Latest ESFA senior staff moves

An update from Eileen Milner, @ESFAgov chief executive, on senior staff moves in the agency:

The Department for Education has appointed ESFA’s Director of Academies and Maintained Schools (AMSD), Mike Pettifer, as the Director responsible for overseeing the Department’s COVID-19 continuing response plan.

Mike will continue the work he undertook to establish the team in March as single accountable Director for the next 18 months. The role of the team has evolved rapidly over the past few months, and Mike will lead the transition into a recovery phase.  Mike will move across to his new role in the coming weeks.

Mike has over 25 years’ experience working in the FE and skills sector in teaching, policy and planning. Currently, Mike is the Director responsible for funding academies directly as well as the funding of local authorities to fund maintained schools.

Warwick Sharp, Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State, will be moving across to head up ESFA’s Academies and Maintained Schools Directorate later this summer.

Warwick will be taking up a significant part of Mike’s AMSD portfolio at the start of Summer recess on an acting basis, with a recruitment process into a permanent position taking place later in the year.

Warwick has over 12 years experience in education strategy and policy. He is currently responsible for leading Private Office Directorate, including the Secretary of State’s immediate Private Office as well as supporting Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, Special Advisers and the Board.

I wish Mike and Warwick all the very best as they step into their new roles.

Eileen Milner, chief executive, ESFA