Committee questions the Department for Education and Ofstedpublished at 15:26 British Summer Time 25 June 2018
Public Accounts Committee
Select Committee
Parliament
The Public Accounts Committee is taking evidence from the Department for Education and Ofsted, as well as education representatives, to evaluate Ofsted's impact, and whether it has delivered effectively despite constricting budgets.
The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is responsible for inspecting approximately 21,500 schools in England. In 2017–18, it inspected 6,079 schools at a cost of £44m to the taxpayer.
A report from the National Audit Office found that, although Ofsted’s remit has expanded significantly since 2000, its real-terms spending has been falling for over a decade from £280m in 2005–06 to £167m in 2015–16.
Spending on its inspection of schools has more than halved in real terms over a similar period.
The National Audit Office found that Ofsted did not have evidence that its inspections were raising the standards of education provided to children and young people. It said that until Ofsted is able better to assess its impact, it is difficult for the National Audit Office to be satisfied that Ofsted provides value for money to the taxpayer.
The committee will begin at 3pm this afternoon.