Posted on Monday 24th Mar 2025
The former head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has criticised the education secretary and accused her of giving "a great deal of time and attention" to the teaching unions.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Spielman claims "effective reforms are being reversed" - referring to potential changes to academy schools' powers.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is set to change the rules around how academies pay their staff and the material they can teach, which critics say threatens their autonomy.
But the Department for Education (DfE) says its "landmark" reforms deliver on its mission to ensure all schools can attract and retain the best teachers.
In a piece covering academies, qualifications, the curriculum and Ofsted itself, the ex-chief of the organisation says the education secretary should reconsider the reforms in the bill "before the damage is done".
Ms Spielman stepped down as head of Ofsted at the end of 2023.
An inquiry into Ofsted was launched that year, after the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, who died by suicide following an Ofsted inspection.
Ms Spielman accuses the education secretary of using "polished verbiage and jazz hands" when announcing policies, and claimed some policies had been "influenced by education union leaders and activists".
Read more... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgq9kdvv24ko
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
11/04/25Leave school phone bans to head teachers, children's commissioner says
Banning phones in schools should be a decision for head teachers and not "imposed nationally by the government", England's children's commissioner has said.
24/03/25Ex-Ofsted boss says education secretary wants 'to please unions'
The former head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, has criticised the education secretary and accused her of giving "a great deal of time and attention" to the teaching unions. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ms Spielman claims "effective reforms are being reversed" - referring to potential changes to academy schools' powers.
20/03/25Childcare costs fall for the first time in 15 years – but nurseries are worried
Annual nursery costs for a child under two in England have fallen for the first time in 15 years, according to the children's charity Coram. It comes as the government continues to roll out its funded childcare scheme, which will provide all eligible working parents of pre-school children, not only three and four-year-olds as currently, with 30 hours of childcare per week from September. However, some nurseries and childminders say they may have to drop out of the scheme as government funding struggles to meet rising costs, including National Insurance increases from April.
17/03/25Poorest children missing more school and further behind after Covid
The poorest children are missing more school and falling further behind classmates, research shared with the BBC suggests. According to new analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) - which looked at pupil performance after the Covid-19 pandemic - children from the lowest income families are now up to 19 months behind peers by the time they are 16 years old.
13/03/25The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England
The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England by the end of its term, a new report has suggested. Analysis by the National Foundation of Educational Research (NFER) says unfilled vacancies are at a record high and recruitment into teacher training remains "persistently low." All but five secondary subjects missed this year's recruitment targets for new trainee teachers, which are set by the Department for Education (DfE).
News Archive