Record levels of children in good and outstanding schools
Ofsted has released new figures showing that 1.4m+ more children now attend better schools than in 2010.
The latest maintained schools and academies inspections and outcomes data shows that 21% of schools (all types) are outstanding, 65% are good, 13% require improvement and 1% are inadequate.
The Government claimed it was the result of its reforms, with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan stating that: “the figures suggest our schools have responded well to the challenge and are providing our children with the best possibe start in life”.
She added: “but we are determined to go further and in our recent white paper we set out plans to tackle areas of underperformance to ensure no child is disadvantaged just because of where they live.”
The Ofsted figures also show a regional divide in England’s education system, with 57% of the 416 secondary schools inspected in the last year judged good or outstanding. Of the 24 local authority areas where secondary schools are not performing as well as in the rest of the country, 17 are located in the north and midlands.
The North East remains slightly above the average in terms of overall inspections. with 22% of schools in the region graded outstanding and 65% good.
Compared to last year, there are 13 fewer schools that require improvement in the North East, 5 of which were located in Middlesbrough and 5 in Sunderland. Ofsted data for 2015 and a regional and LA breakdown can be viewed here.
Further reading:
Government press release
HM Chief Inspector raises concerns about secondary schools