Figures released last week show that as of March 2016, 21 per cent of schools in England are “outstanding” and 65 per cent are “good”. Meanwhile, 13 per cent are considered to be requiring improvement while one per cent are “inadequate”.
Broken down further, the figures show that 22 per cent of secondary schools are outstanding, 54 per cent are rated good, 20 per cent require improvement and four per cent are inadequate.
The statistics also break down inspection results by type of school, with 87 per cent of 16,397 local authority maintained schools being judged good or outstanding compared to 82 per cent of 4,653 academy schools.
Elsewhere, the figures show that of 161 free schools, 26 per cent are judged outstanding, 53 per cent good, 16 per cent require improvement and four per cent are inadequate.
The figures also include results for the most recent inspection period – from September 2015 to March 2016. These include a number of the new short one-day inspections of schools rated as good.
A total of 978 short inspections were carried out with 73 per cent of primaries and 59 per cent of secondaries maintaining their good judgement.
Of the 978, 37 per cent of these were converted to full inspections, meaning inspectors thought the school had either improved to outstanding or fallen to requires improvement. Of these schools, 52 per cent eventually retained or improved their “good” grade (56 per cent of primaries and 44 per cent of secondaries).
Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the positive story being told by the figures, but warned that this success was being achieved in spite of notable challenges on issues including teacher recruitment and funding.
He said: “It is pleasing to see that 86 per cent of schools are now judged to be good or outstanding and a tribute to the hard work and dedication of school leaders, teachers and pupils, as well as the support of parents and communities.
“This continued progress has come despite severe funding pressures and teacher shortages. These issues must be tackled urgently in order to maintain and raise standards further. Young people only get one chance to go through their school and college career and a successful education system is essential for the future economic and social wellbeing of our country.”