New Regional Schools Commissioner appointed for the West Midlands

Andrew Warren will oversee academies across the region to help raise standards

Andrew Warren, Chair of the Teaching Schools Council and Executive Director of Manor Teaching School in Wolverhampton, has been named as the new Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for the West Midlands.

He will be responsible for overseeing academies in the region – using his local expertise to monitor their performance to ensure children receive the best possible education. He is taking over from Christine Quinn who will retire at the end of the year.

Andrew Warren will start in early 2019, working with interim National Schools Commissioner Dominic Herrington to help raise standards in the growing number of academies in the West Midlands.

Andrew Warren said:

I’m very excited about the opportunities and potential of this new role as Regional Schools Commissioner for the West Midlands.

I have been a headteacher and system leader in this region since 1994 and I am really looking forward to working with my RSC team and school leaders to ensure that every child goes to a great school. That was my aim as a teacher, a headteacher, Chair of the Teaching Schools Council, and now soon to be RSC.

I will miss my inspirational colleagues from Manor Primary and the Teaching Schools Council from whom I have learnt so much and I wish them all the very best as they continue to raise the bar for our children and young people.

Interim National Schools Commissioner Dominic Herrington said:

I am really pleased to confirm that Andrew is joining my team as the new Regional Schools Commissioner for the West Midlands.

Andrew was selected from a field of strong applicants and will bring a wealth of experience to the role, having spent his career working hard to improve the life chances of young people in schools across the region – he is a very capable replacement for Christine Quinn and I’m looking forward to working with him.

Regional Schools Commissioners’ responsibilities include:

• taking decisions on the creation of new academies;
• monitoring their performance and improving underperforming academies;
• ensuring there is a strong supply of excellent sponsors to work with underperforming schools in the region; and
• encouraging and supporting high-quality applications for new free schools.

The West Midlands commissioner oversees over 1,000 academies and free schools across the region.

Andrew Warren will be advised by a board of headteachers of outstanding-rated academies or experienced educational leaders. The board challenges and supports the work of the commissioner, bringing additional educational insight and local intelligence to decision-making.