With primary school selection just a few months away, many parents will be wondering which institutions to avoid.
Councils across England will confirm children’s places for primary schools in just two months on April 16.
There are more than 120 primary schools rated as having serious weaknesses, inadequate or placed in special measures by Ofsted in England.
Here, MailOnline reveals Ofsted’s worst-rated primary schools in an interactive map.
To use the map, simply hit the play button then scroll across the map and click on your child’s school.
The Covid pandemic created turmoil in the education system and many schools have faced illness, closures and periods of remote teaching.
Education watchdog Ofsted carries out weekly inspections across the country to maintain standards.
Inspectors grade each school on quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.
Overall grades range from Grade One, meaning the school is outstanding, to Grade Four, meaning it is inadequate.
Grade Two means the school is good while Grade Three means the school needs improvement.
Councils across the UK will confirm children’s places for primary schools in just two months on April 16 (Our Lady of Victories Primary School)
Southminster Church of England Primary School in Essex is in special measures after it failed to live up to Ofsted standards
Chief inspector of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, expressed her surprisal on hearing about primary and early secondary school children having mobile phones
There are 97 primary schools as of May 3 last year that have the lowest rating from Ofsted and are therefore inadequate in the eyes of the education watchdog.
Inspections by Ofsted can be a stressful time for teachers and the National Education Union has called for the government to scrap the organisation.
The watchdog’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, has been outspoken already this year about standards in primary schools.
Ms Spielman expressed her surprisal on hearing that primary and early secondary school children sometimes own mobile phones.
There are 97 primary schools as of May 3 last year that have the lowest rating from Ofsted (Inglehurst infant school in Leicester)
Bracebridge Heath St John’s Primary Academy in Lincolnshire currently has a poor Ofsted rating
In a conversation with BBC Radio 5 Live about accessing explicit content online, she said: ‘I’m not comfortable with younger children having unlimited internet access.
‘I’m very surprised when primary-aged children have smartphones, for example, and even in early secondary school. It’s really hard to manage that.’
Ms Spielman also suggested that it was the role of parents and schools to ‘make sure that children can steer past all of these undesirable influences’.
In spite of Ms Spielman’s views, a number of headteachers as well as Britain’s largest teacher’s union have called for an end to Ofsted’s graded judgements.
National Education Union joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: ‘Ofsted needs to be replaced with a system that is fair and supportive.’
Meanwhile, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) have published a paper proposing long and short-term changes to the inspection system.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘Graded judgements are a woefully blunt tool with which to measure performance, failing to account for the different circumstances under which schools operate.
‘Negative judgements come with huge stigma attached and create a vicious circle that makes improvement more difficult.
‘We know from speaking to members that the punitive inspection system is contributing to the recruitment and retention crisis in education by adding to the pressure school leaders are under, and by making it more difficult to recruit high-quality staff in the schools which most need them.’
Tom Middlehurst, Curriculum, Assessment and Inspection Specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, added: ‘We appreciate the need for an independent inspectorate, and acknowledge the current Education Inspection Framework has some positive aspects.
‘But many school and college leaders feel the framework is flawed and Ofsted risks losing the trust of the profession.
‘We think that, if implemented, the changes put forward in this paper could help win back that trust and produce an inspection system that is just, reliable and in the best interests of children and young people.’
