Millions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being wasted in the Department for Children, Schools and Families, an internal government report suggests.
The report, by former WH Smith chief executive Richard Handover, has been seen by BBC One's Politics Show.
It claims civil servants and head teachers appear to have no idea what value for money means and calls for 40,000 teaching assistant jobs to go.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said £2bn could be cut from his department.
However, last week, he appeared to rule out the sort of job losses proposed by Mr Handover.