Question to the Department for Education:

Her Majesty's Government whether they monitor the performance of Ofsted in relation to that agency's responses to family members who raise concerns relating to (1) children's services, and (2) children's homes; and what steps, if any, they are taking to improve that performance.

Ofsted is a Non-Ministerial Government Department and is not an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). The responsibility for performance rests with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, with oversight undertaken by the Ofsted Board. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector also reports to the Education Select Committee on matters relating to Ofsted’s performance.

Officials from DfE’s and Ofsted’s social care teams engage with one another frequently so that any policy or operational issues, including how concerns raised by families are dealt with, can be addressed. Where appropriate DfE raises issues of concern with Ofsted and refers members of the public to Ofsted’s complaints procedure.

The details of how Ofsted addresses improvement in performance on these matters will be placed in the libraries of the House.