The chief executive of one of the country’s largest academy chains has criticised the leaders of three other high-profile multi-academy trusts for their attacks on Ofsted’s new inspections and urged Amanda Spielman to “stick to her guns”.

Sir Steve Lancashire, the chief executive of Reach2, has said that the MAT leaders who have criticised Ofsted do not speak for all trusts or the sector as a whole and he expressed concern about the “disproportionate influence” their view was having.

He was responding to criticism of Ofsted from leaders of the Harris Federation, Outwood Grange Academies Trust and the Inspiration Trust who have called for the new curriculum focused inspection framework to be changed because it is penalising schools that run GCSEs over three years.

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Sir Steve, who leads the country’s largest primary-only MAT, has given Ofsted’s new inspections his backing and said he fundamentally disagreed with the Department for Education intervening in the row.

Ofsted’s new inspection regime has also been backed by another major multi-academy trust leader - Julian Drinkall, the chief executive of AET.

Sir Steve said: “I have to confess I am not comfortable with the increasingly insistent pronouncements from a small number of academy leaders about the Ofsted framework and the disproportionate influence this seems to be having.

“While I accept it is newsworthy when ‘big beasts’ come together as one to complain about Ofsted’s position, let’s not forget that these leaders represent fewer than 100 schools in all and they don’t speak for all big MAT leaders, nor the 2000+ small MAT leaders and the thousands of maintained school leaders.

“They certainly don’t speak for me and I fundamentally disagree with the DfE intervening in this ‘row’. I’m no apologist for Ofsted, but it’s time we heard a few more voices in this debate.

“Ofsted must be able to act without fear or favour and should be given the opportunity to work this through with the sector…Stick to your guns Amanda.”

Mr Drinkall said: “We have had a number of Ofsted inspections under the new framework and it has been a largely positive experience so far, with Ofsted recognising that our approach is preparing young people for their public examinations whilst also retaining our commitment to a curriculum that paves the way to remarkable lives for our pupils.”

He told Tes that his trust’s schools operated key stage three over three years and felt this was the best way to ensure its curriculum was “broad, deep and rich.”

Sir Steve also praised the new Ofsted framework. He said: “Firstly, the intent of this new framework is spot on. It is driven by a principle that a world-class curriculum should be available to every child and young person irrespective of their background, where they happen to live, or the school or academy which they attend.

“It is about equity and equal opportunity and it has a strong moral purpose behind it. 

The MAT leaders who have spoken out have said that the new inspection framework is penalising schools which run GCSE over three years and warned that the focus on the breadth of curriculum over exam results will not work for disadvantaged pupils.

Sir Dan Moynihan, the chief executive of the Harris Federation - which has seen an academy marked down for three-year GCSEs - described the new inspection regime as a “middle-class framework for middle-class kids.”

Sir Steve has revealed that an inspection of one of Reach2’s schools under the new framework “didn’t go exactly as we wanted” because the school didn’t meet the inspectorate’s demands on the curriculum.

But he said: “Who am I to say that this isn’t the right expectation for every child, just because it gives me a headache in how to secure it in every one of our schools?

“To suggest this is a middle-class curriculum for middle-class kids makes my blood boil.”

Last week Tes revealed that the department had stepped into this debate and is set to send a ministerial letter sent to Ms Spielman stressing that exam results are still important and that academies have the freedom to make their own decisions on curriculum stages.  

The Department for Education, Ofsted, Harris Federation, Outwood Grange Academies Trust and the Inspiration Trust were approached for comment.