'˜Stark' regional differences in nation's schools

Secondary schools are almost twice as likely to be underperforming than primaries, according to new research.
The  Regional Schools Commissioner for  West Yorkshire and Lancashire, Vicky Beer.The  Regional Schools Commissioner for  West Yorkshire and Lancashire, Vicky Beer.
The Regional Schools Commissioner for West Yorkshire and Lancashire, Vicky Beer.

And there are wide variations across England, with more than 500 schools in need of attention in two regions, and around half as many in another.

The findings show the differences in the challenges faced by regional schools commissioners (RSCs), who are responsible for taking action when schools are not good enough, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), which conducted the analysis.

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It found across the country, more than one in four secondaries, 904 in total, could be considered underperforming, compared to around one in seven - 2,503 - primary schools.

A breakdown of the figures shows “considerable” differences between English regions, with 534 state primaries and secondaries underperforming in the East Midlands and the Humber, which includes Hull, York, Sheffield and Rotherham, and 521 underperforming schools in Lancashire and West Yorkshire, which includes Leeds, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees, and has the most schools in total.

In comparison, the North of England, which includes North Yorkshire, has 275 underperforming schools, the lowest number of all the regions, although it also has the smallest number of schools.

“These disparities in workload could affect the RSCs’ ability to tackle underperformance as effectively as is needed,” the NFER warns.

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The study calculates that, out of the schools that are underperforming, there are 573 that are in “immediate need”.

“There are differences between RSC regions in the number of schools with serious underperformance issues,” the report says.

“Lancashire and West Yorkshire has the most with 109 such schools, which is more than double the lowest RSC region, South East England and south London, which has only 50.”

The study did find that overall the numbers of schools with low Ofsted ratings, and, or, who are falling below the floor standard has dropped since 2014, when RSCs first took up office.

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Researchers also looked at the ability of multi-academy trusts (MATs), which run chains of schools, to expand and take on underperforming schools. “Available capacity in MATs exceeds the demand for new sponsors needed to take on the most serious underperforming schools nationally, but there are stark regional differences,” the NFER says.

Lancashire and West Yorkshire, which is overseen by RSC Vicky Beer, faces the most serious shortfall in MAT sponsors, but other regions may also have shortages.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said there are 1.8m more children in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. “As the report acknowledges we continue to build sponsor capacity at a national level but recognise there is more work to do in particular areas. We are continuing to work with the school system to address those challenges.”

Last month Neil Carmichael, Conservative MP and chair of the Education Select Committee, told The Yorkshire Post the RSCs would need to be “tooled up” with the appropriate resources to deal with the increasing number of multi-academy trusts. “There will be a need for strengthening that function,” he said.