Third senior advisor announces DfE departure

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, will lose a third key policy adviser this summer after long-serving government adviser Dr Tim Leunig announced plans to join Public First

Another senior adviser on schools policy, David Thomas, left the department to lead a new math charity, and Patrick Spencer, who advised on social care, left the DfE in April and is now director of The Jobs Foundation.

Nigel Thomas, who focuses on further education and skills policy, remains in his position. This comes as the DfE is implementing key reforms, including an academies review, an SEND improvement plan, and a response to the MacAlister review of children’s social care.

Indra Morris, a senior civil servant overseeing the SEND review, is also leaving at a critical time.

Leunig, who worked as a policy adviser in the DfE, left in 2017 to advise the environment department and returned as an expert adviser in 2018-2019. He has since split his time between health, education, environment, and the levelling-up department.

Leunig stated that it is time for him to move on from working in government. Both Leunig and Thomas had to receive approval from the government’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments for their new positions.

Thomas left the DfE to become the CEO of Mathematics Education for Social Mobility and Excellence (MESME), a charity founded by a finance billionaire aiming to double the number of PhD students in mathematical sciences in UK universities.

Public First, where Leunig will be joining, already has former government education advisers on its team.

A DfE spokesperson said Keegan was “grateful for the dedication and expertise her senior policy advisors continue to bring to the department and wishes those leaving the Civil Service the very best in their future endeavours”.