Ofsted publish performance rankings for schools in the region

Ofsted has assessed the data from a number of its own inspections into early years, primary and secondary education before rating their achievements by council area.

Schools in the Darlington Borough Council area came bottom of the table following inspections carried out in primary schools - with the percentage of schools judged good or outstanding being 11 per cent lower than the regional average.

At secondary school level, the results were even worse with only 38 per cent reaching the highest grades compared with a regional average of 58 per cent and a national average of 75 per cent.

In Redcar and Cleveland the results difference between primary school achievement and secondary school success was significantly different.

The area topped the table in primary education with a 95 per cent success rate but it was an entirely different story when it came to secondary school statistics where it came second worst with a 40 per cent success rate.

Cathy Kirby, Ofsted North East Director, said: “I am pleased that young children in the North East continue to thrive. With a higher proportion of childminders and nurseries are rated good or outstanding than the national average, our youngest children are getting the best start in life.

“Our primary schools are also continuing to provide children with a good standard to education. 90 per cent of primary schools in the region are good or outstanding, which is well above the national average.

“Unfortunately, the story is not so positive for our children in secondary schools, inspection outcomes declined by 4 percentage points on last year. This means that with only 58 per cent of secondary schools rated good or outstanding, the region is 17 percentage points below the national average.

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“As I have said before. I am still concerned about the rates of fixed term exclusions in the region. The region has the second highest fixed term exclusion rate in England. Some Local Authorities are particularly concerning. In Middlesbrough, for every 100 pupils, there are 55 exclusions.

“My conversations with stakeholders and evidence from inspections makes me cautiously optimistic that the message to reduce the number of young people excluded from school for fixed periods is being heard and acted upon.

“There is much to be pleased with in the region. But we need to build on the quality of provision provided to our youngest to ensure an excellent education for all our children.”