Ofsted’s Annual Report reveals secondary school standards slip

Launching his third Annual Report, Wilshaw said that primary school standards are continuing on an upward trajectory, with more than eight in ten schools now rated at least good. However, in secondary schools the overall rate of improvement has stalled, with over 50 more now in special measures compared to 12 months ago.
    
The Annual Report examines the findings of more than 7,000 inspections carried out during 2013/14 of schools, colleges and further education and skills providers. Separate reports dedicated to the children’s social care and early years sectors will be published in the coming months.
    
The report reveals that 82 per cent of primary schools are now good or outstanding (up from 78 per cent a year ago), and there are now 700,000 more pupils attending a good or outstanding primary school than in 2012. The overall proportion of good or outstanding secondary schools remains unchanged from last year at 71 per cent. Whilst a higher proportion of secondary schools are outstanding (113 schools achieved Ofsted’s highest grade in the last year alone), more than 170,000 pupils are now in secondary schools rated inadequate - an increase of around 70,000 from two years ago.
    
In secondary schools where improvement has stalled, or standards have declined, inspectors identified the common characteristics: poor and inconsistent leadership; ineffective middle management; too much low-level disruption; the most able not being challenged; a failure to narrow the gap for disadvantaged pupils, and; weak governance and oversight.
    
HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, said: “This time last year, I was able to point to unmistakable signs that England’s school system was improving. This year, I am reporting that primary schools are continuing on an upward trajectory.
    
“Many secondary schools are also doing a superb job, where leadership is excellent, teaching is inspirational and the ethos fosters a learning culture. However, weaker secondary schools are not improving at the same rate as their primary school counterparts and too many are declining.
    
“I believe the time has now come to move away from the debate that has raged for the past five years about school structures and towards a sharper focus on what works in all schools, regardless of their model or status. The essential ingredients for success are no secret and have been well documented from time immemorial strong leadership, a positive and orderly culture, good teaching and robust assessment systems.”
    
Wilshaw said that in an increasingly autonomous education system where schools have greater freedom to innovate and raise standards, the importance of effective oversight was greater than ever. He voiced concern that a number of local authorities and a number of rapidly expanding multi-academy trusts were failing to provide the necessary challenge, support and intervention to their constituent schools. He also questioned whether the necessary challenge, support and intervention had been put in place quickly enough in the small proportion of cases where converter academies that are not part of any multi-academy trust declined in performance from their previous inspection.
    
“Where schools are failing, it is not because they are local authority schools, or academies. They are failing because they haven’t got the essentials right.”
    
The Chief Inspector said he was encouraged by the rising quality of new teaching recruits and the high standards of initial teacher training in England, but was becoming increasingly concerned about the declining numbers joining the profession and their uneven distribution across the country.

He said: “This is a pressing issue. More teachers will be needed to match the substantial increase in the number of school-aged children expected over the next 10 years. We also face a major challenge getting the best teachers into the right schools.”
    
“Good and outstanding schools with the opportunity to cherry pick the best trainees may further exacerbate the stark differences in local and regional performance. The nation must avoid a polarised education system where good schools get better at the expense of weaker schools.”
    
Responding to the report, Charlie Taylor, chief executive of the National College for Teaching and Leadership, told the Telegraph that turning around primary schools was “often a much quicker process” than improving “big, complicated” secondaries.
    
Taylor said: “Any sense of concern here I think would be overstated. Of course we want schools to continue to do better, but looking at year-on-year comparisons overall things are moving in the right direction.”

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