The Education Select Committee has given its backing to the appointment of Sir Martyn Oliver as the next chief inspector of Ofsted.

As part of the confirmation the committee also published Sir Martyn’s covering letter for the role, which contains a raft of insights into how he planned to take the organisation forward if appointed, touching on everything from changing the perception of Ofsted in the sector to encouraging more leaders to become inspectors.

It serves as a potentially useful insight into what might happen once he takes over the organisation on 1 January 2024.

Tes has published the statement below in full.

Sir Martyn Oliver - supporting statement

Thank you for the opportunity to apply for the position of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI), to the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

I start this statement with an admission: This was not a role I have ever proactively considered.

I am enormously fulfilled in my job as a headteacher and as the chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), an organisation I have been with since the inception of the school-sponsored trust system back in 2009.

Working to the original values of the trust-wide system, supporting and transforming the most difficult schools, while allowing the best to flourish, has been and remains my passion.

The vision we aspire to at OGAT is simple: raising standards and transforming lives - children first. This vision is one which I would carry with me at Ofsted as it seeks to improve lives by raising standards in education and children’s social care.

As the secretary of state makes clear in the Candidate pack: “All children and young people, regardless of their background, deserve a world-class education and high-quality social care services.”

So, why have I applied?

It is, essentially, because many system leaders have asked me to and, after reflecting on this for some time, I am now determined to make my best effort to secure this role and secure a strong future for Ofsted in raising standards for children everywhere.

I strongly believe that this is a role which one should not aspire to but which should be undertaken if asked to serve by a number of one’s peers. I am a resilient leader with vast experience. This is crucial, especially now as we face a number of very significant challenges within the sector.

I am credible and can carry large parts of the profession with me.

Whilst I could present any number of ideas about the future direction of Ofsted here, I will be clear in that I think any one individual who presented this picture would fail to grasp the challenge the system is facing and they would not show the proper respect that the board of Ofsted must be afforded.

Any future development of the inspection framework or of Ofsted as a whole must be done through careful consultation with all of the relevant stakeholders to gain much-needed credibility for the inspectorate whilst always fulfilling the duties of the Education Act 2006.

The greatest duty, however, is to be a force for good for children. Ofsted has, in my opinion, gone from an organisation seen as combative to one now viewed as cold.

We require a caring and compassionate inspectorate and regulator who never loses sight of the need to support increasingly high outcomes for children.

Ofsted should be the children’s champion and particularly champion those who are most vulnerable and access almost all of the areas Ofsted regulates and inspects.

Whilst championing children, we must also respect that it is the workforce on the ground, those who lead and work in schools, care homes and children’s services, who are the individual champions of children too.

And we must inspect with empathy and understanding, supporting those to improve - I know from my experience with OGAT and in other areas that this is the most effective way to get the best from people, and to take people with you.

Ofsted should provide the framework which measures the system’s effectiveness and promotes best practice, sharing the evidence of this for the system to continuously improve.

There is huge power in the framework acting to “nudge” the system before a single inspection takes place.

In respecting the workforce, there should never be a change made to the framework without a workload impact assessment; no change should be made without clearly ensuring the team of inspectors is capable of judging to the required standard; and no change should be made which doesn’t properly reflect the increasingly trust-led and autonomous system which is raising outcomes for children in England’s schools.

There is so much good in the current framework, with the substance of education now front and centre. But there are also many problems with it which were entirely foreseeable. Indeed I and others made this clear at the time.

The problems now facing the validity of some judgments can be overcome by creating an Ofsted workforce consisting of far more current serving leaders.

This would be a key priority for me as I seek to make Ofsted much more of a system-led, system co-designed inspector and regulator: a modern and progressive inspectorate which is fit for purpose.

I often hear about how good the inspector training is and it seems to me to be entirely sensible that this professional development of serving leaders should not only support inspections but also be used to raise standards in those leaders’ own institutions.

A joined-up, sophisticated approach which supports system leaders to carry out this work is now required.

The challenges we face will lead to increasingly negative headlines for Ofsted and only an HMCI who has sufficient experience can navigate this, with the help, support and challenge of the Ofsted board.

As an example of my experience, I have attended over 65 Ofsted inspections myself with at least another 31 supported through my work as a trustee or mentor.

I wish to be clear - the system does not need a new framework imposed upon it at this time. Instead, the next HMCI should embed what is good but seek to address the rapidly changing context that education is facing to ensure that inspections are not only valid and, crucially, fair but also reliable, objective and empathetic.

For example, inspections should stand up to the increasing scrutiny of trusts who have multiple schools and therefore multiple inspections to compare and contrast.

Alongside this work to secure valid judgements of schools, I would ensure that there is a focus on skills within further education, and work closely with other bodies, including CQC [Care Quality Commission] and HMICFRS [His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services] to carry out joint targeted area inspections of multi-agency responses to children and their families who need help, and use my experience of initial teacher training (ITT) to ensure that providers are equipping entrants into the profession with the relevant knowledge and skills to be highly effective.

I have the experience to manage the change required to accommodate this work and, as a trust accounting officer with an annual budget of c. £220 million, the experience and expertise to manage finances ensuring resources are deployed appropriately and provide value to the taxpayer. I hope that you will agree that I fully meet the person specification essential and desirable criteria.

I am a board member of the regulator for higher education, The Office for Students. To support both that role and to strengthen this application, I enrolled upon and am nearing the completion of the LSE’s renowned regulation strategy course, which has given me even greater clarity of the role of Ofsted as a regulator.

I have always been a champion of the use of evidence and now serve as a trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation and, as mentioned, I have great experience of the ITT sector and continuous professional qualifications, most recently co-creating the National Institute of Teaching and delivering on the reformed NPQs [national professional qualifications] myself.

My experience of the schools appointment of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 25 sector is not only through leading an academy trust of 13 primary schools, 28 secondary schools and seven post-16 schools - I also previously served as a trustee of the sector body the Confederation of School Trusts.

In summary, I will be a champion of children using evidence to support my practice, I will be empathetic to those working in our schools and will oversee supportive, proportionate and sensible inspections, I will work closely with the board and chair in particular to ensure that children and parents can rely upon the judgements of Ofsted, I will continuously seek to use the office to promote the raising of standards across the whole system, and I will provide the best advice possible to the secretary of state and ministers at all times.

Achieving this, whilst raising the validity of the inspectorate within the system will be a challenge but one which I have the experience and determination to overcome.

I look forward to having the opportunity to discuss this application with you - and to together securing the future of Ofsted, making it a modern, strong and confident organisation that is a force for good at all times.