Children at school

Schools and pupils in schools that are judged good or outstanding by OFSTED

Performance is measured monthly based on the published outcomes of Ofsted inspections of West Sussex schools including academies and free schools. 
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 or 'requires improvement' schools being inspected within two years, and good schools every three years.
Inspectors make key judgements on leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare and outcomes for pupils, using a four-point scale from grade 1 (Outstanding) to grade 4 (Inadequate)

Schools judged good or outstanding

March 2021 performance

Monitoring of this measure has been suspended due to the Covid-19 virus which resulted in school closures and the suspension of Ofsted inspections.
The proportion of schools that are graded good or better remains in the third quartile. The change in how some inspections were scheduled since March 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. This includes strengthening those schools that are only just good. The increase in performance at KS2 will also strengthen the case for good.
The total for West Sussex schools that are judged good or outstanding is currently 87.6%, which is a recent all time high. This figure is 3.9% higher than the equivalent figures shown in the 2018/19 academic year.  For March, the percentage for each school phase is as follows: 

Pupils in schools judged good or outstanding

March 2021 performance

Monitoring of this measure has been suspended due to the Covid-19 virus which resulted in school closures and the suspension of Ofsted inspections.
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 March 2018 has seen a significant increase in the number of inspections. 
These recent increases 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 in schools that are judged good or outstanding has increased to a recent all time high of 86.6%. This figure is 1.6% higher than the equivalent figures shown in the 2018/19 academic year.  For March, the percentage for each school phase is as follows: 

Actions

The Local Authority is committed to ensuring that all pupils in the county attend a good or outstanding school and the Education and Skills service is working with schools and partners towards this outcome. 
The Directorate of Education and Skills works in partnership with all schools and stakeholders to ensure this is achieved. Where it is considered that a school is under performing, or at risk of under performing, it continues to target these schools, by providing challenge and support to secure rapid and sustainable improvements and raise standards. We work alongside the school to either improve their rating at the next inspection. The Education and Skills service has a positive track record of supporting these schools.
The new School Effectiveness Strategy has enhanced the robustness of preparing school leadership to withstand external scrutiny and schools have been invited to participate in CPD sessions outlining the changes and how to prepare for the new inspection regime. Continued improvement from the School Effectiveness strategy have enable the gap to the target to be narrowed and this continued work should enable the authority to meet next year's targets. Going forward further improvement to embed better processes should continue to see the measure improve.