MPs reject government’s proposed Ofsted head

Education select committee MPs have rejected the government’s plant to appoint Amanda Spielman as the next head of Ofsted, claiming they were concerned about her suitability for the job.

The MPs said they were worried Speilman had failed to show ‘passion’ or an adequate understanding of the ‘complex role’. The news comes as Spielman is set become the new chief inspector of England’s schools and children’s services at the end of 2016, after the current boss Sir Michael Wilshaw steps down.

However, in a report, the education select committee said: “Ms Spielman did not demonstrate the passion for the role that we would have hoped for. We were concerned that, when asked why she wanted the job, she did not refer to the chief inspector's role in raising standards and improving the lives of children and young people.

“She did not convince us that she had a clear understanding of the other aspects of this complex role, such as: early years; primary education; children's services; child protection; looked-after children; special educational needs; further education; and the educational support role for which local authorities are inspected.

“Ms Spielman did not appear to recognise the importance of building bridges with the professions inspected by Ofsted - in contrast to her predecessor, Ms Spielman would join Ofsted without any direct experience of teaching or children's social care.

“We were [...] deeply troubled by Ms Spielman's statement that ‘you cannot say that the buck stops with Ofsted’ on child protection - whilst we agree that those delivering children's services should be held responsible when they fail, the very purpose of inspecting children's social care is to prevent children being placed at risk through service failure.

“We did not leave the session with a clear sense of how Ms Spielman would go beyond Ofsted's mission statement to translate it into practice or of the direction she saw Ofsted taking under.

In a statement Neil Carmichael, conservative committee chairman, commented: "Ms Spielman's responses on child protection were particularly troubling and did not inspire confidence that she grasped the importance of Ofsted's inspections in preventing children being held at risk through service failure.

"As a committee, we did not leave the session with the view that Amanda Spielman was prepared for the vast scope and complexity of this important role."

He added: "It is unusual for a select committee to find itself unable to support the government's preferred candidate for a public appointment.

"However, it is our responsibility to hold government to account and the seriousness of our concerns regarding this appointment has led us to produce this report to the House of Commons.

"We call on the secretary of state not to proceed with Ms Spielman's appointment."

Nonetheless, Education secretary Nicky Morgan has argued: "I chose Amanda because it is clear to me that the education and social care systems... will benefit hugely from her evidence-based approach, her system-level thinking and her clear commitment to raising standards."