The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the

Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

, responsible for the work of the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Departme ...

. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office holder works alongside the other

Education ministers Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...

. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, and the work of the Secretary of State is also scrutinised by the Education Select Committee. The current education secretary is Gillian Keegan.

Responsibilities

Corresponding to what is generally known as an education minister in many other countries, the education secretary's remit is concerned primarily with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. This includes: * Early years * Children's social care * Teacher recruitment and retention * The national curriculum * School improvement * Academies and free schools * Further education * Apprenticeships and skills * Higher education * Oversight of the departmental coronavirus (COVID-19) response * Oversight of school infrastructure improvement

History

A committee of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

was appointed in 1839 to supervise the distribution of certain government grants in the education field. The members of the committee were the Lord President of the Council, the Secretaries of State, the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. From 1857 a vice-president was appointed who took responsibility for policy. On 1 April 1900, the Board of Education Act 1899 abolished the committee and instituted a new board, headed by a president. The members were initially very similar to the old committee and the president of the board was the Lord President of the council; however, from 1902 this ceased to be the case and the president of the board was appointed separately (although the Marquess of Londonderry happened to hold both jobs from 1903 to 1905). The Education Act 1944 replaced the Board of Education with a new Ministry of Education. The position of Secretary of State for Education and Science was created in 1964 with the merger of the offices of Minister of Education and the Minister of Science. The postholder oversaw the Department of Education and Science. From June 1970 to March 1974, this post was held by future prime minister Margaret Thatcher. In 1992, the responsibility for

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

was transferred to Cabinet Office's Office of Public Service, and the department was renamed Department of Education. In 1995 the department merged with the Department of Employment to become the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) and in 2001 the employment functions were transferred to a newly created Department for Work and Pensions, with the DfEE becoming the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). In 2007 under Gordon Brown's new premiership, the DfES was split into two new departments; the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and a Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, under two new secretaries of state. The ministerial office of the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills was, in late 2009, amalgamated into the new ministerial office of the resurgent politician Peter Mandelson, made a peer and given the title Lord Mandelson as the newly created Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills – itself an amalgamation of the responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Innovation, Universities and Skills. The Secretary of State has remit over higher education policy as well as British business and enterprise. From 14 July 2016 to 8 January 2018 the post was held by

Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transpor ...

, as her predecessor, Nicky Morgan, was sacked by

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

. Greening resigned after rejecting a

reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parli ...

to the Department for Work and Pensions. On 7 July 2022,

Michelle Donelan Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since September 2022. She previously served as Minister of State for Higher and Further E ...

became the shortest-serving cabinet member in British history, when she resigned as Education Secretary 35 hours after being appointed.

List of office holders