Ex-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.

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".

While education unions have supported the government in some areas, they have also been critical in others, including on the proposals for new Ofsted report cards.

But Ms Spielman claimed the changes to Ofsted were being done "to please unions", by making it "much less likely that inspection will detect weaknesses or convey a negative message."

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One programme, Ms Spielman said she thought it was "surprising" that education unions were approached for comments on stories about Ofsted.

A government source's comment, which said Ms Spielman should "spend less time criticising the reforms this government is bringing, and more time reflecting on her failure at Ofsted", was also put to the ex-Ofsted boss during the interview.

She responded by saying it was "fascinating because that's a union line", reiterating her criticism of the organisations which she says have been "attacking accountability and attacking inspection from long before I became chief inspector".

In The Telegraph piece, the ex-Ofsted head also says the government's proposals for academies will "cut the autonomy of schools and school groups right back".

She says she is "astonished by the speed and thoroughness with which Bridget Phillipson has moved to dismantle every main pillar of the system".

The schools bill, due to go before MPs again on Monday, includes measures to create a register of children who are not in school and allow local authorities to intervene if a child's home environment is assessed as unsuitable or unsafe.

Several issues covered by the bill, including safeguarding, have been met positively by school leaders.

More controversial and debated elements have been around academy reforms, which may limit academies' powers to manage their pay and working practices differently to schools run by local authorities.

After facing opposition from academy leaders, the government has since clarified that it intends the pay framework to be a "floor not a ceiling", meaning academy bosses will still be able to pay teachers more if they choose to.

Phillipson previously called political attempts to halt the bill "utterly sickening", telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme the children's bill was "the single biggest piece of children safeguarding legislation in a generation".

Responding to Ms Spielman's claims, a DfE spokesperson said the bill, alongside other reforms, "delivers on our mission for every child to have a good, local school, will get high-quality teachers into every classroom, and ensure that all schools can innovate to attract and retain the best talent".