Former headteacher Mark Lehain has returned as special adviser to the education secretary – just over a year after leaving the post.

Lehain, who founded one of the first secondary free schools in the country, was initially appointed as a policy special adviser (SpAd) in 2021 by former education secretary Nadhim Zahawi.

He remained in-post under Michelle Donelan and James Cleverly following cabinet reshuffles, before being replaced at the beginning of Liz Truss’s stint in Number 10 last year.

He became head of education at the Centre for Policy Studies, an influential Conservative thinktank that was founded by Margaret Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph 49 years ago.