A total of 11 schools in the North East have the worst possible rating from Ofsted inspections carried out over the last two years.
Parents of pre-school children will find out on April 16 which primary school their kids will be attending when local authorities notify families, while for secondary schools places are allocated in a fortnight, on March 1. With not long to go, parents across the country will undoubtedly be looking up local schools to check their most recent ratings.
Ofsted carries out inspections of schools around the country every week on a rolling basis. Schools in England are regularly inspected by Ofsted and receive an overall rating based on their inspection, with four possible ratings: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, and Inadequate.
READ MORE: First of its kind netball event for children with disabilities hailed a success
Schools deemed to be 'inadequate' are then given one of of two additional categories, 'serious weaknesses' or 'special measures', with the latter being the most serious. However, independent schools do not receive these classifications.
Last year, Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman warned that pre-school children faced 'lingering challenges' caused by the Covid pandemic when they started at primary school. Ms Spielman said: "I'm particularly worried about younger children's development, which, if left unaddressed, could potentially cause problems for primary schools down the line."
A total of 11 North East schools had an 'inadequate' rating as of January 31 this year, as a result of an inspection completed after May 2021. Two of those are independent schools, one is a nursery, five are state-funded primaries, two are state-funded secondaries, and one is a special school.
The nursery, the special school and one of the primaries have been flagged for special measures. This data was accurate as of January 31 this year; however, these schools will be subject to regular re-inspections by Ofsted, and subsequent inspections may have since taken place.
Nurseries
- Etherley Lane Nursery School, Durham - Special measures (Date of last inspection: May 18, 2022)
Primary schools
- Whitehouse Primary School, North Tyneside - Serious weaknesses (Date of last inspection: July 13, 2022)
- Roman Road Primary School, Gateshead - Serious weaknesses (Date of last inspection: July 7, 2022)
- Middleton-in-Teesdale Nursery and Primary School, Durham - Special measures (Date of last inspection: March 2, 2022)
- Ashley Academy, South Tyneside - Serious weaknesses (Date of last inspection: October 6, 2021)
- Ormesby Primary School, Middlesbrough - Serious weaknesses (Date of last inspection: June 29, 2022)
Secondary schools
- Longfield Academy, Darlington - Serious weaknesses (Date of last inspection: April 6, 2022)
- Outwood Academy, Middlesbrough - Serious weaknesses (Date of last inspection: July 6, 2022)
Independent schools
- Cumbric, Gateshead - Inadequate (Date of last inspection: September 15, 2022)
- Invested Education, Cleveland - Inadequate (Date of last inspection: September 23, 2022)
Special schools
- Northern Counties School - Special measures (Date of last inspection: May 11, 2022)
View these schools on our interactive map below:
See all the Ofsted ratings for North East children's nurseries published in January 2023
Plea for support from Prudhoe school looking to replace 'temporary' classrooms in place for decades
Family hubs across Gateshead supporting parents and young people set for £3m boost
Blyth school secures funding to convert second train carriage into a science lab
Children in Northumberland missing school as parents can't afford to dry uniforms or pay for lunches
