1The recruitment process
Background
1.Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (HMCI) is responsible for the leadership and management of Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. As Ofsted’s Accounting Officer, HMCI is also responsible to Parliament for Ofsted’s use of public funds.1 Ofsted inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages. It is a non-ministerial department. It has around 1,500 employees working across eight regions and also directly contracts with more than 1,500 Ofsted Inspectors to carry out inspections of schools and further education and skills provision.2
2.The appointment of HMCI is subject to a pre-appointment hearing. The appointment is based on a fixed term of five years, commencing on 1 January 2017, after the term of the current Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, ends.3 The post was advertised between 22 February and 21 March 2016 on the websites of the Centre for Public Appointments, the Guardian and the Times, and appeared in print in the Guardian Social Care supplement and the Sunday Times. The recruitment company Saxton Bampfylde was procured to assist with promoting the vacancy and securing suitably qualified applications. The recruitment panel was chaired by Sara Nathan OBE, the Public Appointments Assessor assigned to the campaign. The members of the panel were Chris Wormald, then Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education, David Hoare, Chair of Ofsted, and Ruth Hunt, Chief Executive of Stonewall.4
3.32 applications were received. 15 of the candidates were male and 17 female. Five candidates declared themselves to be from a BAME background and one declared themselves as LGBT. The candidates were shortlisted and longlisted in accordance with guidance from the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The panel met on 31 March and longlisted 11 candidates (six male and five female). At a further meeting of the panel on 11 April, six candidates were shortlisted, the panel having considered further information on each candidate gathered by Saxton Bampfylde through informal interviews. Subsequently, one shortlisted candidate withdrew ahead of interview. The five remaining shortlisted candidates were interviewed by the panel on 21 April. The panel recommended three appointable candidates (two male and one female). The Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, met each of the appointable candidates before making her choice of preferred candidate.5 On 10 June, the Secretary of State wrote to the Chair, putting forward Amanda Spielman as her preferred candidate for our consideration.6
1 Appendix 4
3 Department for Education, Ofsted and The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Appointment of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills: Applicant Information Pack, accessed 23 June 2016. See also Appendix 2.
4 Appendix 4
5 Appendix 4
6 Appendix 2
© Parliamentary copyright 2015
06 July 2016