Josh MacAlister

Teaching

MacAlister trained as a teacher through the Teach First Programme and went on to work as a teacher in Oldham.

Frontline

During his time as a teacher, MacAlister began to engage with young people with experience of the care system. These experiences led MacAlister to establish Frontline, a graduate social worker training programme modeled on Teach First, in 2013.^[4] The first cohort began their training the following year.^[6]

In 2019, the Department for Education provided Frontline with £45 million in funding.^[7]

Independent Review of Children's Social Care

In January 2021 MacAlister stepped down from his role at Frontline in order to chair an independent review of children's social care.^[7] MacAlister's appointment was criticized by some social work academics who questioned whether he could be impartial given that Frontline had received central government funding.^[7]

In June 2021, the review published its interim findings. In October 2021 the review published a second report in response to the feedback received on the interim report. The final report of the review was published in May 2022.^[8]

Awards

MacAlister was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the King's 2023 New Year's Honours for services to vulnerable children.^[9]

Member of Parliament

In June 2023, MacAlister was selected as the Labour Party's candidate for the newly created constituency of Whitehaven and Workington.^[10]

At the 2024 general election, MacAlister was elected as the Member of Parliament for Whitehaven and Workington. MacAlister was elected with 53% of the vote and a majority of over 13,000 votes.^[11]