The MP for Bassetlaw was appointed to the Department for Education (DfE) on Friday, alongside Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley and Outwood.
However, the positions of the new ministers in the department, following a spate of resignation's last week amid the Number 10 crisis, had not been clarified until now.
The new ministerial team at the Department for Education is part of Boris Johnson’s reshuffle as a caretaker prime minister, following his resignation as Conservative leader last Thursday.
Clarke-Smith said he was 'excited' to take on the role of children and families minister.
Meanwhile, Will Quince – the previous minister for early years and childcare, who resigned last week over the Chris Pincher scandal - has been brought back in the reshuffle as a minister of state for school standards, a promotion from his previous job.
He replaces Robin Walker who quit alongside the skills minister Alex Burghart last week.
The parliamentary under-secretary of state for children and families now held by Clarke-Smith is a junior ministerial position.
Andrea Jenkyns, who has faced controversy over a rude gesture she made to protestors outside Downing Street on the day of Boris Johnson’s resignation, is the new skills, further and higher education minister.
On Monday, teaching unions and others wrote a joint letter to Jenkyns, calling for her resignation, after she was filmed sticking her middle finger up at the crowd.
The role has been downgraded from a full ministerial position.
Jenkyns also takes on the skills portfolio, previously held by Burghart, as well as the joint FE and HE brief, previously held by Michelle Donelan, who was a minister of state.
Donelan was promoted to education secretary when the previous holder of the post, Nadhim Zahawi, was made Chancellor after Rishi Sunak’s resignation.
However, she subsequently resigned after just 35 hours in the job - one of more than 50 ministers and aides that quit last week ahead of Johnson’s resignation.
James Cleverly was subsequently appointed as education secretary – the third to hold the job in two days.
The final minister in the DfE line-up is Baroness Barran is parliamentary under secretary of state (minister for the school system), an unpaid role as a Conservative life peer.
Sector response
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said, ‘We welcome the new children and families minister Brendan Clarke-Smith to what his predecessor referred to as "the best job in government".
'This is so true – it’s also one of the most important jobs because it holds a huge responsibility for the future of our children. We hope that he recognises that a child’s first five years count and look forward to sharing our new campaign to raise awareness of this.
‘This is a critical time for early years with providers working so hard to support children who are behind in their development following two years of restrictions and lockdowns. Their overstretched staff are stressed as nurseries find it ever more difficult to recruit. Childcare businesses who are paying rising costs and business rates are grappling with shortfalls in government funding, with increasing numbers having to close their doors for good.
‘It’s important for the new minister to focus on these challenges and support the sector rather than pursuing plans to relax ratios for two-year-olds. We look forward to our first meeting and to working with him going forward.’
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘We welcome confirmation that Brendan Clarke-Smith is the new children and families minister with responsibility for early years.
‘There’s no doubt that he joins at an extremely challenging time for the sector, as we continue to battle with the impact of the early years funding crisis, sustained recruitment and retention challenges and the ongoing debate over the proposed relaxation of ratios. As such, we look forward to working closely to with him to ensure that the views, needs and concerns of providers are represented.
‘Amid ongoing uncertainty regarding the future shape of the government, we hope that, whatever the outcome of current political debates, over the coming weeks and months we will see a much greater focus on the early years and on ensuring that the sector gets the support and the respect that it both needs and deserves.’
Brendan Clarke-Smith, parliamentary under-secretary of state (children and families)
Responsibilities include:
- children’s social care
- families
- children in care, children in need, child protection, adoption and care leavers
- early years and childcare
- disadvantaged and vulnerable children
- school sport
- alternative provision
- behaviour, attendance and exclusions
- children and young people’s mental health, online safety and preventing bullying in schools
- policy to protect against serious violence
- coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery for children’s services and early years
Will Quince, minister of state (minister for school standards)
Responsibilities include:
- qualifications (including links with Ofqual)
- curriculum including relationships, sex, and health education and personal, social, health and economic education
- Standards and Testing Agencyand primary assessment
- supporting a high-quality teaching profession including qualifications and professional development
- supporting recruitment and retention of teachers and school leaders including initial teacher training
- support for raising school standards including the National Tutoring Programme
- school revenue funding, including the national funding formula for schools
- school efficiency and commercial policy
- Education Investment Areas, Opportunity North East and Opportunity Areas (jointly with Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School System))
- pupil premium
- special educational needs, including high needs funding
- school food, including free school meals
- coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery for schools
