Revealed: string of free schools failing Ofsted inspections

Five free schools failed Ofsted inspections in the last six weeks of last term, as national inspection statistics, supposedly showing the success of the model, in reality prove much more debatable.

Last month’s GCSE exams success of possibly now the most famous free school, Michaela in Wembley, north London, came after renewed calls (such as here and here) for Boris Johnson’s new government to open more of the new institutions, funded directly by Whitehall.

This week the Department for Education also published a press release highlighting the fact that 84 per cent of free schools are currently rated good or outstanding, though without any mention as to what the rate is among other state-funded schools.

But Education Uncovered’s scrutiny of Ofsted’s inspection verdicts database invites serious questions.

In particular, this analysis continues to support a view that the inspection record of free schools remains uneven, with greater proportions of free schools than the national average rated as Ofsted-outstanding but with a higher-than-average record of failure, too.