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 | | Monday, 7 January, 2002, 14:03 GMT New Ofsted boss 'an impressive guy'  Mr Bell will earn �115,000 a year, plus bonuses The man favoured to take over one of the most powerful jobs in education - chief inspector of England's schools - has a reputation for efficiency, dynamism, and Scottish dancing. A married man with two children, David Bell, 42, is currently the chief executive of Bedfordshire County Council, where he has been praised for his commitment to modernisation. Mr Bell, who was educated at Glasgow University, started his career as a primary school teacher in the city, before taking up a deputy headship. He later moved to Essex to become a head teacher. He also taught part-time on a Masters course in management and administration. Mr Bell then became assistant director of education at Newcastle City Council, where one of his main responsibilities was the implementation of the council's scheme for local management of schools - devolving funding to school level. Study in the States During his time in that post, he spent a year as a Harkness Fellow at Georgia State University, Atlanta, studying education and local government reform across the United States. He then became director of education and libraries at Newcastle, acting as the council's principal adviser on all matters relating to education and libraries.
He is clerk to the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire and chairs the county's drug action team. The post of head of Ofsted will earn him �115,000 a year, as well as a performance-related bonus. When not at work, his hobbies include Scottish dancing, football and reading. Driving performance He has a reputation for dynamism and bringing about change. The leader of Bedfordshire County Council, Councillor Philip Hendry, said Bedfordshire's loss would be Ofsted's gain. "David has played a pivotal role in driving service improvements and our innovative modernisation programme," he said. "When he becomes chief inspector of schools I know that he will take with him the same enthusiasm and commitment to raising standards which has been his hallmark here." Union opinion News of his expected appointment brought positive comments from union leaders - who previously despaired at what they saw as the heavy-handed approach of the former chief inspector, Chris Woodhead. John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said Mr Bell had done "an excellent job" as chief education officer in Newcastle, where he won the confidence of heads and teachers.
"I think he will continue Mike Tomlinson's good work in rebuilding the confidence of the teaching profession while maintaining the rigour of the inspection system." The general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, Nigel de Gruchy, said he remembered Mr Bell from his days as Newcastle's education director. "He seemed to be a very impressive, efficient guy," Mr de Gruchy said. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Education stories now:  Links to more Education stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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