Lucy Powell has confidence in Ofsted chief inspector Martyn Oliver, a spokesperson has confirmed, amid calls for the education secretary to state her position. Multiple unions have issued a vote of no confidence in Oliver as the watchdog’s boss, but Powell appeared to dodge questions over whether she supported him, in a televised interview this week. Shadow education secretary Laura Trott wrote to Powell on Thursday, urging her to make “a clear statement of confidence” in Oliver. She accused Powell of throwing him “under the bus” by refusing to back him, in the Sky News interview. But a spokesperson for Powell has since said the education secretary “was clear” that she had confidence in both the watchdog and Oliver. .@AliFortescue: Do you have confidence in Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver? Education Secretary Lucy Powell: I’ve got confidence in Ofsted. Read more from the interview after a landmark report on antisemitism in schools 🔗 https://t.co/Wir2Tsv34Q https://t.co/Z6QZWCDf4X — Sky News (@SkyNews) October 21, 2026 Interviewer Ali Fortescue repeatedly pressed the education secretary on the question. Powell said Oliver is “independent of government”, and that Ofsted is “a very important organisation”. The segment ended with Fortescue saying: “So, it sounds like you do have confidence in Sir Martyn Oliver?” “Look, he’s independent of me anyway,” said Powell, “so, um, that’s a different thing. I’ve got confidence in Ofsted.” Schools Week has also repeatedly asked the DfE in recent weeks whether the education secretary has confidence in Oliver, but it has not responded. Writing to Powell on Thursday, Trott expressed “deep concern” following Powell’s “lack of public support” for Oliver. She said he was “doing his best to implement the new inspection framework at this government’s behest. Lucy Powell refused in an interview with @AliFortescue to back the head of Ofsted. Throwing public servants under the bus for simply implementing Labour Party policy is unacceptable. Labour need to take responsibility for their own decisions. That’s why yesterday I wrote to the Education Secretary demanding a public declaration of her confidence in Sir Martyn. — Laura Trott MP (@LauraTrottMP) October 23, 2026 “The changes proposed were commitments in the Labour Party’s manifesto. “For a public servant to be undermined in this way, when he is implementing your government’s policy, is a failure of leadership. “When chief inspectors have faced criticism in the past, education secretaries have stood behind them. Failure to back Ofsted is letting down children and letting down the profession.” She urged Powell to either “reply with a clear statement of confidence” in Oliver, or set out the “full plan” of what she intends to do next in the House of Commons “at the earliest available opportunity”. In response, a spokesperson for Powell told Schools Week: “The education secretary was clear [in the interview], that she had confidence in Ofsted and the chief inspector”. Unions have expressed no confidence in Oliver and called on him to step down, saying Ofsted’s new school inspections have failed to adequately reduce pressure on school staff. Powell is planning to make changes at Ofsted in coming months. She told Sky News she wants to see changes to Ofsted’s “culture and approach”, as well as its framework. Ofsted has been approached. Transcript of Powell’s Sky News interview Fortescue: Okay, I want to ask you about one other story that seems to be kind of bubbling under the surface. This is about Ofsted, and many teaching unions are now saying they don’t have faith in Sir Martyn Oliver as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector. Do you have confidence in him? Powell: Well, Ofsted’s a very important organisation. In the 30 years it’s been around, it’s been a key part of how we’ve improved schools, how we’ve driven up standards. Accountability is important to that, and I think for parents as well. Those Ofsted judgments can help parents greatly in understanding which school they might want to choose for their children. The Chief Inspector is, you know, he’s independent of government. Fortescue: But do you have confidence in him? Powell: I… look, I want to see some change. I speak to some heads often. Fortescue: You want to see some changes? Powell: I want to see some changes to Ofsted, to its culture and approach, but also to parts of its framework as well. So that we are really supporting schools doing the right thing. And that’s not just an issue for some heads; that’s an issue for me and my department, and for others as well. That we have, for too long… Fortescue: So do you think we have the right person to be in that role? Powell: Look, Martyn is the HMI [sic], he’s going to carry on being the HMI [sic]. The important thing here is that we get the what and the how right. We’ve got to change the culture so it’s more supportive, it’s more respectful of what’s happening in schools, and we’ve got to get the what right so that we are really valuing schools doing the right thing by supporting and including students. Fortescue: Yes, sorry, just to be really clear, when you talk about the Ofsted framework changing, do you mean getting rid of that framework? Powell: No, I don’t mean getting rid of it. We need to make some changes to the framework, and I’ve been really clear about this. I want to see, you know, I want us to really appreciate inclusion, where schools are being a lot more inclusive. That’s not often measured in that context. So schools that are operating in the most difficult circumstances, and this is not about going easy on those schools by any means, but at the moment your context can actually really penalise you in the Ofsted framework and in the way that we judge schools, instead of actually rewarding the heads and teachers working in the most challenging schools, getting amazing, outstanding progress for their students. Fortescue: So the report cards system? So it’s not working? Powell: Look, the judgments are right. Having an Ofsted judgment, that’s not going anywhere. Having Ofsted, that’s not going anywhere. But what I’ve been really clear about is that I do want to see some changes, and I’m working with Ofsted, with some heads, on what those changes will look like, so that we can, as I say, value and respect the right thing. I meet head teachers every single day who say to me, “I’m doing this because I know it’s right for the children.” Not only do they not get rewarded for it, they actually often get penalised for it, even though… Fortescue: So it’s the right pressure on teachers? Powell: …they’re doing the right thing for the children. Fortescue: And just in a word, so it sounds like you do have confidence in Sir Martyn Oliver? Powell: Yeah, look, he’s independent of me anyway, so..and I’ve got confidence in Ofsted.