Former education secretary Damian Hinds has returned to the Department for Education, this time as a minister of state, having left his ministerial post in the Ministry of Justice.
He was education secretary for just over 18 months after being appointed in January 2018 by Theresa May, who was then prime minister.
Hinds was replaced in that role in July 2019 by Gavin Williamson in a reshuffle instigated by Boris Johnson - and said on stepping down that it was “the greatest privilege to serve as education secretary”.
So who is Damian Hinds? And why would the government be keen for him to return to a ministerial post in education?
Damian Hinds: education secretary, 2018-19
Hinds attended St Ambrose College, a grammar school in Altrincham, Cheshire, before completing a degree in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University.
On graduating, his website explains, he spent 18 years working in the pubs, brewing and hotel industries, both in Britain and abroad, before entering politics.
Hinds was elected Conservative MP for East Hampshire in May 2010 and soon entered the world of education by being appointed to the Commons Education Select Committee - a position he held for two years.
He also chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility and oversaw the publication of a report entitled 7 Key Truths About Social Mobility, which cited, among other things, the importance of quality teachers and teaching and said that “social/emotional ‘skills’ can help underpin academic success - and can be taught”.
What he achieved in office
After being appointed education secretary, he oversaw some notable policy changes, such as scrapping floor and coasting targets, and launching a strategy to focus on tackling teacher recruitment and retention - something that, over time, led to the creation of the Early Career Framework. This achievement was praised at the time by sector voices such as Leora Cruddas, CEO of the Confederation of School Trusts.
While at the helm of the DfE, it was generally felt that he had taken a light-touch approach, something appreciated by many because it meant that the sector was not burdened with yet more new systems and policies to follow.
During his time in office, he also launched the DfE’s edtech strategy, something that he said would help the education sector to “take advantage of all of the opportunities available through edtech”.
Given the rapid rise of online learning and artificial intelligence since he left the DfE, Hinds may now need to brush up on his edtech knowledge, not least in light of the legal challenge over the creation of Oak National Academy as a government arm’s-length curriculum resources provider and the recent decision to give it £2 million of funding for AI developments.
Hinds’ failure, while he was education secretary, to secure more funding for schools was, at the time, criticised by union leaders, including Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, and Kevin Courtney, who was then a joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union.
“While efforts may have increased, Damian Hinds has ultimately failed to win the case in government for restoring education funding to pre-cuts levels, leaving schools and the wider sector struggling to provide learners with the educational opportunities they should expect,” Courtney said at the time.
New ministerial role at the DfE
Clearly, then, there is past ministerial experience in education that Hinds can draw on in his new post. And his knowledge of the DfE and sector contacts may mean he has less of a “cold start” than a minister brand new to the department.
However, with perhaps only a year until a general election, how much scope there will be for Hinds to make a mark remains to be seen.
