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‘Without fear or favour’ – MPs urge Ofsted chief to speak out more

Inspection updates
MPs on the Committee of Public Accounts have said that Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman is too ‘reluctant’ to comment on wider issues and have called for her to speak-out ‘more freely’. Pete Henshaw reports

It is just one of several recommendations made by Parliament’s Committee of Public Accounts after its inquiry into Ofsted’s inspection of schools.

The MPs’ report also finds that Ofsted is struggling to complete its inspection programme because it does not have enough school inspectors.

It reveals that budget cuts have resulted in a 52 per cent real-terms fall (between 1999/2000 and 2017/18) in the amount Ofsted is spending on school inspection. It currently spends £44 million of its £151 million budget on schools.

The MPs say that schools are being left for longer between inspections and that Ofsted is “not providing the level of independent assurance about the quality of education that schools and parents need”.

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