Chief inspector of schools appointed

Christine Gilbert has been appointed chief inspector of schools. Gilbert, who is currently chief executive of Tower Hamlets council, will take up her now role on 1 October.

She succeeds Maurice Smith who has been acting chief inspector since David Bell’s move to become permanent secretary at the Department for Education and Skills last December.

Education and skills secretary Alan Johnson said: “I am delighted that Christine Gilbert has been appointed to this crucial and demanding position, and wish her every success. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools plays a vital role in helping to raise standards and tackle failure in education and childcare, and will in the future take on an enhanced range of responsibilities for inspecting children’s social care and adult learning.”