Greening departure is ‘very disappointing,’ says ASCL

Commenting on today’s Cabinet reshuffle, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“We are very sorry to see the departure of Justine Greening as education secretary. She has tried hard to tackle the school funding crisis, without any help from the Chancellor or Prime Minister. She has demonstrated an absolute commitment to social mobility, to addressing the serious difficulties in teacher recruitment and retention, and to developing education policy on the basis of evidence. She set an ambitious agenda on flexible working which challenged the profession to do more to modernise itself.

“All of this was important work in progress. It is very disappointing therefore to lose her as secretary of state, particularly at a time when the education sector needs stability after the policy pyrotechnics and structural tinkering of recent years.

“We welcome Damian Hinds to the post and look forward to working with him in a constructive manner. Our shared aim must be to ensure that school and college leaders are trusted to focus on what matters most – enabling teachers to help children and young people to achieve their best, irrespective of their background.”