Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has appointed Gillian Keegan to the role. She will be the fifth education secretary in just under four months

A supporter of Rishi Sunak, Keegan replaced Kit Malthouse during the cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday 25 October.

On Twitter, Malthouse announced his departure from the role stating:

“As I leave the Department for Education, I do so with profound gratitude to officials, my private office team, and brilliant advisers, who all worked so hard. I hope my successor can harness their commitment to the most important mission in Whitehall: the future and welfare of our children.”

The early years sector has had to adapt to the instability and frequent change of education secretaries over the past couple of months. Keegan was elected to parliament for the West Sussex seat of Chichester in 2017. Shen then went on to serve as a junior minister for apprenticeships and skills between 2020 and 2021, and then as a minister of state in the health department from 2021 to September 2022.

Keegan took to Twitter and wrote:

“I’m deeply honoured to have been appointed as Secretary of State for Education by the PM Rishi Sunak. Education transforms lives – I know that talent is spread equally around the country and I will work tirelessly to ensure opportunity is also.”

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“We welcome Gillian Keegan as the new education secretary and congratulate her on her new role.

“With six different education secretaries in post over the last 14 months, it’s clear that the education sector is in desperate need of some stability and continuity, and that establishing a clear sense of direction for education policy in this country must be a top priority for Ms Keegan in her new position.

“It is crucial, however, any such policy work recognises that education starts long before the school gates, and acknowledges the absolutely pivotal role that the early years sector plays in supporting long-term learning and development, alongside our primary, secondary, further and higher education colleagues.

“As such, we look forward to working closely with Ms Keegan to ensure that early education and care is treated with the respect it deserves and sits at the heart of her department’s work going forward.”