Ofsted’s leadership approval ratings by staff have risen dramatically since Amanda Spielman took over.

A survey of civil servants working at the watchdog shows that the proportion of staff who believe the leadership team has a “clear vision for the future of Ofsted”, has risen by 13 percentage points to 70 per cent in the past year.

Across the civil service as a whole, just 49 per cent of staff felt the same.

Ms Spielman took over the role of chief inspector in January, following Sir Michael Wilshaw who spent five years in the post.

The Ofsted survey, which was answered by 1,529 staff, also that scores had jumped for other aspects of leadership over the past year.

It found that 70 per cent of staff had confidence in the decisions made by senior managers - up by seven percentage points from last year. More than half - 51 per cent - felt change was managed well - up by eight percentage points from last year.

While a minority (45 per cent) felt that when changes were made in Ofsted they were usually for the better - this was a rise of seven percentage points from when the same question was asked last year.

The survey also found that 75 per cent of workers said they were proud to tell people they worked for Ofsted, up by five percentage points from last year.

But there was less satisfaction with pay, which half of people felt “adequately reflected” their performance, compared with 52 per cent last year.

Ms Spielman’s appointment was initially questioned by some MPs.

She was education secretary Nicky Morgam’s preferred candidate for the chief inspector job.

But her appointment was opposed by the Commons Education Committee, with the then chair Neil Carmichael claiming she  lacked the “passion and vision” for the role.

However, Ms Morgan snubbed the committee’s decision and recommended her approval to former prime minister David Cameron and the rest of the Privy Council.

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