Autumn of crises - but did they amount to a resigning matter?

Estelle Morris leaves the Department for Education and Skills at a time when it is at a crossroads over the Government's schools reforms.

The Secretary of State for Education had only yesterday launched the Government's far-reaching proposals for modernising the teaching profession – which includes plans to allow classroom assistants to take control of lessons. The independent inquiry into this summer's A-level fiasco still has to complete its report into what went wrong and what changes are needed.

In an interview with the BBC last night, Ms Morris said she felt she had not done her job as well as she would have wanted to. She also blamed constant media intrusion for her decision to quit.

John Dunford, general secretary of Secondary Heads Association, who was "shocked and disappointed" at her decision, said: "It is a bad time for a change at the helm, because we are in the middle of so many important policy reforms."

Her successor has just three months to complete consultations over reforms to the teaching profession that are being opposed by Britain's biggest teachers' union, the National Union of Teachers. The union believes the decision to allow classroom assistants to take over lessons is a "dumbing down" of the profession.

Whoever takes over from Ms Morris – and David Miliband, the Schools minister, is a favourite – could be thrown into a serious industrial dispute with teachers' unions in the New Year. Also, the second stage of the inquiry report into the A-level crisis is due to be published in November. The former chief schools inspector, Mike Tomlinson, who heads the inquiry, will recommend ways to avoid a similar fiasco next year.

However, changes will have to be in place before January – when thousands of children will sit AS-levels that will count towards their A-level grade.

Ms Morris' replacement will have to make swift decisions over how the exams are to be marked to regain public confidence in the examination system. Mr Tomlinson's initial inquiry found that the standards for marking the exams were still unclear despite the fact that that the new system is in its third year.

Her senior aides said Ms Morris' decision to quit was a result of an "accumulation of events". It started with thousands of children being sent home from school at the beginning of this autumn term because police checks on their teachers had not been completed in time.

It ended with the Conservatives unearthing comments she had made in the House of Commons in 1999, saying she would resign if targets for national curriculum tests in maths and English for 11-year-olds were not met by 2002.

Later, she told an education select committee that she had never promised to resign and "never would". The Conservatives believed that this meant she had misled the House of Commons.

According to her aides, Ms Morris resented the "constant intrusiveness" of "the modern media". This showed when she announced there would be an independent inquiry into this summer's A-level result – and photographers focused on the fact that her legs were tightly crossed under the table as she dealt with questions. One senior aide said of the media treatment during the past six weeks: "It is upsetting."

During her 18 months in the post, she gained a reputation in the education world as being understanding about their problems. Insiders at the Department for Education and Skills said her knowledge of teaching would be missed during the intensive negotiations which are about to start over the teaching reforms. Teachers' unions who oppose elements of her reforms said they felt the same.

The fateful promise

2 March 1999

During education questions, in the Commons Ms Morris is asked if she will resign if literacy and numeracy targets are not met by 2002. She replies: "Of course I will."

24 October 2001

At the Education Select Committee, Ms Morris is a asked whether she will resign if the targets are missed: "No, and I never said I would."