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Petition · past parliament

Ensure the Education Secretary is a qualified teacher with many years experience

Closed 44,665 signatures

What the petition asks

All employers expect their employees to have the relevant qualifications, knowledge and skills in order to be proficient in their work. Teachers are highly trained experienced professionals and yet the Education Minister has no teaching qualifications and no experience in the education system!
Our education system is in turmoil. The decision to force schools to become academies and the recent changes in the SATs are just two highly contentious issues upsetting parents and teachers. Teachers are trained to teach the curriculum and encourage pupils to feel valued and achieve their potential. Teachers are qualified but the person in charge of our education system is not! The Education Minister should have at least ten years classroom experience and understand the needs of children.

Government response · 24 May 2016

The Prime Minister appointed Nicky Morgan to the role of Education Secretary as he believes she is ideally suited to the position

This is evidenced by the great work she is doing to drive up educational standards and give children the best possible future.

There are now more good or outstanding schools than ever before, with 1.4 million more pupils taught in good or outstanding schools than 2010.

More children than ever before are benefitting from free childcare; with 99 per cent of 4-year-olds and 94 per cent of 3-year-olds accessing our free childcare offer.

And we introduced the Pupil Premium, worth around £2.5 billion this year to give schools extra support with the education of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Cabinet Office

Timeline

19 Apr 2016 Petition opened for signatures
24 Apr 2016 Passed 10,000 signatures, requiring a government response
24 May 2016 Government responded
19 Oct 2016 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 44,665
Status Closed
Opened 19 Apr 2016
Closed 19 Oct 2016
Response 24 May 2016

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.