Amanda Spielman
Amanda Spielman | |
---|---|
Sir Michael Wilshaw | |
Succeeded by | Martyn Oliver |
Chair of Ofqual | |
In office 14 July 2011 – 30 November 2016 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
Education Secretary | Michael Gove Nicky Morgan Justine Greening |
Preceded by | Kathleen Tattersall OBE (2010)[a] |
Succeeded by | Julius Weinberg (interim) |
Chief Regulator of Ofqual | |
In office Interim 1 March 2016 – 24 April 2016 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Education Secretary | Nicky Morgan |
Preceded by | Dame Glenys Stacey |
Succeeded by | Sally Collier |
In office 14 July 2011 – 31 March 2012 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Education Secretary | Michael Gove |
Preceded by | Kathleen Tattersall OBE (2010)[a] |
Succeeded by | Dame Glenys Stacey |
Personal details | |
Born | London | 22 May 1961
Parent(s) | Sebastian Robinson (f); Professor Olivia Robinson, FRSE, FRHistS (m) |
Alma mater | Clare College, Cambridge |
a. ^ Office vacant from 3 July 2010 to 13 July 2011 | |
Amanda Mary Victoria Spielman, MA ACA (born 22 May 1961)[1] served as HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills from January 2017[2] to December 2023.[3][4]
She joined the senior leadership team at Ark Schools in 2005. From 2011 to 2016, Spielman was Chair of the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).[5]
Early life and education
Spielman was born in
She was then privately educated, firstly boarding at her mother’s old school in Dorset from the age of ten, and then for her A-levels she moved to St Paul's Girls' School's sixth form.[7]
Spielman then gained a place at Clare College, Cambridge, initially studying Mathematics before switching to Law at the end of her first year. She graduated with a BA in 1982.[6][8]
Her first marriage, in 1983, ended in
and have two children.Financial industry career
With KMG Thomson McLintock from 1982 to 1986 and then Kleinwort Benson from 1986 to 1992, she served as a director of Newstead Capital from 1992 until 1994[10] and of Bridgewater Business Analysis from 1994 to 1995.
She became a principal at
Education administration
After pursuing further studies in Comparative Education
From 2005 onwards Spielman was a founding member of the management team at Ark Schools.[13][14][15] From 2011 to 2016 she chaired Ofqual, the examinations and qualifications regulator.
Ofsted appointment
In June 2016, Spielman was selected by the
In 2021 it was reported she was seeking an extension to her five-year tenure due to the Covid crisis interrupting the roll out of her new inspection framework.[18] A two-year extension was confirmed in May.[19]
Policy positions
In 2018, Spielman supported a
In 2018, she backed a ban on mobile phones in classrooms. In the same speech, she urged strict pupil discipline, saying "there is nothing kind about letting a few pupils spoil school for everyone else".[21]
In December 2018, Spielman asserted that basic
In 2019, she said that students who had sexual assault allegations made against them should be free to continue attending school along with their accusers. This contradicted Ofsted's own guidance and led to criticism that her lack of understanding of basic safeguarding procedures made her unfit to be head of Ofsted.[23]
In June 2021 she declared Years 11 and 13 should be kept in schools despite the cancellation of exams and the substantial extra workload imposed on teachers as a result, and said Ofsted would ‘want to know how’ schools were using contact time with Year 11.[24] This was strongly criticised by teachers as another example of her ignorance of the realities of teaching given that most of Years 11 and 13 saw no point in staying after exams had been cancelled.[25]
Following the death of Headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023, Spielman acknowledged that "a culture of fear exists over the watchdog's inspections".[26] A coroner investigating the death by suicide of the Headteacher found that the Ofsted inspection of Perry's school "contributed" to her death and found "the inspection "lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity" and was at times "rude and intimidating""[27] Perry's death had resulted in calls for one-word inspection judgements given by Ofsted to be scrapped, something Speilman insisted "was up the government" to change, and that such one-word judgements "weren't wrong".[28][29]
Speilman's term as head of OFSTED expired at the end of December 2023 and she was replaced by Martyn Oliver,[3] who, in a change of tone from his predessor, immediately ordered a suspension in inspections whilst training was improved.[30]
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ Adams, Richard; Weale, Sally (9 January 2017). "New Ofsted chief: 'I want everyone to see us as a force for improvement'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Sir Martyn Oliver confirmed as the next Ofsted chief inspector" (Press release). gov.uk. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ Adams, Richard (2 January 2024). "Ofsted bows to pressure and halts inspections after Ruth Perry's suicide". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Amanda Spielman - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Amanda Spielman, chair, Ofqual". 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ McInerney, Laura (23 December 2014). "Who is Amanda Spielman?". Schools Week. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ Sellgren, Katherine (7 July 2016). "MPs reject next head of Ofsted". BBC News.
- ^ Rocker, Simon (26 July 2018). "Ofsted Chief Amanda Spielman: we don't want to make life difficult for Charedi community". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Newstead Capital – Investment, direct lending, real estate development, private credit".
- ^ "Comparative Education MA". Institute of Education. 26 July 2018.
- ^ ‘SPIELMAN, Amanda Mary Victoria’, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016 ; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 11 March 2017
- TES magazine. 10 June 2016.
- The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Adams, Richard (10 June 2016). "Amanda Spielman named as next Ofsted chief inspector". The Guardian.
- ^ Sellgren, Katherine (7 July 2016). "Ofsted's next head, Amanda Spielman, rejected by MPs". BBC News.
- ^ Morgan, Nicky. "Letter to Neil Carmichael".
- ^ Roberts, John (11 March 2021). "Exclusive: Ofsted chief Spielman wants more time in job". TES. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ "Amanda Spielman to continue as Ofsted Chief Inspector". GOV.UK.
- ^ Adams, Richard (1 April 2018). "Hijab ban attempt is 'racism dressed up as liberalism', teachers' conference told". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "Ofsted chief inspector backs ban on phones in schools". BBC News. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ Griffiths, Sian (2 December 2018). "Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman: potty training is a parent's job". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ Hazell, Will. "Exclusive: Shock at Ofsted chief's 'lack of knowledge' of peer abuse guidance". TES. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ Adams, Richard (3 June 2021). "Schools should not send exam-year pupils home early, says Ofsted head". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ Petty, Stephen (4 June 2021). "So, Ofsted, you want us to bring Year 11s back in?". TES. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ "Ofsted chief admits culture of fear around school inspections". BBC News. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "Ruth Perry: Ofsted inspection 'contributed' to head teacher's death". BBC News. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "Ofsted: Single-word judgements 'aren't wrong', says Spielman | Tes". www.tes.com. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 January 2024.