Joint working - Ministerial overhaul results in new-look DCSF

First Beverley Hughes goes. Next, against all the odds, Ed Balls stays put. Then Dawn Primarolo becomes the new children's minister.

As if that wasn't enough drama for one week, Gordon Brown appointed three other new faces to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), boosting the ministerial crew from five to seven.

Kevin Brennan has returned to the department after eight months in the Cabinet Office as charities minister. Dawn Primarolo, who was previously public health minister, replaces Hughes as the central figure alongside Balls in driving forward the Every Child Matters agenda and the ambitions of The Children's Plan. She has worked with Balls before at the Treasury.

The three other entrants - schools minister Vernon Coaker, and junior ministers Diana Johnson and Iain Wright - are relatively unknown. But they are already making waves.

Last week, shadow children's secretary Michael Gove accused Coaker, a former teacher, of opposing the government's academies programme. He is a member of the Socialist Education Association (SEA) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), both of which have campaigned vigorously against academies.

Coaker - replacing Jim Knight, who is now work and pensions minister - denied Gove's claims and issued a statement extolling the virtues of academies. But his membership of such organisations has started people talking.

Hitting the right note

Malcolm Trobe, policy director at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), saw Coaker make his first ministerial appearance at an event last week. He says: "It's early days, but when Coaker delivered his speech to an audience of teachers, he certainly hit the right note. Although it's 10 years since he was in teaching, his wife is a teacher and his daughter is training to be one, so he is steeped in education."

He adds that Coaker's membership of SEA may not dictate his views on academies. "Not everyone within such a group agrees with all their policies," he says.

More important are his links with the NUT, warns Trobe. This is because the NUT is not part of the social partnership between government and teaching unions. "It's going to be interesting to see how he manages this. We would not want to lose any progress that has been made between the department and the unions," he says.

However, Trobe remains optimistic given Coaker's experience, which includes a spell working for former Education Secretary Estelle Morris. "We have considerable hope that Coaker will reflect what is really happening in schools to the department," he says.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the NUT, is supportive of Coaker's appointment because he brings significant classroom experience to the post. She says: "We hope he begins to trust the profession much more on curriculum content, assessment and the important question of accountability."

Call for smaller classes

Blower also wants the new schools minister to prioritise the reduction of class sizes. She says: "If he can set us on the path to class sizes of 20 by 2020 we will be very pleased."

Diana Johnson, another of the new junior ministers, may not have a background in the sector, but she is an honorary patron of Danny's Dream, a voluntary sector project in Hull that helps young adults with severe physical disabilities and learning difficulties.

Johnson replaces Sarah McCarthy-Fry, who was moved to Communities and Local Government. She was elected as the first female MP for Hull North in 2005.

Policy-wise, Johnson will lead on special educational needs (SEN), as well as admissions and the national curriculum. On making her debut at the House of Commons dispatch box last week, she defended the government's stance on home education and took part in a debate about the value of nurture groups in schools, which are designed to support pupils with additional needs.

Angela Sarkis, chief executive of the Nurture Group Network, says Johnson was positive about promoting this work. "She's made the commitment but I'm reserving judgment until I see what she does next. The ball is in her court," she says. Sarkis is hopeful, though. Johnson has indicated she wants to visit some nurture groups in practice.

Brian Lamb, who heads a government review of SEN and chairs the Special Educational Consortium, says: "We want more specialist support in schools and more action against exclusions of children with SEN. This means more early intervention," he says.

Iain Wright, the other new junior minister, is perhaps the most controversial of the new faces. Along with many MPs condemned in The Telegraph over his expenses claims, he made his career as a chartered accountant before entering politics.

Wright is no stranger to bad press. He succeeded Peter Mandelson as MP for Hartlepool after Mandelson left Parliament to be European Commissioner in 2004. At the time of the by-election, Wright was reported as being an unpopular contender, after local Labour members said they wanted an alternative candidate.

Despite this, Wright does have some relevant experience. He served as parliamentary private secretary in the Department of Health from 2005 to 2006, but resigned after Patricia Hewitt ordered a review of maternity and paediatric services at his local hospital. He has spent the past two years as junior minister in Communities and Local Government, which will have prepared him for the challenges of engaging councils with the 14-19 reforms.

Important new department

John Freeman, director of the React programme at the Local Government Association, which is supporting councils through the 14-19 reforms, thinks having a minister solely responsible for 14-19 reforms is a positive move.

But he attaches more importance to the new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which will be partly responsible for delivering the reforms and says the appointment of Kevin Brennan, former junior children's minister, as minister across DCSF and BIS is a step in the right direction.

Freeman says: "Joint working between the two departments is so important. We must not have an artificial divide between education and training pre- and post-19."

Aidan Relf, spokesman for the Association of Learning Providers, is pleased the government recognises the need for better integration. "It should help having Brennan to straddle both departments," he says.

Trobe adds: "Government departments traditionally work in silos, so it will be interesting to see if having a minister with a foot in both doors can make any difference."

Given that so much of children's and young people's policy - including health and youth justice - is shared between departments, the ability to break down these silos after the reshuffle will be crucial to driving forward improvements.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families

Balls is responsible for all policy in the Department for Children, Schools and Families

Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Schools and Learners

Responsible for school standards, the national curriculum, 14-19 education and diplomas, schools funding, the schools workforce and Building Schools for the Future

Dawn Primarolo, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families

Responsible for the teenage pregnancy strategy, family policy, parenting support, Sure Start, childcare, early education, extended schools, youth justice and Every Child Matters

Kevin Brennan, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs, jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

Responsible for further education, apprenticeships, engaging employers in skills and sector skills councils

Diana Johnson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools

Main areas of responsibility are school admissions, special educational needs and the national curriculum

Baroness Delyth Morgan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families

Main policy areas are safeguarding and child protection, drugs and alcohol, sport and healthy eating

Iain Wright, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for 14-19 Reform and Apprenticeships

Will lead on apprenticeships, 14-19 qualifications, 16-19 funding, work-based learning, Neet young people, the Young People's Learning Agency and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

Other relevant figures

Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Responsible for all Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) policies

David Lammy, Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, BIS

Responsible for building relationships with the higher education sector, higher education teaching quality, higher education strategy, student support policy and student grants and loans

Gillian Merron, Minister of State for Public Health Department of Health (DH)

Responsible for children's public health, health inequalities and health improvement programmes covering smoking, alcohol, drugs, diet and nutrition, physical activity, obesity, sexual health and abortion

Phil Hope, Minister of State for Care Services, DH

Responsible for social care, local government and care partnership, learning and physical disabilities, disabled children, child and adolescent mental health services and prison and young offender health

Ann Keen, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health Services, DH

Responsible for healthcare quality, including children's health services and maternity services. Also leads on DH workforce issues

Helen Goodman, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions

Responsible for the government's child poverty unit

Ministry of Justice

Maria Eagle