‘Teaching is deeply personal’: Ofsted’s new chief on inspections and schools’ struggles

Sir Martyn Oliver says he is a proud northerner who has taken on some of the most ‘difficult and damaged’ schools

Turning around some of the toughest schools in England is the ideal preparation to become Ofsted’s chief inspector when schools are still struggling after the Covid crisis, according to Sir Martyn Oliver.

With 28 years as a teacher and school leader behind him before being appointed to lead Ofsted, Oliver has spent the past 14 years of that time as headteacher and chief executive with the Outwood Grange academies trust, which runs 41 primary and secondary academies in the Midlands and north of England.