Department for Education

Department for Education
Name	Department for Education
Formed	2010
Preceding1	Department for Children, Schools and Families
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Sanctuary Buildings, London
Minister1 name	Gillian Keegan
Minister1 title	Secretary of State for Education
Chief1 title	Permanent Secretary
Website	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

Department for Education. It is a Ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for Child protection, Early years foundation stage, Primary education, Secondary education, Further education, Apprenticeships, and wider skills in England. The department works alongside a range of executive agencies and public bodies, including Ofsted and the Education and Skills Funding Agency, to deliver its objectives. Its political head is the Secretary of State for Education, a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

History

The department's origins lie in the Committee of the Privy Council on Education established in 1839. Over the centuries, education functions were managed within various departments, including the Board of Education created by the Board of Education Act 1899 and the post-war Ministry of Education. A significant predecessor was the Department for Education and Skills formed in 2001, which was later split. The current department was established in 2010 by the incoming coalition government led by David Cameron, taking over the schools and children's services functions from the abolished Department for Children, Schools and Families. Subsequent machinery of government changes have seen responsibilities for Higher education and science transfer to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and later the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, before some skills policy was returned.

Responsibilities

The department is responsible for setting policy and allocating funding for state-funded schools, academies, and free schools across England. It oversees the national curriculum, School performance tables, and the regulation of the Teaching profession through bodies like the Teaching Regulation Agency. Its remit extends to special educational needs, Children's social care, and promoting Social mobility. The department also funds and regulates the Further education sector, including sixth-form colleges and Apprenticeship training provided by employers like Rolls-Royce and Network Rail.

Structure

The department is led by the Permanent Secretary, a senior civil servant, and is organized into directorates covering areas such as Schools Group, Social Care, Mobility and Disadvantage Group, and Skills Group. It sponsors several key arm's length bodies, including the Education and Skills Funding Agency, which manages funding, the Standards and Testing Agency, and the Office for Students (though the latter primarily relates to higher education). The department's work is scrutinized by the Education Select Committee of the House of Commons.

Ministers

The Department for Education ministers are led by the Secretary of State for Education, a position held by figures such as Michael Gove, Nicky Morgan, Justine Greening, and Damian Hinds under Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May. As of 2023, the Secretary of State for Education is Gillian Keegan, appointed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Other ministers typically include a Minister of State for Schools and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, who are based in the department's headquarters at Sanctuary Buildings in Westminster.

Policies and initiatives

Major policies have included the expansion of the academies programme and the introduction of free schools, reforms championed by Michael Gove. The department introduced significant changes to GCSE and A Level qualifications and the associated national curriculum. It launched the T-level technical qualification and the Multiply programme for numeracy. Other key initiatives have focused on Teacher recruitment, the Early years foundation stage, and the implementation of the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan following the SEND review.

Criticisms and controversies

The department has faced criticism over the handling of School funding and real-terms cuts, leading to protests by groups like the National Education Union. Its reform of qualifications and the national curriculum under Michael Gove was contested by educators and unions including the Association of School and College Leaders. The academisation programme and the performance of some multi-academy trusts, such as the Wakefield City Academies Trust, have been scrutinized by the Education Select Committee and the National Audit Office. Other controversies include delays in publishing School performance tables, challenges in Children's social care, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic regarding school closures and examinations, which led to the 2020 GCSE and A-Level algorithm controversy and the intervention of Ofqual.

Category:Department for Education Category:Education in England Category:Ministerial departments of the Government of the United Kingdom Category:Organisations based in the City of Westminster