{"id":242953,"date":"2026-03-06T13:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T13:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=242953"},"modified":"2026-03-06T13:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T13:26:16","slug":"beer-raises-a-glass-to-11-years-at-dfe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/beer-raises-a-glass-to-11-years-at-dfe\/","title":{"rendered":"Beer raises a glass to 11 years at DfE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vicky Beer, the Department for Education\u2019s longest-serving regional director<\/a>, is set to leave the role after 11 years in post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The senior civil servant revealed that she had made the \u201creally hard decision\u201d to retire at the end of April, despite being \u201cenergised\u201d by recent policy developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beer was appointed the regional schools commissioner (RSC) for Lancashire and West Yorkshire in 2015.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A restructure of the RSC system saw them rebadged as regional directors, with Beer responsible for the north west. She has been in the role longer than anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department for Education has launched its search for a replacement to move into the job and help shape the government\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beer told Schools Week:<\/em> \u201cThere\u2019s still lots to do in the region, but I think the way the sector works is a particular strength of the area and I feel some personal pride in helping to shape that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before joining the civil service, Beer was an executive principal at the Dean Trust, which ran four schools across Trafford and Knowsley at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was also a national leader of education and chaired one of England\u2019s first teaching schools. She says she will fill her time travelling, gardening, paddleboarding and volunteering after retiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘A hard decision’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a really hard to decision to make because there\u2019s so much about the role I absolutely love,\u201d Beer added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been excited and energised by the direction of travel of some of the reforms as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A page advertising the \u00a3125,000-a-year role says the successful candidate will help \u201cshape policy\u2026 to better reflect local needs and regional variation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will lead intervention in schools \u201cwhere needed\u201d, work with councils to ensure areas have sufficient pupil places and work \u201ceffectively\u201d with ministers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department is on the lookout for people with \u201cexcellent system leadership skills gained within the education or care sector, local or national government\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They should also have \u201cdemonstrable experience of leading change inclusively with your team, including delivering system improvement and transformation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The selection process will involve shortlisted applicants being invited to a \u201cpartnership engagement conversation\u201d, with Tim Coulson, the DfE\u2019s director general of regions group, in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A council director of children\u2019s services and academy trust boss will also attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comes after it was announced Mulberry Schools Trust chief executive Vanessa Ogden will take over as the London regional director this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, West Midlands regional director Andrew Warren also left the department after almost six years in the position. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Longest-serving regional director is retiring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":242904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"post-theme":[2396],"class_list":["post-242953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post-theme-politics"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t