Press Release - Improving poorly performing schools
23 May 2006
We wish to clarify the basis for a figure in our report:
Improving poorly performing schools in England. In the executive
summary paragraph 37: “In 2004-05, 28 per cent of primary and 20
per cent of secondary [schools had headteacher vacancies],” is
better expressed as [schools which were advertising vacancies had
not filled them]”. Figure 35 (page 54) should read “Percentage of
advertised posts vacant”. These figures come from a report by
Education Data Surveys “The State of the Labour Market for Senior
Staff in Schools in England and Wales 2004-05”.
A large proportion of schools in England provide high standards
of education, with pupil attainment improving in primary and
secondary schools. However, some schools are performing less well.
The Department for Education and Skills and Ofsted use several
definitions to identify schools that are performing poorly and need
additional support; among the 1,557 schools included under these
definitions are 242 schools that Ofsted has judged as failing to
provide an acceptable standard of education.
National initiatives and local action are helping to reduce the
number of these schools, according to a report published today by
the National Audit Office. However, more can be done to prevent
poor performance in the first place, to speed up the improvement of
poorly performing schools, and to support improved schools in
sustaining their achievements. More frequent Ofsted inspections,
introduced in September 2005, could help by spotting signs of
trouble earlier.
Some poorly performing schools are in Ofsted categories, while
the Department identifies other schools in need of additional
support because of their pupils’ low attainment or
under-performance in relation their circumstances. There is some
regional variation: for instance 1.5 per cent of schools in Outer
London are in the Ofsted category, Special Measures, compared with
only 0.4 per cent in the North East of England.
The government spent around £840 million in England last year to
help prevent poor performance and to turn around schools, excluding
the costs of academies. These initiatives are having an effect, in
that fewer primary and secondary schools are failing to achieve
targets for minimum pupil achievement, and the number of schools in
Ofsted categories is falling.
Around 85 per cent of schools recover after being put into
Special Measures, benefiting from good support from Ofsted and
their local authority, and the remaining schools close. Two-thirds
of schools in Special Measures make at least reasonable progress in
the first year, and most recover within two years. Good schools are
aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and they develop an ethos
of continuous improvement that sustains achievement. They
continually strengthen teaching and learning by providing better
assessment and coaching of teachers, and regular monitoring of
pupils’ progress in all subjects.
A minority of schools take four years or more to recover. The
longer a school takes to turn around, the longer its pupils suffer
a poor education and the more damage is done to the school’s
reputation, making recovery even more difficult. In order tackle
the most difficult cases more quickly, the Department has school
renewal programmes. Fresh Start schools, which cost
£2.2 million on average, re-open with refurbished facilities
and changes to governors and staff. They show steady and continuing
improvement in GCSE results. The Academies Programme has capital
costs of around £27 million for a 1,300 pupil academy. Early
signs are encouraging, but it is too early to know whether the
programme will be good value for money.
Two years after recovery from Special Measures, most schools are
good or better. However, some "recovered" schools do not sustain
their recovery – 5 per cent rated as unsatisfactory two years after
recovery. There is limited evidence about the longer term
performance of recovered schools. The NAO found that 40 per cent of
schools that recovered between April 1995 and March 1997 had closed
by July 2005.
The responsibility for improving school performance is shared
between the schools themselves, local authorities, Ofsted and the
Department for Education and Skills. Local authorities should
maintain close links with all of their schools, and provide extra
support for vulnerable schools. Ofsted inspections in 2003-04 found
that 56 per cent of local authorities had good school improvement
services, while 13 per cent were unsatisfactory. An NAO survey of
recovered schools showed that many headteachers felt that their
school received much better support from their local authority
after being put into an Ofsted category than they had received
during their decline.
Support and challenge from governing bodies and strong
leadership from headteachers are both essential elements of school
recovery and in maintaining high achievement into the future. But
there are concerns about shortages of headteachers. In 2004-05, 28
per cent of primary schools and 20 per cent of secondary schools
were without a permanent headteacher. 10 per cent of governor
places are also vacant, rising to 20 per cent in some inner city
areas.
Sir John Bourn today said,
"The quality of education is vital to young people’s
lives. The falling numbers of poorly performing schools are
welcome, but it is unacceptable for any school to carry on
providing a poor education over a period that can take up a large
part of a child’s school career and deprive them of future
prospects and opportunity. All schools need to embrace continuous
improvement. The Department, Ofsted and local authorities can do
more to help schools identify weaknesses and address them before
decline sets in."
Notes for Editors:
- As at July 2005, there were 1,557 poorly performing schools
needing additional support, including 242 in Special Measures
(schools with the worst performance), 335 in other Ofsted
categories, 402 low-attaining schools (where adequate levels of
attainment are not being achieved) and 578 under-performing schools
(where attainment levels are not adequate once the schools’
circumstances are taken into account). The total comprised 777
secondary, 724 primary and 56 other schools.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 01/06
All enquiries to Mark Strathdene, NAO Press Office:
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