Wolverhampton schools celebrate achieving Ofsted rating as city beats national average

Currently, the national average for schools in the country achieving an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding is 90%, but Wolverhampton schools are currently at 92% overall.

This is an increase of more than 20 percentage points in less than a decade and means the proportion of Wolverhampton schools with one of the top two grades is higher than the regional and national average.

The latest Ofsted figures show that 94% of primary schools in Wolverhampton are rated either Good or Outstanding, compared with 91% in the West Midlands and nationally, while 85% of secondary schools in the city have one of the top two grades . the same as the West Midlands and above the national average of 84 per cent.

Overall, 92% of schools in Wolverhampton are now rated either Good or Outstanding, compared to 89% in the West Midlands and 90% nationally.

It also means there are now 46,500 pupils – the equivalent of 92 per cent of the local pupil population – attending the city’s good or outstanding schools.

Councilor Jacqui Coogan, cabinet member for children, young people and education at Wolverhampton City Council, said: “As a council, we are committed to giving our city’s children and young people the best possible start in life – and that means making sure they have access to the best possible education as well.

“We have been committed to raising educational standards in recent years. It is a central theme in our council plan and we are keen to work closely with local schools and academy trusts to ensure the best outcomes for all our children and young people.

“And we are in a great position, with more Wolverhampton pupils now able to go to good or outstanding schools than ever before.

“This is down to the hard work of leaders, teachers, governors, pupils and parents, as well as the sustained investment in education we have made over the last decade.

“This hard work will continue as we look to help even more of our schools achieve good or outstanding judgments.”

Wolverhampton’s Education Excellence Strategy, written in partnership with school leaders, aims to ensure all schools are reviewed annually, identifying strengths and areas where there can be further development.

In those cases where extra support is needed to help schools improve, the council’s education excellence team works closely with school leadership teams, governors and a range of services, including early years, language and citizenship learning, protection and SEND and inclusion, which has helped bring about a significant rise in standards in recent years.

According to the team, they hold regular meetings with school leaders to monitor progress and review the quality of teaching, meet with headteachers and chief executives of multi-academy trusts to share updates and provide support and challenge, and help governing bodies to recruit and form. new members and appoint school leaders.

They also host quarterly network meetings and school improvement workshops for principals, middle leaders and subject leaders.

Councilor Coogan added: “This is all really important because we know that with more children or young people able to go to high-performing schools, their educational outcomes are likely to improve even further and I would like to congratulate all for the work done. which has brought us to this enviable position”.