Controversial outgoing chief inspector of schools Chris Woodhead will not have a direct client-handling role when he starts work for Bell Pottinger Public Affairs next spring.
According to Lord Bell, chairman of Bell Pottinger parent company Chime Communications, Woodhead will bring his expertise as a former head of a regulatory authority to the assistance of Bell Pottinger management.
'He will be working two, perhaps three days a week advising managers on the philosophy of regulation and on how it works in practice,' Bell said.
Woodhead resigned last week as head of the Office for Standards in Education after six years in the post. He announced he would resign from Ofsted to take up several part time positions including work as a columnist on the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Bell could not confirm a starting date since Woodhead is subject to restraint on his employment after serving in a government agency.
Woodhead, a former teacher and teacher trainer, became a hate-figure for the teachers' unions due to his uncompromising attitude to school standards, labelling them sub-standard during his spell at Ofsted.
An appointee of John Major's government, Woodhead had a difficult relationship with Education Secretary David Blunkett, though he had the confidence of the Prime Minister in the role.
