy the decisions that his predecessor, Gavin Williamson, had to make during the pandemic. However, it was widely felt by those working in schools that often we just weren’t listened to when major decisions were made. There was a huge sense of frustration that many of the mistakes made with educational decisions could have been avoided if the Secretary of State had listened to the voice of the profession. The fiasco over the grade algorithm in 2020 is a good example, as almost all school leaders pointed out how this would lead to unfair results for individual students.

I’ve always regarded the Secretary of State as one of the most crucial roles in Government, after all we are talking about a role where decisions have a critical impact on the future of our children and therefore the future success, happiness and prosperity of our nation. In my opinion it is a role that should always be given to someone with the necessary experience and skills to be successful in the role. Knowledge can always be gained and above all else it should go to someone who cares deeply about children and really wants the role. Consistency and a long term approach would be very welcome but unfortunately many of Mr Zahawi’s predecessors have lasted for only a year. This is in contrast to other nations like Germany, where the equivalent role has had 6 ministers in the same time period that Britain has had 16.

I welcome Mr Zahawi to the role and I wish him every success. He has a long ‘to do list’ passed on to him by Mr Williamson and this contains some huge challenges. The biggest challenge will be securing enough funding to resource schools properly so that they can overcome the impact of the Covd-19 disruption on education and help all of our children reach their potential.

The other huge challenge is to set a clear direction for the education sector and show some decisive leadership. For a number of years, there has been an absence of a strategic view, which has been replaced by short term thinking. Significant decisions often seem to be made only when a crisis point has been reached. A clearer rationale and strategy for education will be welcomed by many. If the Government is really serious about ‘levelling up’ then investment in education, particularly in areas of high deprivation, needs to be a key part of this.

Mr Zahawi has been widely praised for his work in helping roll out the Covid-19 vaccination programme in his previous role as Vaccines Minister. Let’s hope that at the end of his time as Secretary of State for Education that he will be worthy of similar praise for his positive impact on education and improving the life chances of our children.