Ofsted says 130 schools in England have failed to improve in the past 12 years

Up to 130 schools in England have failed to improve their standards in the past 12 years, Ofsted says.

The education watchdog said 80 primary schools and 50 secondary schools inspected this year had not been rated good or outstanding at any point since 2005.

They failed to record a single good inspection despite receiving “considerable attention and investment”.

More than 500 primary schools and about 200 secondaries have been judged as requiring improvement or being satisfactory at their last two inspections, according Ofsted’s annual report, released on Wednesday.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman warned that disadvantaged pupils should not be used as an excuse for chronically under-achieving schools.

She hit out at what she called a “culture of disadvantage one-upmanship”.

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Ms Spielman said: “There is no doubt that the leadership challenge facing some schools is great.

“But progress is possible and we should all be wary of using the make-up of a school community as an excuse for under-performance.

“I do find myself frustrated with the culture of ‘disadvantage one-upmanship’ that has emerged in some places.”

Ousted said the 130 schools in question shared unstable leadership, high staff turnover and difficulties recruiting, while many have high proportions of pupils from deprived areas.

But other schools facing similar challenges have been able to achieve success, showing improvement is possible, the report states.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said schools were struggling with government policies, which had created problems with teachers’ pay and recruitment while driving up their workload.

Ms Rayner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The government have missed their teacher recruitment target.

“One in three of our Sure Start centres have closed. Many teachers have lost up to £5,000 of their real-terms wage over this period.

“But it’s not just about money… (it’s) the workload, the pace of change, the difficulty with restrictions and being able to give every child those opportunities. The chief of Ofsted has raised these issues.”

Ms Spielman said: “Fixating on all the things holding schools back can distract us all from working on the things that take them forward.

“Schools with all ranges of children can and do succeed. Where this is difficult, what is needed is greater support and leadership from within the system. That means making sure the system has the capacity to provide this support.”

The chief inspector also cautioned against the threat posed by a rising number of conservative religious schools which “actively undermine British values” and equality law.

Overall, education and care provided to young people is “better than ever”, with around 90% of primary schools and 79% of secondaries rated good or outstanding, the report said.

The quality of early years providers has improved, with 94% judged to be good or outstanding compared with 74% in 2012.

School standards minister Nick Gibb said: “Standards are rising in both primary and secondary schools.

“The report recognises the widespread good practice and continual improvement across the system but we know there is more to do to tackle consistent under-performance.