Kit Malthouse out as Education Secretary
Fiona Simpson
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Kit Malthouse is out as Education Secretary as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appoints his new cabinet.
Malthouse was appointed to the role in September, becoming the fourth Education Secretary in four months.
It is not yet clear if he resigned from the role or was asked to leave the Department for Education.
He wrote on Twitter: "As I leave the DfE, I do so with profound gratitude to officials, my private office team, and brilliant advisers, who all worked so hard. I hope my successor can harness their commitment to the most important mission in Whitehall: the future and welfare of our children."
He went on to thank "all the nursery workers, teachers, academics, staff, social workers and others, who help bring our young people through childhood and set them on a path to success. Our time together was short, but you will hear more from me in the months to come."
Sunak, who was appointed as Prime Minister by King Charles this morning (Tuesday), has appointed Gillian Keegan as Malthouse's replacement.
She is the 10th Education Secretary in nine years.
Sector leaders and MPs have renewed concerns that the "revolving door" of education ministers in recent years is impacting the speed at which three major reviews - the Care Review, the SEND and AP green paper and the schools white paper - are progressing.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of care charity Become, wrote on Twitter: "Goodbye to another Education Secretary, the fifth in a year, at a time when urgent change is needed to improve the lives and life chances of children in care. Desperately hope the next Ed Sec commits to the reforms and investment needed as a matter of urgency."
Mark Russell, chief executive of the Children's Society, added: "We’ve had four Education Secretaries in four months, and we need real political leadership to address the huge challenges facing young people."
He also called for Sunak to appoint a cabinet minister for children in line with recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Munira Wilson, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, said: "We are about to get our fifth Education Secretary this year. A school getting through heads that quickly would be in special measures. This government has failed our children abysmally."
So we are onto our fifth education secretary in four months, and our second unelected prime minister in less than two
— UCU (@ucu) October 25, 2022
We won't take any lectures on democracy from this clown show#ucuRISING https://t.co/8M6EtNUzY9
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), tweeted: "We at @ASCL_UK look forward to welcoming whoever is the new Education Secretary. But - really - this revolving door must stop. Education matters more than this. Schools and colleges deserve stable political leadership which addresses the key issues of funding and teacher shortages."
Nick Brook, deputy general secretary at the National Association of Headteachers, added: "In July, we welcomed the former-former-former-former Secretary of State for Education, @nadhimzahawi to our national executive meeting to discuss the funding crisis facing schools. Just four months on, @NAHTnews prepares to welcome the fifth Secretary of State to the 'best job in government'
