Fairfax Media's David Rowe depicted Piccoli as a toddler in a drooping News Corp-branded nappy, tethered via a harness by a leash presumably held just out of picture by the hand of Daily Telegraph editor Paul Whittaker.

It was a commentary on Piccoli's decision to ban the gay parenting film Gayby Baby from being screened in school time following a full throated alarm sounded on page one by the Murdoch tabloid.

Many interpreted the decision as a knee-jerk response to media pressure and Rowe's cartoon caustically reflected that.

The irony is that the evidence of the past four-and-a-half years suggests it couldn't be further from the truth.

In fact, of all the ministers in the NSW government, Piccoli has proved himself the most likely to stand up to vested interests – often at personal cost.

It began early in his tenure, over education funding cuts that erupted just a year into the first term of the O'Farrell government.

Many Liberals assumed that private and Catholic schools would be shielded and public schools would bear the brunt of across-the-board budget cuts imposed by O'Farrell and then treasurer Mike Baird.

But Piccoli determined that all schools should wear an equal share – outraging many on the Liberal Party backbench, who felt it was a betrayal of the party's commitment to supporting education choice.

In April last year, after eight boys were expelled from a prestigious inner west school, Piccoli took on his Conservative base – private schools – and publicly criticised them for shirking their social responsibility for the sake of their reputations.

His stance shocked many in the Coalition but Piccoli held steadfast.

"Just paying $30,000 doesn't give you the moral authority to say I don't want to deal with these kids … these are faith-based schools, and based on the faith I have, shifting the problem to another school is not the answer."

But the most notable example came earlier, in November 2013, after the Telegraph splashed across its front page details of an extramarital affair by former NSW premier Nathan Rees.

Rising in Parliament, Piccoli declared his support for Rees and said the story should not have been written.

Many believe he has been paying the price for crossing the newspaper ever since, pointing to a relentless campaign of negative stories as evidence of the fact.

The Gayby Baby saga was the latest outing, with conservative columnist Piers Akerman demanding his sacking over the incident.

In four-and-a-half years in the highly politically sensitive education portfolio, Piccoli has developed a reputation for saying and doing what he thinks is right. It's a rare quality in NSW politics, where the threat of bad press coverage too often drives decision-making.

But political courage is not always reciprocated.

No matter how solid the performance, a minister who repeatedly ends up on page one for the wrong reasons is at risk of becoming a liability for a government. Accordingly, there is speculation Piccoli's position as Education Minister could be at risk when Baird next moves to reshuffle his cabinet as early as next year.

While the prospect might delight his enemies in politics and the media, those in the education sphere say it would be a travesty.

That's not to say that, like any minister, Piccoli does not have his critics.

He received brickbats from Labor and the Greens over the implementation of the Smart and Skilled reforms to TAFE, under which the institution was compelled to compete with the private sector.

Piccoli also presided over the change to the public school enrolment form this year that downplayed the option of ethics classes as an alternative to Special Religious Education. (Although this was widely seen as being driven by Baird himself).

In his favour, those in education highlight Piccoli's staunch defence of the so-called Gonski funding reforms, which have put him at odds with his federal counterpart, Christopher Pyne.

In 2013, Piccoli led a rebellion by state government ministers against the Abbott government's plans to renege on a promise to fund the final two years of Gonski.

Despite this, Piccoli still manages to draw praise from some state-based Liberals.

"The feedback I've got from principals and educators is that Minister Piccoli has been an outstanding education minister," says one.

The president of NSW Teachers' Federation, Maurie Mulheron, says Piccoli is "a politician and minister who does seek advise from a range of people, from his department, to the Board of Studies, to parent and teacher groups".

"It would be a dreadful mistake to think he is held captive by anyone ... he is fiercely independent in thought and has broad support within the education sector".

Mulheron says they have some "very serious policy differences" including the controversial Local Schools Local Decisions which gives principals greater say over the running of their school, but they also see eye-to-eye on many other things.

"Gonski, higher standards in initial teacher education, there is no doubt he has respect for the teaching profession," Mulheron says.

A senior public servant describes Piccoli as a "reformist minister" who took a "brave stance" against the federal government when he criticised them for backing away from the final two crucial years of Gonski needs-based funding.

Greens MP and the party's education spokesman, John Kaye, delivers a backhanded compliment.

Kaye highlights the TAFE reforms as a failing, but says Piccoli is "the best education minister a NSW Liberal-National government could produce".

"It might be the kiss of death to say it, but he has probably done as well as he could, short of resigning, to hold back the worst of the market fundamentalist excesses that most Liberals and many Nationals would want."

It's not just the political left. Last year Geoff Newcombe, executive director of the NSW Association of Independent Schools, praised Piccoli as "a good minister to work with and is succeeding with some very significant reforms".

As for the Gayby Baby furore, Piccoli stands by the decision to ban the film during school hours due to his belief it is overly political and therefore not appropriate.

Amid the controversy, the education advocate Jane Caro posted a plea on her Facebook page.

"The Gayby film should be shown," she wrote. "Ethics classes are important. Removing Religious Instruction from secular schools & replacing it with a Respectful Relationships program is interesting."

"BUT (and it's a big but) neither of these things are the main game. Not in terms of helping our poorest kids realise their potential, anyway."

Caro argued that Gonski funding "remains the main game & Piccoli is the only Minister of Education who remains true to Gonski & has implemented it".

"Please don't be sidelined by relatively side issues," she wrote.