Francis Richard John Sandford, 1st Baron Sandford, KCB, PC (14 May 1824 – 31 December 1893), known as Sir Francis Sandford between 1863 and 1891, was a British civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Committee of Council on Education between 1870 and 1884, in which role he was instrumental in implementing the Elementary Education Act of 1870.