Former education secretary Michael Gove and former Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman have both been confirmed as receiving seats in the House of Lords today.
Mr Gove, who was education secretary from 2010 to 2014, received a peerage in the resignation honours list of former prime minister Rishi Sunak, while Ms Spielman’s appointment as a Conservative peer was also confirmed today after she was put forward by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Both Mr Gove and Ms Spielman had been tipped to receive peerages before today’s announcements.
Ex-education secretary Cleverly knighted
Mr Sunak’s resignation honours list also included a knighthood for former education secretary James Cleverly.
Henry de Zoete, a special adviser to Mr Gove from 2010 to 2013 and more recently an adviser to Mr Sunak on artificial intelligence, during Mr Sunak’s tenure as prime minister, has been appointed an OBE.
Mr Gove was education secretary during the Coalition government. He is seen as an architect of several key education reforms, including the rapid expansion of the academies programme and an overhaul of the national curriculum and the content of exams.
Ms Spielman was the chief inspector of Ofsted from 2017 to 2023. She had her five-year term extended after the disruption caused to the education system by the Covid pandemic.
During her time in charge of Ofsted she oversaw the introduction of the current Education Inspection Framework. This framework placed an increased emphasis on the curriculum and involved the introduction of a new quality-of-education grade in inspections.
A citation from Ms Badenoch said: “She served two terms as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted, promoting substance and integrity in education for all children and young people, and also high-quality social care. She previously chaired the exam regulator Ofqual, overseeing the programme of qualification reform.”
Criticism of Spielman peerage
Earlier reports that Ms Spielman was in line to receive a peerage had attracted some criticism in the schools sector.
The Headteachers’ Roundtable think tank and the school leader support service Headrest wrote to the House of Lords Appointments Commission arguing that the appointment would be “inappropriate” and “insensitive”.
During Ms Spielman’s final year at Ofsted, the inspectorate faced increased scrutiny following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry after an inspection at her school. A coroner ruled that the inspection had contributed to Ms Perry taking her own life.
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