Interactive map reveals Ofsted's worst rated primary schools, with two schoolchildren with backpacks running into school
This map shows where England’s worst-rated primary schools are located (Picture: Getty)

Nearly one in five English primary schools have been declared inadequate or requiring improvement according to Ofsted inspections published in the first six weeks of 2024.

Ofsted released reports on 725 primary schools in the first six weeks of 2024.Most have been rated Good (66%) or Outstanding (16.7%), according to data published on the Ofsted website and updated daily.

But some have fared less well. So far this year, 29 schools (4%) have been declared Inadequate, the lowest rating on the scale, while a further 95 (13%) Require Improvement.

It takes two months from inspection to publication of an Ofsted report, meaning these schools were last visited by inspectors in autumn and winter 2023.

The government’s education watchdog routinely inspects schools – usually within four academic years of the last inspection if it was judged good or outstanding, and every two-and-a-half years if it was judged inadequate or requires improvement.

However, many schools have gone without inspection for a decade or more, due in part to the Covid pandemic. Now the government aims to have Ofsted inspect every school by summer 2025 after injecting £24 million of extra funding for this purpose.

School inspections were paused at the start of this year so staff could receive better mental health training after an inquest found an Ofsted inspection ‘likely contributed’ to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life in 2022.

In January, Ofsted issued an apology for the role it played in Ruth’s death. It also published new guidelines on how schools can pause an inspection if it is causing distress to teachers’ mental health.

Ruth’s family welcomed a report by the House of Commons Education Committee calling on the Department for Education and Ofsted to prioritise the development of an alternative to the one- or two-word ratings currently used by Ofsted.

The report, published last month, said this alternative should ‘better capture the complex nature of a school’s performance’.

But the National Education Union, representing school teachers, claims this report ‘doesn’t grasp the true scale of the problem’.

Union leader Daniel Kebede said: ‘Schools are complex, and single-word judgements are not a sustainable means of assessing them.

Ruth Perry / A headteacher killed herself while waiting for the publication of a negative Ofsted report about her school, her family have said. Ruth Perry, who had been principal at Caversham Primary School in Reading since 2010, took her own life in January this year, after being told the school was being downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate.
Ruth Perry took her own life in January 2023, after being told her school was being downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate (Picture: Brighter Futures for Children)

‘Replacing them with a more considered statement is important, but, as the work of the Beyond Ofsted commission has shown, dialogue between schools and ‘improvement partners’ is much more likely to yield genuine change.

‘We need Ofsted to be replaced altogether by a system of inspection which is supportive, effective and fair. The inspectorate in its current form is none of these things.’

Despite this, Ofsted appears to be sticking with the single-phrase rankings issued by inspectors for now.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: ‘We are working to ensure inspections keep children safe, whilst also prioritising the safety and wellbeing of school leaders serving in our schools through expanded wellbeing support for leaders.

‘I hope lots of teachers and parents take part in Ofsted’s Big Listen to further evolve inspection practice so Ofsted continues to drive up school standards.’

Among the schools given the worst rating of inadequate so far this year are independent institutions that charge parents up to roughly £50,000 each year, including the Cambian Beverley School in Yorkshire.

A child reading a book at school
29 schools have been rated inadequate (Picture: Getty)

At Parkview Academy, a Kent school declared inadequate in a report published on January 16, an inspector found: ‘Swearing and derogatory language have been too commonplace within school.

‘A lack of clarity from leaders about what the expectations of pupils are, mean staff are often reluctant to challenge negative behaviours.

‘Disorganisation, and a lack of predictability within the school day creates an ongoing sense of uncertainty for pupils.

‘Leaders do not think carefully enough about the risks that pupils face. Furthermore, leaders do not take the right action to keep all pupils safe within the school day.’

In another, St Germans Primary School in Cornwall, the inspector concluded that ‘pupils rightly believe that more could be expected of them’.

The report said: ‘There are inconsistences in how well the curriculum is implemented. Often, expectations are too low.

‘This affects learning, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Nevertheless, pupils learn some parts of the curriculum well.

‘For example, learning is better in mathematics or when reading in key stage 2. Pupils like going to school.

‘They appreciate the opportunities to learn outside and beyond the classroom. For example, they speak positively about the camps, trips and clubs available to help them learn.’

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