Many Children Let Down By 'Patently Inadequate' Services

More than a third of English schools are not giving pupils a decent education, according to inspectors.

Also, too many children and young people are receiving services that are "patently inadequate" - especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds - despite broad improvements across schools, children's services and further education, the annual Ofsted report revealed.

More than half of England's teenagers leave school without five GCSEs graded A to C, including maths and English.

In the third annual report, Chief Inspector of Schools, Christine Gilbert, said England must do better if it is to compare favourably with the rest of the world.

Ms Gilbert acknowledged that there has been a number of improvements in recent years in exam results and the quality of teaching in state schools.

However, she added: "There is still too much that is patently inadequate and too many instances where the rate of improvement is unacceptably low."

A strong link across every sector between deprivation and poor quality services was noted. In 2007, only 21% of children on free school meals achieved this benchmark, compared with 49% of other pupils.

Ms Gilbert said: "In short, if you are poor you are more likely to achieve poor services: disadvantage compounds disadvantage."

But, she continued saying it was possible to "buck this trend", and said the report did not highlight that "anyone's past or present circumstances should define their future".

Jim Knight, Schools Minister, said that he would "accelerate" the process of closing the gap in achievement between rich and poor. "Supporting the wider needs of children and families is at the heart of our Children’s Plan reforms to tackle disadvantage and poverty," he said.

The report found more than a third of schools (37 per cent) were found to be not good enough and given a rating of "satisfactory" or "inadequate".

"A decade ago, two-thirds of secondary age pupils left compulsory education with five good GCSEs, including English and maths - it is still more than half."

(JM)