Eye-opening interactive map reveals Ofsted’s WORST-rated secondary schools in England – check if yours is there
THE worst performing secondary schools in England according to Ofsted have been revealed.
An shows almost 400 secondary schools are rated as Inadequate - and of those 209 are in Special measures and 105 have a Serious Weakness.
Schools across the country have been struggling to get back to normality, and have faced enormous pressures following the Covid pandemic.
The government's education watchdog has revealed 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 per cent of the total 3,473 schools across the nation, reports .
Schools are graded from Outstanding at the top through to Good, Requires improvement, ending with Inadequate.
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Once a school is deemed inadequate it can be judged to have Serious Weaknesses or even placed into Special Measures.
Among some of the schools inspected, violence and bullying was a recurring theme, with some pupils saying they did not feel safe going into school.
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Others noted that there was inadequate support for students with special needs.
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 schools that had previously been given an 'Outstanding' rating by the watchdog were downgraded.
Only 17 per cent of the schools inspected maintained their their top rating.
The average amount of time that these schools had missed out on a full review was more than 13 years.
Last year, Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire was the subject of a scathing Ofsted report.
It highlighted 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.
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 teaching and the level of supervision.
They also expressed concern about the quality of education provided to children with special needs.
Pupil absences were also a cause for concern.
In a letter to parents in December, the school said they had recruited more staff to address issues highlighted, and that a further inspection would improve their rating.
Idsall School in Shropshire was inspected in September 2022, and 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.
According to their worrying 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."
In their annual report, Ofsted 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."
A deadline has been set of July 2025 to have re-inspected the rest of the Outstanding schools.
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.
The union said: "The new Ofsted inspection framework is putting increasing pressure on members, particularly primary subject leaders.
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"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."
