Performance of West Sussex Pupils in Schools – September 2019
The proportion of pupils in schools that are graded good or better remains in the third quartile. The change in how some inspections were scheduled since January 2018 has seen a significant increase in the number of inspections. The new School Effectiveness Strategy has enhanced the robustness of preparing school leadership to withstand external scrutiny. These recent increase in the proportion of pupils in good or better schools is symptomatic of improved KS2 and KS1 results and a more rigorous approach to school improvement and preparing schools for inspection taken in the new School Effectiveness Strategy.
The total for West Sussex pupils attending schools that are judged good or outstanding has increased slightly to 85.7%. This figure is slightly higher than the figures shown in the 2017/18 academic year and is at it's highest rate in the last two years.
For September, the percentage for each school phase is as follows:
Primary School pupils = 83.7%; Secondary School pupils = 88.0%; Special School pupils = 96.1%
The new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) has started to be implemented in September. Schools have been invited to participate in CPD sessions outlining the changes and how to prepare for the new inspection regime.
Performance of West Sussex Pupils in Schools – July 2019
The proportion of pupils in schools that are graded good or better remains in the third quartile. The change in how some inspections were scheduled since January 2018 has seen a significant increase in the number of inspections. The new School Effectiveness Strategy has enhanced the robustness of preparing school leadership to withstand external scrutiny. These recent increase in the proportion of pupils in good or better schools is symptomatic of improved KS2 and KS1 results and a more rigorous approach to school improvement and preparing schools for inspection taken in the new School Effectiveness Strategy.
The total for West Sussex pupils attending schools that are judged good or outstanding has decreased slightly to 85.5%. This figure is slightly higher than the figures shown in the 2017/18 academic year and is at it's highest rate in the last two years.
For July, the percentage for each school phase is as follows:
Primary School pupils = 83.9%; Secondary School pupils = 87.9%; Special School pupils = 96.0%
Performance of West Sussex Pupils in Schools – June 2019
The proportion of pupils in schools that are graded good or better remains in the third quartile. The change in how some inspections were scheduled since January 2018 has seen a significant increase in the number of inspections. The new School Effectiveness Strategy has enhanced the robustness of preparing school leadership to withstand external scrutiny. These recent increase in the proportion of pupils in good or better schools is symptomatic of improved KS2 and KS1 results and a more rigorous approach to school improvement and preparing schools for inspection taken in the new School Effectiveness Strategy.
The total for West Sussex pupils attending schools that are judged good or outstanding has increased slightly to 86.1%. This figure is slightly higher than the figures shown in the 2017/18 academic year and is at it's highest rate in the last two years.
For June, the percentage for each school phase is as follows:
Primary School pupils = 84.6%; Secondary School pupils = 87.9%; Special School pupils = 96.2%

Background 

Understanding Ofsted reports

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) is a government department that inspects and regulates educational institutions. All schools are inspected as part of a cycle of inspection with inadequate and RI (Requires Improvement) schools being inspected within two years and good schools every three years. Outstanding schools are not routinely inspected.

After the inspection, Ofsted publishes a public report that contains information on the school’s performance.Inspectors make key judgements on the following areas:

  • overall effectiveness
  • effectiveness of leadership and management
  • quality of teaching, learning and assessment
  • personal development, behaviour and welfare
  • outcomes for pupils

Judgements are made using a four-point scale:

  • grade 1 - Outstanding
  • grade 2 - Good
  • grade 3 - Requires Improvement
  • grade 4 – Inadequate

In judging overall effectiveness, inspectors will take account of the four key judgements. Inspectors should first make the key judgements on:

  • the quality of teaching, learning and assessment
  • personal development, behaviour and welfare
  • outcomes for pupils

Changes in the proportion of pupils attending good and outstanding schools are dependent the number of pupils in schools that are inspected and move into good or outstanding categories from Requires Improvement or Inadequate. There can also be considerable variations in the length of time taken for reports to be published after an inspection.

The West Sussex Strategy for School Improvement, introduced during 2016, and including more regular visits by advisers to all schools, has contributed to increasing the number and proportion of West Sussex schools that are good or outstanding.