Former schools minister Nick Gibb has been reappointed to the board of trustees at a large trust of over 30 schools.
Mr Gibb served as schools minister under three prime ministers, from 2010-12 and again from 2015 until 2021, when he made a surprise exit from the Department for Education as Nadhim Zahawi took over as education secretary after Gavin Williamson was removed from post.
He previously sat on the board of trustees at the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) in between his stints at the DfE, and has resumed the position, starting today.
Mr Gibb left the DfE last September but remains MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.
He became known for his championing of the use of phonics in primary schools and the English Baccalaureate suite of traditional academic subjects at GCSE.
Nick Gibb returns to academy trust board
On leaving the role of schools minister last year, he urged his successor to “resist the siren voices of those who call for GCSEs to be abolished” and to avoid listening to those who “excuse failing standards and who argue that schools in deprived areas cannot succeed”.
Trust founder David Ross said he was “delighted” to have Mr Gibb rejoin the board.
He added: ”Nick has been a passionate advocate for change, an ambitious curriculum and the importance of extracurricular activities in music and sport - these are all things that go to the heart of what it means to be a DRET school and our mission of providing a world-class education that broadens young people’s horizons.”
Mr Gibb described it as a “privilege” be part of a team of “committed” trustees, supporting the trust’s “vision of a group of schools with high academic standards, transforming the life chances of its pupils, particularly those children from disadvantaged backgrounds”.
The DRET comprises 34 academies across England, including primary, secondary, all-through and special schools.
Before the pandemic the trust made headlines after urging its schools to use cover supervisors instead of supply teachers and only boil as much water as they needed in their kettles, in a bid to help tackle a £1 million deficit.
But its most recent accounts show that it achieved a £2.7 million in-year revenue surplus, returning it to an “overall revenue reserves surplus of £2.6 million at the end of the year”.
