One in 14 secondary schools in Merseyside are currently rated “outstanding” - but some are facing a fresh inspection as Ofsted works to update grades that were handed out several years ago.
The latest data available shows that, as of the end of March, six state-run secondary schools in Merseyside had been awarded Ofsted’s highest rating of “outstanding”.
They are among 551 outstanding secondary schools in England. But only 95 of those outstanding schools - including two in Merseyside - have been inspected since the pandemic, from June 2021.
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The rest had not been visited by Ofsted inspectors for a full graded inspection since they were first awarded the highest status - in some cases as long ago as 2007.
That is mainly because outstanding primary and secondary schools were exempt from routine inspection between 2012 and 2020.
Visits to schools from Ofsted inspectors were then paused for 18 months during the pandemic, with the watchdog now working to clear the backlog.
In Merseyside, 7% of state-run secondary schools are currently rated outstanding. Of the rest 58% are classed as “good”, 26% “require improvement” and 9% are “inadequate”.
You can see which schools have been rated outstanding in your area - both since the pandemic and before then - using this interactive map.
Since routine inspections have resumed, Ofsted says it has so far completed graded inspections of 739 formerly exempt primary and secondary schools. Of those, 134 (18%) have remained “outstanding”.
Previously exempt schools that have gone longest without inspection have been prioritised, an average of 13 years.
Ofsted says that means they are not “typical of all exempt schools, and the pattern of inspection outcomes may change later”.
Ofsted expects to have completed inspections of all previously exempt outstanding schools by the end of July 2025.
But while the work continues, Ofsted has announced it is reviewing its approach to inspecting schools following an outcry over the death of head teacher Ruth Perry.
Her family said she took her own life in January before the publication of an inspection report at Caversham Primary School in Reading that downgraded her school from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.
In the wake of the tragedy Ofsted has faced calls to scrap its one-word ranking system which grades schools as either “outstanding”, “good”, “requires improvement” or “inadequate”.
Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said she recognises that “distilling all that a school is and does into a single word makes some in the sector uncomfortable”. But she added that the current grading system “showcases good practice”, uncovers “significant issues” at schools, and is “useful” for parents making a decision on which school to send their children.
Currently, 16% of secondary schools in England are rated “outstanding” and 65% are “good”. That means eight in 10 secondary schools (81%) are either good or outstanding.
Around one in eight schools (13%) require improvement, and one in 17 - 6%, or 197 schools - have the lowest grade of “inadequate”.
A spokesperson for Ofsted said: “Our inspections are first and foremost for children and their parents – looking in depth at the quality of education, behaviour, and how well and safely schools are run. We always want inspections to be constructive and collaborative and in the vast majority of cases school leaders agree that they are.”
