Cabinet reshuffle: teachers hail Michael Gove's departure

Teachers hailed the departure of Michael Gove today after the politician once dubbed a “demented Dalek” and the “most hated Education Secretary in history” was stripped of his portfolio in the reshuffle.

Classroom unions claimed the Education Secretary had paid the price for his “ideological drive” to overhaul the schools system in the face of huge opposition from many in the teaching profession.

He has been replaced by Nicky Morgan, the Minister for Women and Equality, who will keep the brief alongside running the Department for Education. Elizabeth Truss, the Education Minister, has also been moved, winning a promotion to the Cabinet as Environment Secretary.

It brings an end to a bitter four-year war of words between Mr Gove and the education establishment – teaching unions and Left-wing academics who he famously dubbed the “the blob” and “enemies of promise”.

He faced repeated opposition to many of his reforms, including the creation of independent free schools, the expansion of academies, performance-related pay for teachers, a radical overhaul of the exams system and the creation of a new back-to-basics national curriculum.

The National Union of Teachers once called him a "demented Dalek on speed who wants to exterminate anything good in education". He has also been called the "most hated education secretary in history".

Last week, the NUT staged the latest in a series of strikes, fuelled by Mr Gove’s refusal to personally negotiate over a series of their most high-profile complaints.

Today, Christine Blower, the union's general secretary, said Mr Gove had “clearly lost the support of the profession and parents for justifiable reasons”.

“His vision for education is simply wrong,” she said. “His pursuit of the unnecessary and often unwanted free schools and academies programme, the use of unqualified teachers, the failure to address the school place crisis and endless ill-thought out reforms to examinations and the curriculum has been his hallmark in office.

“Michael Gove’s search for headlines over speaking to the profession has clearly angered teachers. We remain in dispute over the direction of Government policy, which we believe is undermining the education service.”

According to an NUT poll earlier this year, some 79 per cent of teachers believe the Coalition has had a “negative impact on the education system”.

More than eight-in-10 opposed the academies and free schools programme and three-quarters said morale in the teaching profession has fallen since the last General Election.

At the most recent NUT annual conference, Mr Gove was dubbed “a parody of an Education Secretary" and the “man with a mad idea for every occasion”.

Ian Murch, NUT treasurer, added: “Michael Gove, the demented Dalek on speed who wants to exterminate anything good in education that's come along since the 1950s.”

Mr Gove failed to address any teaching union conferences in his four years as Education Secretary, often leaving the job to his deputy, the Schools Minister. He did appear before head teachers’ associations.

Speaking today, Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the Prime Minister has “belatedly realised that Michael Gove’s ideological drive is no substitute for measured, pragmatic reform of the education system”.

“Time after time he has chased newspaper headlines rather than engage with teachers,” she said. “The dismantling of the structures which support schools, the antagonism which he displayed to the teaching profession and the increasing evidence of chaos in the bodies he established has led Cameron to one conclusion – Gove is more of a liability than an asset.

“Successful education systems value the views of the teaching profession, which Gove insulted when he called them ‘the blob’.”

More recently, Mr Gove also fell out with the Home Office and repeatedly angered Nick Clegg by opposing his plan for universal free school meals for infants.

He also appeared to clash with Ofsted, recently sacking Baroness Morgan, the Labour peer, as the watchdog's chairman, even though she was well liked by Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector.

But Sir Michael appeared shocked as he learnt of Mr Gove's departure during a call-in session on LBC Radio this morning.

"I'm surprised and shocked that this has happened,'' he said. "I'm a great admirer of the Secretary of State, I think he's been a transformative and radical minister of education.''

Head teachers’ leaders were also less triumphant following Mr Gove’s departure on Tuesday.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “As someone who has had extensive contact with Michael Gove, I have no doubt that he has been driven by his commitment to improving the life chances of young people.

“Many of his reforms have been controversial and time will tell what their effect is, but there is no doubt he has had a significant impact on the education system. We wish him all the best in his new role.”

Russell Hobby, general secretary of National Association of Head Teachers, said: “Michael Gove had a radical and sincere vision for transforming education but he often failed to bring the profession with him.

"His diagnosis was frequently astute but his prescriptions were hard to swallow. It is now time to rebuild trust and confidence between government and teachers so that improvements can endure.”

Speaking earlier this year, Sarah Vine, Mr Gove’s wife, said the couple’s children are suffering emotional damage through opposition to his policies, with his daughter even seeing one of her school teachers protesting on television.

She had considered sending their children to live with her mother in Italy to shield them from the “hate” hurled at their father.

“They’ve just got to the age where they understand what he [Mr Gove] does and they understand that people hate him because people will say things to them in the playground,” she said.