Mark Lehain is to stand down from his position as interim director of the New Schools Network, it has been announced. 

The trustees of the free schools charity said he would step down on 31 October and return to focusing full-time on his work for Parents and Teachers for Excellence, which promotes knowledge-rich education. 

From November, Sigrun Olafsdottir will take on the day-to-day running of NSN as chief operating officer. Unity Howard will also take up a new role as head of advisory services.

The trustees of the NSN said they would soon be launching the recruitment process for a permanent director, and passed on their “deep gratitude” to Mr Lehain for his work.

Mr Lehain said: “I was absolutely delighted to be asked to step in as interim director and working with the NSN team has been a real privilege.

‘Evidence shows the value of free schools’

“The latest wave of free school applications is successfully underway, there is renewed support for the policy from the government, and there is a plethora of evidence showing how well the open free schools are performing - so it’s the perfect time for me to return to PTE full-time and the trustees to appoint a permanent director.”

Mr Lehain took over the NSN, which supports groups wishing to set up free schools, after the resignation of Toby Young.

Mr Young resigned following the controversy over his short-lived appointment to the board of the new Office for Students, which he left after concerns about crude comments he made on social media and articles mocking the inclusivity agenda.

Mr Lehain has first-hand experience of the free-school movement, having set up the Bedford Free School.