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Value for money in schools: Report for the Audit Office

Value for money in schools: Report for the Audit Office
Value for money in schools: Report for the Audit Office
In January 2008, the Audit Commission appointed FGS, in association with the University of Southampton, to carry out a review in relation to Value for Money (VfM) in schools. Examining VfM in schools requires a detailed consideration of both the inputs and the outputs relating to the education system; in other words, the costs and benefits associated with schools. In this context, inputs are relatively straightforward to express: staffing typically represents around 70% of school costs, with the remainder comprising of operating and maintenance expenditure. However, defining the outputs from schools (pupil outcomes) is an altogether more complex task. The most tangible measure of pupil outcomes is the results they achieve in examinations. Even so, both in the UK and overseas, it is widely recognised that pupils’ levels of achievement are influenced by a range of factors other than the quality of schooling they receive (for example, their family background or their track record of achievement at earlier stages of their education). Put simply, pupils’ current levels of attainment are likely to be enhanced if they have a high level of prior educational attainment, and therefore schools may make a less significant contribution to student outcomes. In assessing the value for money which schools deliver through their day-to-day activities, it is therefore necessary to take account of the progress pupils make in their time at school (or ‘value added’ by the school), rather than just their levels of attainment, which are influenced by a host of factors other than schooling.
value for money in schools, audit commission
FGS McClure Watters
Davidson, Alan
f2eb8c6e-bc06-4627-a86c-2f147238ffe8
Miskelly, John
70d51019-9400-48ce-abcb-ad340c7e5097
Kelly, Anthony
1facbd39-0f75-49ee-9d58-d56b74c6debd
Davidson, Alan
f2eb8c6e-bc06-4627-a86c-2f147238ffe8
Miskelly, John
70d51019-9400-48ce-abcb-ad340c7e5097
Kelly, Anthony
1facbd39-0f75-49ee-9d58-d56b74c6debd

Davidson, Alan, Miskelly, John and Kelly, Anthony (2008) Value for money in schools: Report for the Audit Office Belfast & London, UK. FGS McClure Watters 62pp. (Submitted)

Record type: Monograph (Project Report)

Abstract

In January 2008, the Audit Commission appointed FGS, in association with the University of Southampton, to carry out a review in relation to Value for Money (VfM) in schools. Examining VfM in schools requires a detailed consideration of both the inputs and the outputs relating to the education system; in other words, the costs and benefits associated with schools. In this context, inputs are relatively straightforward to express: staffing typically represents around 70% of school costs, with the remainder comprising of operating and maintenance expenditure. However, defining the outputs from schools (pupil outcomes) is an altogether more complex task. The most tangible measure of pupil outcomes is the results they achieve in examinations. Even so, both in the UK and overseas, it is widely recognised that pupils’ levels of achievement are influenced by a range of factors other than the quality of schooling they receive (for example, their family background or their track record of achievement at earlier stages of their education). Put simply, pupils’ current levels of attainment are likely to be enhanced if they have a high level of prior educational attainment, and therefore schools may make a less significant contribution to student outcomes. In assessing the value for money which schools deliver through their day-to-day activities, it is therefore necessary to take account of the progress pupils make in their time at school (or ‘value added’ by the school), rather than just their levels of attainment, which are influenced by a host of factors other than schooling.

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Audit_Commission_-_Value_for_Money_in_Schools_-_final_report.pdf - Author's Original
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More information

Submitted date: March 2008
Keywords: value for money in schools, audit commission

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 52002
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/52002
PURE UUID: 33ad2f16-27a2-49f4-b956-baa9a4de8119
ORCID for Anthony Kelly: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4664-8585

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 30 May 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:29

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Contributors

Author: Alan Davidson
Author: John Miskelly
Author: Anthony Kelly ORCID iD

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