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A former Ofsted director has criticised the involvement of an academy trust trade body in the recruitment of the watchdog’s next chief inspector.

An advisory panel to shift applications, run interviews and recommend a shortlist to the education secretary includes Leora Cruddas, the chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST).

The confederation represents 64 per cent of the academy sector in England.

But Luke Tryl, who ran corporate strategy at Ofsted, said a “big part” of the job was “being able to stand firm, particularly when the big trusts, which have a lot of political influence and a lot of influence over the sector, are pushing back on things”.

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