Sir Kevan Collins, the government’s school standards tsar, will lead the Department for Education’s non-executive board, it has been announced.
Collins, a former chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, was appointed as a non-executive board member at the DfE after Labour won the election in July.
Now he has been promoted after former Co-operative boss Richard Pennycook’s latest term of office came to an end. Pennycook, who was recently appointed as chair of the new Skills England body, has served in an interim capacity since November.
Collins will serve as lead non-executive board member from February 11 for a period of three years. He will be paid £20,000 for around 24 days each year.
The DfE said Collins was appointed “through an open recruitment process where he was deemed to be strongest candidate for the role by the panel”.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Through our plan for change, we are driving high and rising standards for every child, in every school, in every part of the country, breaking the link between background and success.
“Sir Kevan has already been a key driver of that work. His experience from classroom to boardroom and across every aspect of education standards make him the ideal person for this crucial role, advising the department as lead non-executive director.”
Among Collins’s declared interests are his role as executive vice chair of Learning by Questions ED Tech company, director of Collins Education Associates and Goodstart Early Learning Australia.
He also remains a trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation, the HG Foundation and a member of the South Australia Education expert advisory board.
Collins is a Labour Party member
Collins also declared that he is a member of the Labour Party and made a £500 donation to the party.
In September, Schools Week revealed how Department for Education officials expressed concerns about the “diversity” of its non-executive board when appointing Collins as a director, noting they were “all white men of a similar age already”.
Emails and text messages obtained under the freedom of information act detailed how civil servants began preparing for Collins’s appointment on July 2, before Labour won the election.
The appointment, which was made directly rather than through a competitive process, was questioned by some Conservatives, including former Downing Street adviser Henry Newman.
Communications show the proper process was followed, but officials raised concerns about the perception of the direct appointment and the diversity of the board.
At the time, only three of the nine-member panel were women – education secretary Bridget Phillipson, permanent secretary Susan Acland-Hood and operations director Jane Cunliffe. The six externally appointed members were all men.
The DfE advertised a further two spots on its board last year. It said they were currently 11 ongoing competitions to fill 22 vacancies at the DfE and among its arms-length bodies. Announcements will be made “shortly”.
‘Challenging and supporting’ ministers
The DfE’s board is chaired by Phillipson and “supported” by the lead member and other directors and senior civil servants.
Its main responsibilities are to provide “strategic and operational leadership to the department”, to scrutinise the delivery and performance of policy and to “challenge the department and its senior officials on how well it is achieving its objectives”.
In the role, Collins will be asked with leading the DfE’s non-executive team, “ensuring that they are able to fulfil their role effectively”.
He will be expected to “help shape the Department’s strategy by challenging and supporting senior officials and ministers, including through attendance at departmental board meetings approximately six times per year”
He will hold the DfE to account on strategy, performance and spending, and provide “honest, informed feedback on the departmental and senior officials’ performance”
The DfE’s person specification for the role called for “knowledge and understanding of the education, skills and/or children’s social care systems”, as well as “experience and expertise related to our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and create better life chances for all”.
It also called for leadership experience in a “large and complex organisation”, including experience of either strategic planning, financial management, performance management or risk management.
The successful candidate was also expected to demonstrate “experience of holding a large and complex organisation to account for delivery of its mission, values and strategic goals through regularly reviewing performance reports, financial statements and compliance with legal and ethical standards”.
