Ofsted annual report Postcode lottery: Two million children in schools classed ... - Mirror.co.uk

Children face a "postcode lottery" over their chances of going to a good school, watchdogs revealed today.

Some have less than a 50% chance of attending a decent school because of the "stark inequalities" in England's education system that are baffling experts.

And schools watchdog Ofsted is launching a probe in the New Year to find out why there are such wide inequalities after branding them "completely unacceptable".

More than 2m children - nearly a third of all pupils - are stuck in schools that fall short of being good or outstanding, just because of where they live.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted chief inspector, said in his first annual report:"Mediocrity is not an option. We are raising the bar.

"We'll be asking a question - why is it parents in some parts of the country have less than a 50% chance of getting their children into a good primary school where there are other parts of the country where that chance is over 90%?

"It is a dramatic difference and it's not on. It's completely unacceptable and we need to find out what on earth is happening in these areas where there is such poor provision."

The report says a child living in Derby or Doncaster has only half the chance of attending a good or better primary or secondary school compared with a child living in Wigan or Darlington.

A parent in Coventry has only a 42% chance of sending their child to a good or outstanding primary school compared with a 92% chance of a parent living in the london borough of Camden.

Sir Michael said some of the poorest areas in the country have high numbers of good and outstanding primaries, but richer areas performed badly, such as Prime Minister David Cameron's Oxfordshire constituency, which is among the 20% of local authorities with the lowest proportions of pupils attending a good or outstanding primary school.

Four out of five children in Dorset and Northumberland attend primary schools that are good or outstanding, but only 59% can do so in Shropshire and 56% in North East Lincolnshire.

In poorer areas, such as the London borough of Lambeth and Knowsley in Merseyside, four out five children attend good or outstanding primary schools, but only 53% do so in Portsmouth and 42% in Coventry.

Serious inequities: The Education Secretary Michael Gove

Sir Michael added: "If we aspire as a nation to move towards a world leading system, we have to reduce these serious inequities across the system."

The report says schools in England are getting better with 70% of schools now rated good or outstanding compared to 64% five years ago, but warns "there is still a long way to go before the nation catches up with the best in the world."

Sir Michael said better leadership and an improvement in the quality of teaching were driving the upward trend.

But the report said post-16 education was a "real concern" and urged the government to shine a spotlight on further education as it had on schools.

Ofsted inspectors found 35% of colleges are now less good compared with 30% at the end of 2010 and this year they judged 13 colleges to be inadequate compared with just four last year.

Ofsted said there was a "stubbornly wide" gap between the achievements of poor pupils and their richer classmates.

It has narrowed slightly in primary schools, it has "remained constant" in secondaries.

Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg, Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, said: "Today's report shows the results of Labour's education reforms - including academies and better school leadership.

"There are half a million more children in good or better schools thanks to over a decade of investment and reform.

"However, there remains an arc of under-achievement which is holding back too many young people.

"Even in David Cameron's backyard of Oxfordshire, there are too many coasting schools."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "Sir Michael is right that standards in some local authorities are simply not good enough. There are still too many schools that do not provide a good enough education.

"We make no apology for introducing reforms to drive up standards in schools.

"The report recognises that sponsored academies - with strong leadership and real expertise - are the best way to turn around struggling schools.

"That is why we are identifying consistently weak schools and allowing experienced academy sponsors to take them over."

 

Local authorities where pupils are likely to attend a good or outstanding primary school. Percentage of pupils attending good or outstanding schools.

Buckinghamshire 78%

Blackpool 77%

Liverpool 77%

Solihull 77%

Bath and North East Somerset 77%

Rutland 76%

Newham 75%

Hampshire 75%

Gateshead 75%

Bracknell Forest 75%

Local authorities where pupils are least likely to attend a good or outstanding primary school. Percentage attending.

Bournemouth 61%

South Tyneside 61%

Staffordshire 60%

Doncaster 60%

Sunderland 60%

Peterborough 60%

Dudley 60%

Shropshire 59%

Walsall 59%

Oxfordshire 59%