Education

Ofsted chief warns of widening north-south education gap

Secondary school pupils in the north of England and the Midlands are less likely to succeed in school than their peers in the south and east, Ofsted’s annual report has revealed.

In 2016, the percentage of secondary schools judged good or outstanding rose to 78%, compared to 74% in 2015. However, the proportion of pupils who achieved highly by the end of primary school and then achieved an A or A* their GCSEs was 6 percentage points lower in the north and Midlands than in the rest of the country.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s outgoing chief inspector, said: “More than a quarter of secondaries in the north and Midlands are still not good enough.

“The geographic divides within the country are particularly acute for the most able pupils and those who have special educational needs.”

Cllr Richard Watts, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said that councils were key to improving the regional schools’ performance gap.

“Allowing them to intervene early and use their vast experience would help these schools to deliver the high-quality education that all of our children deserve,” he added.

The LGA is in an ongoing battle to maintain councils’ control of schools despite government initiatives to introduce more academies, which are not accountable to local authorities. The association recently released figures showing that council maintained schools are more likely to receive good or outstanding Ofsted ratings than academies.

In a written statement earlier this year, the DfE said it was abandoning the Education for All Bill, which would have given it powers to force schools in the worst-performing local authorities to become academies.

In what will be his last annual Ofsted report, Sir Michael called on the government to address “serious knowledge and skills gaps” that threaten the country’s economic competitiveness, with technical further education lagging behind academic pathways.

In contrast, he described education for children under 11 as making “remarkable” progress.

The proportion of good and outstanding nurseries, pre-schools and childminders has risen to 91%, and the proportion of good and outstanding nurseries is now almost the same in the most deprived areas of the country as in the least deprived.

For primary education, good and outstanding schools have increased from 69% to 90% in five years. The reading ability of pupils eligible for free school meals at age seven in 2015 was six percentage points closer to the level of their peers than in 2010.

“For this younger age group, we are now closer than we have ever been to an education system where your family background or where you live does not necessarily determine the quality of teaching you receive or the outcomes you achieve,” Sir Michael said.

In addition, the report found that the shortage of secondary school teachers is continuing, with unfilled training places in 15 out of 18 subjects. It also warned that there was a large scale of education providers operating illegally and displaying unsafe practice, but added that local authorities had “become more alert” to the risks.

Nick Gibb, the school standards minister, said: “Good and outstanding schools now make up 89% of all schools inspected in England – the highest proportion ever recorded – with both the proportion of primary and secondary schools judged at this rating continuing to rise in every region of the country.

“But we know there is more to do, and that’s precisely why we have set out plans to make more good school places available, to more parents, in more parts of the country - including scrapping the ban on new grammar school places, and harnessing the resources and expertise of universities, independent and faith schools.”

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