Ofsted local authority league tables released

The new OFSTED requirements implemented in September 2012 has cast a fresh light on the school league tables in the UK and has caused people once again to question why some schools are performing consistently poorly in the inspections. Although the recent media attention has been on secondary schools, with OFSTED reporting that 30% of state schools are failing to provide a good standard of education (The Independent), there have been equally poor results for primary schools. 

It has been found that in Coventry, Derby and Thurrock primary school children have only a 50% chance of attending a school deemed ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, compared to a 92% chance in Camden. These results have come from the first ever league table of local authorities released by the education watchdog this week and shows how many ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools there are in each area, you can have a look at the results from your area here. You can review your schools OFSTED inspection results here.

How are schools assessed?

With so much emphasis on OFSTED recently I thought it might be a good idea to look at how schools are judged and what is included in a school inspection report. I have taken the following directly from the OFSTED website:

School inspection reports will have information such as:

–how well inspectors think the school is doing and what it could do to make things even better 

– how well pupils are doing, both in their education and their overall well-being and personal development

– what parents and carers think about the school 

– how up to date the school buildings are, including any boarding schoolliving accommodation

– how any problems or complaints are dealt with 

– how the school complies with rules and regulations.

The school inspection report often helps parents and carers decide if they want to send their child to the school. In particular it includes an overall score for how good a school is:

– grade 1 (outstanding) 

– grade 2 (good) 

– grade 3 (requires improvement) 

– grade 4 (inadequate).

What is in the report and how long it is will depend on the type of inspection the school has received and if it is a maintained or independent school.

…If a school is judged as ‘requires improvement’ or is judged ‘inadequate’ and has serious weaknesses or requires special measures, the report will explain why. We will monitor schools judged as ‘requires improvement’; we will also carry out monitoring inspections of schools which have serious weaknesses or require special measures. These inspections will also have reports, but they will be shorter and just be about how the school is progressing.

The general advice given to parents who are looking to choose a new school for their child is to always read the comments on an OFSTED report, don’t just look at the grades given as these can sometimes be misleading . Always look around the school first before making a decision so you can meet some of the staff and get a feel for what the school is like. And remember, often there are very specific conditions for enrolling your child into a school, such as living in the catchment area or having an older sibling in the school already, so do your research first before setting your sights too high (this should be contained in the local Information for Parents booklet). All children deserve an outstanding education and the overall standards are gradually rising, but finding a school that ticks all the boxes can still sometimes be a challenge.

Here’s a video of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector talking about the Ofsted Annual Report 2011-12: