Ofsted rate over 90% good or outstanding

Schools in Wandsworth are among the best in the country according to education standards watchdog Ofsted, which has judged 92 per cent of local schools good or outstanding.

The borough’s score of 92 per cent covers the borough’s 78 primary, secondary and special schools.

In comparison only an average of 74 per cent of schools in other parts of the country and 80 per cent in London have been found to be good or outstanding by Ofsted inspectors.

The results place Wandsworth in the top eight of high performing local authorities in the country.

The council’s education spokesman Cllr Kathy Tracey said: “Schools in Wandsworth continue to outperform schools in the rest of the country, including London. This is testament to the inspired leadership of the borough’s headteachers and school governors and the determined efforts of teachers and teaching assistants.

“In order to be judged either good or outstanding a school really has to pull out all the stops. The quality of teaching has to be excellent, pupils must achieve great results, standards of behaviour must be exemplary and behind the scenes the school must be properly and efficiently managed and enjoy strong leadership from the headteacher, senior staff and governors.

“These are the vital ingredients that make a school great, and I am delighted that such a high proportion of schools in our borough have attained this success. Our work will now continue to build on these foundations and ensure that all of our schools reach this quality mark.”

Among the schools recently given this status by Ofsted are the borough’s new Catholic secondary school St John Bosco in Battersea, which was inspected for the first time and Ronald Ross primary in Southfields which was found to have improved from good to outstanding since its last inspection

The ARK Putney Academy, previously Elliott School, also improved from its previous inspection and is now judged good, while Bradstow School, a residential special school for children and young people with severe learning, behaviour or communication difficulties - which is managed by Wandsworth Council but located in Broadstairs, Kent - was judged outstanding across the board, with “the majority of students making progress which is significantly above that expected nationally”.

April 18, 2013