Interactive map reveals Ofsted’s worst-rated secondary schools in England – is YOURS on the list?
- Almost 400 secondary schools in England are rated as Inadequate by Ofsted
- Of those, 209 are in Special Measures and 105 have a Serious Weakness
Schools across England continue to struggle to return to normal after nearly two years’ of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are currently 376 secondary schools rated by Ofsted as either Inadequate, in Special Measures, or having a Serious Weakness – this represents just over 10% of the total 3,473 schools across the nation.
The schools are rated on a sliding scale from Outstanding at the top, through to Good, Requires Improvement, and ending on Inadequate, at the bottom.
Once a school is deemed inadequate it can be judged to have Serious Weaknesses or even placed into Special Measures.
Pupils of some of the facilities inspected said they did not feel safe going into school, while others offered inadequate support to students with special needs. Violence and bullying was also a recurring theme.
Traditionally, schools deemed outstanding had escaped routine inspections, but concerns over a slip in standards led to Ofsted resuming their inspections.
In November last year, hundreds of previously ‘outstanding’ instutions were downgraded following inspections, with only 17 per cent maintaining their top rating.
The average amount of time that these schools had missed out on a full review was more than 13 years.
The worrying decline in standards comes at a worrying time for parents as pupils in the final year of primary school will find out over Easter whether they have been given their number one choice of secondary school.
Using up-to-date Ofsted data, the schools currently listed by the government as being either Inadequate, in Special Measures, or having a Serious Weakness are included in the map below.
Secondary schools have been struggling to recruit teachers and resume normal service following the disruption caused by Covid-19 which has led to a drop in standards (picture posed by models)
Last year, Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire was the subject of a scathing Ofsted report over repeated failures to monitor its pupils following a raucous end-of-term party which saw one Year 13 student collapse after drinking too much alcohol.
A subsequent inspection in October 2022 found the school had ‘much improved’ and was no longer rated inadequate.
Some school leaders have even reported that they may be forced to leave teaching posts unfilled while they deal with the energy price crisis.
According to Ofsted, 2022 remained a challenging year in the education sector, especially with the continued impact of the Covid pandemic.
The Bullwell Academy in Nottingham is among the schools which have been placed into special measures following an inspection in October 2022.
Inspectors found problems with the quality of the teaching and the level of supervision. They also expressed concern about the quality of education provided to children with special needs.
They also had issues with the level of pupil absences.
In a letter to parents in December, the school said they had recruited more staff to address issues highlighted in the earlier inspection. They said a further evaluation would improve their rating.
Among those on the list is the Bulwell Academy in Nottingham. It was placed into special measures following an inspection in October 2022
The John Warner School in Hoddesdon was also placed into special measures in October 2022
Idsall School in Shropshire was placed into Special Measures in September 2022
In September 2022, Ofsted inspected Idsall School in Shropshire. Inspectors reported: ‘Too many pupils do not feel safe at Idsall School. Some say that they experience frequent sexual harassment or discriminatory behaviour from their peers. They are not confident that teachers will deal with their concerns, so they do not report the incidents that occur.’
In The John Warner school in Hoddesdon, inspectors heard: ‘Most pupils have high aspirations for themselves and value their education. However, many are disappointed by the unacceptable experience they receive at the school. They are particularly frustrated by regular disruptions to learning and the poor behaviour of a significant minority of pupils. Students in the sixth form have similar frustrations about the way poor behaviour affects their school experience.’
Inspectors attending the Oasis Academy on the Isle of Sheppey heard pupils express their frustration over their experience.
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According to the damning report: ‘Too many pupils feel unsafe at this school. Some pupils told us that they “have had enough” of being jostled and hurt in corridors or verbally abused. Leaders and staff do too little to challenge the foul, homophobic, racist and sexist language which is commonplace across both sites. Pupils have little confidence in leaders’ ability to deal with any concerns about bullying or discrimination. Pupils do not feel that they have a voice in this school. Their concerns are not listened to.’
Earlier Ofsted highlighted problems facing the education system across the country. The watchdog said: ‘2023 is already shaping up to be another busy year for schools and further education (FE) and skills providers. While none of us can quite predict what might be around the corner, our Annual Report, published at the end of last year, did identify several challenges that will undoubtedly continue into this year.
‘We reported on the ongoing issues of the pandemic, including around attendance. Specifically, we highlighted the increasing use by schools of part-time timetables. Schools may be using these with the best of intentions but pupils can too easily move out of sight because they’re absent from education for too much time, and too often it is used to try to avoid the legal requirements around excluding a pupil.’
Ofsted also said it was concerned about pupils attending unregistered schools as well as those pupils with special needs.
A recruitment and retention crisis in schools is also being blamed on declining standards, with schools struggling to find and keep teachers.
Traditionally, schools deemed outstanding had escaped routine inspections, but concerns over a slip in standards led to Ofsted resuming their inspections.
In November last year, hundreds of previously ‘outstanding’ instutions were downgraded following inspections, with only 17 per cent maintaining their top rating.
The average amount of time that these schools had missed out on a full review was more than 13 years.
The decline in standards comes at a worrying time for parents as pupils in the final year of primary school will find out over Easter whether they have been given their number one choice of secondary school.
However, the most shocking decline in standards reported by Ofsted was in schools previously rated as Outstanding.
In their annual report, they wrote: ‘Perhaps our most reported findings from 2022 were those from our inspections of previously exempt outstanding schools. The exemption was lifted during the pandemic, but we have now been able to inspect 370 formerly exempt schools. We found that 83 per cent were no longer outstanding.’
Although, some of the schools surveyed had not been inspected for an average of 13 years. They have set a deadline of July 2025 to have re-inspected the rest of the Outstanding schools.
The figures also showed that 88 per cent of state-funded schools were either rated Outstanding or Good, an increase of two per cent on 2021.
The National Education Union has described the Ofsted inspection scheme as unfair and is campaigning for the watchdog to be scrapped.
The NEU said its members were being forced to work extra hours for no pay to prepare for Ofsted inspections.
Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey was placed into Special Measures in June 2022
In guidance to teachers, the union said: ‘The new Ofsted inspection framework is putting increasing pressure on members, particularly primary subject leaders. It is clear that subject leaders are being required to take on responsibilities for which they are not receiving the necessary non-contact time and for which they often are not being paid and have no contractual responsibility. In many cases, this is due to problems with school funding and staff recruitment, which the new framework does not take into account.’
Earlier this week, MPs were told of an impending crisis among childminders and nurseries, with many providers on the brink of closing their doors.
Leaders of childcare providers told the Commons Education Select Committee that families are already ‘missing out’ on childcare places due to closures of early years settings – and they warned the situation could get worse in the years to come as a result of funding pressures.
Changes in working patterns following the pandemic – as well as a desire to keep costs down – have led to parents looking for ‘more flexible options’ for childcare, which has affected some early years settings, MPs were told.
Gemma Rolstone, director of quality at Puffins Childcare in Devon, told MPs: ‘I think a lot of those really important small providers who do give an awful lot more than the basics will close and it will be filled in other ways that may not necessarily be the best for children and families.’
The Government’s proposals to ease childcare staffing ratios in nurseries in England would lead to even more staff leaving the profession as it would become ‘crowd control and nothing more’, Ms Rolstone warned.
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