In that role he has been a member of the Advisory Committee for the Review of the National Curriculum, the Teachers’ Standards Review Group and the Steering Group for the Review of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Until September 2009, he held the role of Strategic Director of Learning and Children’s Services for the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames. He also worked as the Chief Inspector of schools in an inner London borough following a number of years as an inspector and adviser in several local authorities. Patrick has worked as a headteacher and in the early part of his career he taught English and drama in secondary schools.

This looks a good appointment at a time when KCC Education certainly needs strong leadership and indeed to work out its role. With rapidly declining numbers of schools under its umbrella as the academy movement continues, it is difficult to envisage how the department will operate in the future and how it will interact with the new sector which is independent of the Local Authority.  Will it become primarily a service provider for those schools who wish to buy its offering, I have seen the term 'champion for children' tried out but KCC culture has a long way to go to achieve this. Responsibility for Special Needs and Admissions remain, but again relationships with independent academies makes this problematical.  A major issue for the future is capital investment, and at a meeting I attended recently, a vision of KCC, three Church Dioceses and a hundred or so independent academies bidding against each other for  projects with no ring holder was a fascinating prospect. Mr Leeson will certainly need all the skills and experience he appears to bring to the role.