CYP Now - New Education Secretary Nicky Morgan faces test to emerge from Gove's shadow

With nine months until the general election, children's leaders are sceptical that Nicky Morgan will have the time or experience to deviate from the agenda already mapped out by Michael Gove at the Department for Education.

Although a radical pre-election government reshuffle had been widely tipped by political commentators for some time, few could have foreseen last week's dramatic changes at the Department for Education.

In an apparent demotion, Michael Gove was made government Chief Whip, replaced by the relatively unknown Treasury minister and Conservative MP for Loughborough Nicky Morgan.

During a four-year stint as Education Secretary, Gove certainly left his mark: sweeping education reforms were accompanied by a desire to act more swiftly on child abuse and neglect; measures were introduced to boost the number of adoptions taking place; attempts to give councils more freedoms to "innovate" in child protection were forced through; and an interventionist stance on councils deemed to be failing in their duties was developed.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included