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The former head of Ofsted has lashed out at the education secretary, accusing her of caring more about the interests of unions than schoolchildren.
In a scathing broadside at Bridget Phillipson’s education reforms, Amanda Spielman accused her of bowing to the “demands of unions”.
And Ms Spielman, who stood down as the head of the schools watchdog in 2023, called for her to abandon the plans “before the damage is done”.
But a government source hit back at Ms Spielman, saying she should “spend less time criticising the reforms this government is bringing and more time reflecting on her failure at Ofsted and on a teaching profession that entirely lost confidence in her as chief inspector”.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Ms Spielman said: “It is hard to understand the motivation, beyond being seen to be different, though the new minister is clearly giving a great deal of time and attention to the desires and demands of unions.
“And alas, unions will always defend the interests of the adults in schools over those of children… I do hope she will think again, before the damage is done.”
She said she was “astonished… by the speed and thoroughness with which Bridget Phillipson has moved to dismantle every main pillar of the system”.
The government source added: “This government is doing the hard yards of fixing the hundreds of stuck schools that were failed by Spielman and her allies in the Tory party. The government is focused relentlessly on reforming our schools to deliver better life chances for every child.”
Labour’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to ensure all state schools – academies and those run by councils – follow the same pay and conditions framework.
Academies, which are independent of local authorities, currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, and some academies exceed the national pay scales for teachers.
But the new bill would ensure all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework, whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.
It would also see academies forced to teach the national curriculum for the first time, while they would also lose the power to recruit teachers without qualifications.
The National Education Union (NEU) has welcomed the proposals, saying they would “make a meaningful difference to the lives of staff and children”, but has also vowed to push for more investment.
However, in her article, Ms Spielman warned the bill will “cut the autonomy of schools and school groups right back” and said Labour should instead focus on “which dimensions of autonomy should be protected and which need adjusting”.
Ms Spielman’s criticisms echoed the Conservatives. In a recent interview, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the government’s school reforms showed Labour was “just doing what the unions want them to do”.
She added: “The country is back under union control, and that’s what we are fighting against.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – alongside our new regional improvement teams and Ofsted reforms – delivers on our mission for every child to have a good, local school, will get high-quality teachers into every classroom, and [will] ensure that all schools can innovate to attract and retain the best talent.”
