Not long after David Johnston replaced Claire Coutinho as the minister whose responsibilities include SEND and AP, news came through that Nick Gibb, who has been the schools minister on and off for 10 years, had chosen to return to the backbenches. His replacement is none other than a former secretary of state for education, Damian Hinds.
Shortly after he resigned, Mr Gibb told Tes Magazine: “I will never cease to be deeply involved in education policy until I believe the job is done… I am not giving up on education policy. I am just giving up on being a minister” (Tes, 14 November 2023).
It’s an interesting idea that the job could, at some stage, be ‘done’, even with ministers as energetic as Nick has been, with his phonics crusade, his enthusiasm for the more esoteric elements of grammar, and his suggestion that schools shouldn’t be rated good by Ofsted if their EBacc take-up is below the national average.
As well as the comings and goings at the DfE, the year has seen the dawn of the SEND and AP Improvement Plan (SENDAP IP) and the start of its implementation. This summary sets out some of the detail of what is starting to happen, followed by a briefer account of the progress of the implementation of the reforms to children’s social care, and ending with a glimpse of what might be to come in 2024 – and beyond!
