Rise in number of Northumberland schools rated good or outstanding

The number of Northumberland schools rated good or outstanding has risen.
Coun Wayne Daley, cabinet member for childrens services. Coun Wayne Daley, cabinet member for childrens services.
Coun Wayne Daley, cabinet member for childrens services.

Schools inspectorate Ofsted has issued its Education, Children’s Services and Skills Annual Report for 2018/19 today, Tuesday, January 20.

It shows the number of primary schools rated good or outstanding in the county in 2019 was up by 4%, to 89% percent – one point below the regional average.

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The percentage of secondary schools rated good or outstanding was also up, by two points to 61%, three points higher than the wider North East.

Sixty-six per cent of children were reaching the expected standard at reading writing and maths in key stage 2, one per cent better than nationally.

But 2017-18 figures show secondary schools excluded 1,082 of a total 23,729 pupils – a rate of 4.6%.

Ofsted Regional Director for the North East Emma Ing said: “Education for younger children in the North East is excellent, with a higher proportion of nurseries, pre-school and primary schools achieving good or outstanding than the national average.

“The picture is not so positive in secondary schools.

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“One area of real concern for me is the number of exclusions being made in our secondary schools.

“Use of exclusion is a legitimate option for schools but it must always be justified and in the very best interests of all learners, because exclusion is not always the best thing for those excluded

Coun Wayne Daley, cabinet member for children's services at Northumberland County Council said: "There is some excellent news for Northumberland in this annual report."We are very pleased Northumberland has moved to the position of highest performing local authority in the region for the measure known as ‘Progress 8’, and joint 2nd for ‘Attainment 8’. “This improving picture across Northumberland, reflects the huge efforts of schools, and our school improvement team, however we are not complacent, and there is still a lot more work to do.

"The data reported for school exclusions relates to the academic year 2017-18, and large strides have been made since then in improving the situation in Northumberland. Exclusions dropped by 22% in 2018-19 and were down again in the Autumn term of 2019-20.”