Hundreds of schools rated as not good enough

This was just over a quarter of all schools in the region.

There were 67 schools - three per cent of the total - judged to be inadequate and another 491 in the category above - which Ofsted now classes as schools “requiring improvement.”

Previously this category was called satisfactory but Ofsted changed it to show that “only good is good enough”

The figures show 1,264 schools in Yorkshire - 58 per cent - were rated as good and 347 - 16 per cent - were given the top grade of outstanding.

The data from the inspection watchdog show the ratings of all 2,169 schools in Yorkshire as of December 31 last year.

It shows major variations in parents chances of sending their child to a good school across Yorkshire and even in the same authority areas.

Barnsley is said to have both the highest level of outstanding schools - 27 per cent - and the highest level of inadequate ones - eight per cent.

Yorkshire has fewer schools that are good or better - 74 per cent - than any other region in England.

Of the 15 education authorities in the region only two, Calderdale and Leeds, have more schools that are good or better than the national average.

Nationally the proportion of schools judged “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted has risen to a record high, with 79 per cent of inspections resulting in the top two grades - five per cent higher than in Yorkshire. They cover the latest Ofsted verdicts on all 21,944 state schools in England.

London is the highest performing area with 86 per cent of schools judged good or better,

The figures make grim reading for parts of South Yorkshire. Barnsley has the region’s highest number of failing schools at eight per cent followed by Rotherham where the figure is seven per cent.

Parents in Doncaster are least likely to be able to send their child to a good school with 39 per cent in the bottom two categories.

Four per cent of schools in the town were rated as inadequate and another 35 per cent were in the category above.

Calderdale and the East Riding were the only two areas where no schools were rated as inadequate at the end of 2013. However this has now changed with a school in the East Riding, Goole High School Academy of Excellence placed in special measures last month.

New figures have also come out showing Ofsted received more than 1,400 complaints about its inspections and visits last year, figures show.

But one headteachers’ union said the number of schools unhappy with the inspectorate’s work is likely to be much higher, as many are afraid to complain for fear of the consequences.