Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing)
David Johnston OBE MP
Biography
David Johnston was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education on 31 August 2023.
He was previously Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, a charity which runs a range of programmes that incorporate mentoring, internships, university application support and skills development to help young people from low-income backgrounds enter universities and professions.
In addition to being a governor at Pimlico Academy, a London secondary school, David is a governor of a sixth form college in London and is on the board of an organisation for 11 to 16 year olds in Oxfordshire.
Previous roles include:
- Director of Future, a charity which supports organisations working with young people
- coordinator of the Oxford Access Scheme, which runs residential programmes for 10 to 18 year olds
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing)
The minister’s responsibilities include:
- special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including high needs funding
- alternative provision
- children’s social care
- children in care, children in need and child protection
- adoption and care leavers
- early years and childcare
- family hubs and early childhood support
- disadvantaged and vulnerable children
- children and young people’s mental health
- policy to protect against serious violence
- freedom of speech in education
- online safety and preventing bullying in schools
Previous roles in government
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Commissioner - Social Mobility Commission
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Commissioner - Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission