New Delivery Adviser role to support Schools White Paper delivery, with a focus on SEND reform and local authority engagement.
Children and young people will benefit from strengthened delivery capacity at the Department for Education, as Sir Kevan Collins is appointed as Delivery Adviser to the Secretary of State.
Sir Kevan, already the department’s Lead Non-Executive Board Member, will take on the additional part-time role to provide expert advice and challenge on key delivery priorities.
Working two days per week, he will focus on two areas: reviewing how DfE engages with local authorities to ensure reform programmes are clear and achievable, and supporting the department’s Delivery Unit on SEND reform.
The appointment comes as the department has published its Schools White Paper, setting out plans to build a more inclusive education system and ensure more children can have their needs met in their local school.
The government is backing SEND reform with significant investment: over £5 billion to resolve 90% of councils’ SEND deficits this year, a new £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund to deliver targeted support in every school, £1.8 billion for an ‘Experts at Hand’ service bringing specialists into every local area, over £200 million for SEND outreach through Best Start Family Hubs, £3.7 billion to create 60,000 new specialist places, and £200 million to deliver the most ambitious SEND training programme ever seen in schools.
Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, said:
“Every child, whatever their needs, should have the opportunity to achieve and thrive at their local school. Kevan has a proven track record of driving improvement across education, and his expertise will be invaluable as we deliver the Schools White Paper and our mission to shift children with SEND from sidelined to included.”
Sir Kevan Collins said:
“Having worked across the education system, I know that ambitious plans only matter if they translate into real change in classrooms and communities. Children with SEND and their families have waited too long for the support they need, and I’m determined to help ensure these reforms deliver for them. I look forward to working with colleagues across the department and with local authorities to make that happen.”
