Revealed: The number of Peterborough schools judged good or outstanding by Ofsted.

Eight in nine of Peterborough's schools are good or outstanding, Ofsted figures show.
Peterborough's good and outstanding schools revealedPeterborough's good and outstanding schools revealed
Peterborough's good and outstanding schools revealed

Out of the 76 schools inspected in the area, nine are rated outstanding and 57 good, as of October 31.

Across the East of England, on average, 85% of schools are good or outstanding.

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Ofsted, the schools regulator, inspects every new school within three years of being funded.

Inspectors judge education providers on the effectiveness of the leadership, quality of teaching and learning, personal development and welfare, and the outcomes for learners.

If a school is rated as inadequate it will be re-inspected within 15 months, and between one and two years if it requires improvement.

In Peterborough three schools are inadequate, the lowest rating, and seven require improvement.

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Outstanding schools are exempt from routine inspections unless there is a specific concern about performance, however Ofsted said it would like to start inspecting them.

A spokesman explained: “Some schools have now gone for 10 years or more without being inspected, leaving us with a blind spot about the quality of education they offer.

“We have been clear that we would like this exemption to be removed, and have asked the Department for Education to look at the policy again.

“We focus our resources where they can have the greatest impact, so schools with lower grades are inspected more frequently.”

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Out of the 12 secondary schools inspected in the area, three are rated outstanding, and eight are classed as good. Figures show one requires improvement.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said that there was “a link between the level of school disadvantage and the outcome of Ofsted inspections”.

“Naming and shaming schools and labelling them through negative Ofsted judgements is entirely the wrong approach,” he said.

A DfE spokesman said: “There are 1.9 million more children in good and outstanding schools compared to 2010. This represents 86% of children, compared to just 66% in 2010.”

“The number of schools that are rated Inadequate or Requires Improvement has decreased since 2010, going down from 32% in 2010 to 14% in March of this year.”