And so the dust has settled. Another new prime minister, a new Cabinet, and, of course, another new education secretary. 

But wait. This is only the second education secretary who attended a comprehensive, and he was also a school governor once. So can we expect anything to change positively for education with a new leader?

It’s hard to believe, but in my long career this is the 18th education secretary for me to tolerate. The first one, way back in 1979, was Mark Carlisle - and, no, I can’t remember much about him. 

In the 40 years since, some have left lasting impressions, both positively and negatively. Who, having experienced them, could forget Sir Keith Joseph, Gillian Shephard and Estelle Morris? And, of course, how can we forget the lasting legacy of Mr Gove? 

For the most part, though, they did the job and saw it as a stepping stone to something greater. So no rocking of party lines and certainly very little support for the embattled teacher.

Will Gavin Williamson be any different? 

Education secretary: a low bar

As stated, he did go to a state school, and was a school governor. But the bar is low for most who have been in this role. 

Boris Johnson has said he wants all children in the country to have a “superb” education. But is this a superb Etonian education or one that our children can actually access? If so, where is the money for it, and where are the teachers who will provide it? 

As usual, no teachers were consulted on the appointment of Mr Williamson. He will inherit a system unloved by most, and driven into the ground by lack of funding and lack of support.

There is a recruitment and retention crisis in this country. The list of reasons why is a sad indictment for all of us.

• Workload is too high.
• Accountability dominates every aspect of school life.
• Behaviour issues are rife.
• Funding cuts have been dramatic.
• Parents are demanding.
• Government policies are divisive and ever-changing.

All in all, this has led to a deep-seated malaise in the profession. In our profession.

The malaise in teaching

Can Mr Williamson, despite his colourful past history, be the inspirational education secretary we both need and deserve? 

How I would love this to be the case. Just to have someone who genuinely supports us and doesn’t treat the profession as a political football would be a start. Someone who puts the wellbeing of children and teachers at the centre of all he does would be good. We could also do with someone who can acknowledge that some of the recent policies have been both divisive and detrimental to the profession. And someone who can recognise that the austerity of recent years has ripped the guts out of too many schools. Now I’m perhaps expecting too much.

Brexit, of course, is important, but as a result of its dominance in the political forum over the last few years, education has slowly meandered to the edge of the cliff. And a pretty steep cliff it is. We need an education secretary who can recognise this fact, before we all fall over it.

Colin Harris led a school in a deprived area of Portsmouth for more than two decades. His last two Ofsted reports were ‘outstanding’ across all categories