Free schools: Ofsted
inspection grades
Statistical release
September 2014
3
Free School Ofsted data
On 19 June 2014, the Department for Education put out a press release
1
announcing the
approval of 38 new free schools. Within this announcement it was stated that free
schools are twice as likely to be ‘outstanding’, with 21% of open free schools rated
‘outstanding’ compared to 10% of all schools inspected under the same framework.
The proportion of free schools rated outstanding is based on all open free schools which
had a published Ofsted report at the time of the press release. At this time, 62 open free
schools had published inspections reports, 13 of which were rated outstanding.
See Annex A for a list of these free schools along with their inspection grade.
The comparison group is all schools inspected under the new Ofsted framework which
came into effect in September 2012. It has been taken from published Ofsted sources
2
and relates to the position as at 31 March 2014. As of this date, 43 free schools had been
inspected, with seven (16%) rated outstanding.
For the press statement, the most up to date figure on free schools was used because an
additional 19 free schools had inspection reports published between 1 April and 19 June
2014, an increase of more than 40% increase on the number of free schools inspected
between September 2012 and 31 March 2014. When dealing with such small numbers of
schools, including these additional reports is likely to make the statistic more robust.
Although this means the time periods for the comparison are inconsistent, the proportion
of all schools rated outstanding is unlikely to change in this period due to the large
sample size.
Ofsted published figures on 16
th
September 2014 for inspections up to June 2014. These
figures show 24% of free schools to be rated outstanding compared to 10% of all schools
inspected under the new framework
3
4
.
It should be noted that two free schools, City Gateway and the London Academy of
Excellence (LAE), have been inspected under Ofsted’s common inspection framework for
further education and skills
5
. LAE is a 16-19 free school and City Gateway is a 14-19 free
school. All other free schools, including another 14-19 free school (the rural enterprise
academy), have been inspected under the framework for school inspection
6
as have all
1
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-schools-bring-total-number-of-free-school-places-to-175000
2
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/latest-official-statistics-maintained-schools-and-academies-
inspections-and-outcomes
3
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/latest-official-statistics-maintained-schools-and-academies-
inspections-and-outcomes
4
Ofsted official statistics for maintained schools and academies includes those subject to the framework for
school inpsection. A very small number of 16-19 schools are inspected under the CIF and counted in our
official statistics about Further Education and Skills inspection outcomes.
5
Common inspection framework for further education and skills
6
The framework for school inspection
4
schools in the comparator group. If we exclude the two free schools inspected under the
learning and skills framework, 23% of free schools are rated outstanding compared to
10% of all schools.
New Ofsted framework from September 2012
Ofsted introduced a new framework for inspection in September 2012. Comparing the
outcomes of free school inspections with other schools therefore presents some
difficulties. All free schools have been inspected under this new framework whereas this
is not the case for all other schools. The comparison given in the press statement uses
only schools inspected under the new framework to address this issue.
It should be noted that Ofsted operates a policy of proportionate inspection, with
inspection carried out where it is likely to have most impact. For example, a school
judged outstanding at its last inspection is exempt from further inspection unless risk
assessment indicates a serious risk of decline. Therefore, within any one year, the
sample of schools inspected by Ofsted is not representative of all schools: outstanding
and good schools are under-represented, whilst those requiring improvement or
inadequate are over-represented. The findings cannot be interpreted as a balanced view
of the quality of education nationally. In addition, the sample selected for inspection
varies over time, so it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons between the
inspections conducted during different periods of time.
A small number of free schools have been inspected
There are the differences in the sizes of groups when comparing free schools to all
schools. At the time of the press release, Ofsted had inspected and published reports for
62 free schools, but overall around 20,000 schools are subject to Ofsted inspection.
These different group sizes should be taken into account when making comparisons.
Additionally, given the small number of free schools inspected to date, the percentage of
free schools rated outstanding may be subject to some volatility. Just a few additional
inspection grades could have a substantial impact either way on the proportion rated
outstanding.
Finally, only a minority of open free schools has been inspected to date. At the time of
the press statement, 36% of all open free schools had been inspected. Added to this,
only free schools which opened in 2011 and 2012 have been subject to inspection so far.
Caution should therefore be taken when drawing conclusions about the performance of
all open free schools and when comparing free schools to other schools. However
Ofsted inspection grades provide a valuable source of information, in the absence of
attainment data, to begin to judge the performance of free schools.
5
Many free schools have empty year groups
There is evidence that some free schools are not populating all year groups straight
away, but starting with one or two cohorts which will then move through the school. This
is not unusual for new schools. An inspection can only judge the provision on offer at the
time of that inspection. This does not detract from the judgement made because the
judgement is not conditional on the school being ‘full’. However, the judgement applies at
the point in time when the judgement was made and relates to the provision that was on
offer at that point in time. It is a judgement and not a status.
6
Annex A
The table below sets out all open free schools which had been inspected and had a
Ofsted report published at the time of the 19 June 2014 press statement. This excludes
Discovery New School, which closed down in April 2014. It also excludes university
technical colleges and studio schools.
Free school name Ofsted Judgement Year opened
All Saints Junior School Outstanding 2011
ARK Atwood Primary Academy Outstanding 2011
ARK Conway Primary Academy Outstanding 2011
Canary Wharf College Outstanding 2011
Becket Keys Church of England School Outstanding 2012
City Gateway 14-19 Provision Outstanding 2012
Corby Technical School Outstanding 2012
Derby Pride Academy Outstanding 2012
Dixons Trinity Academy Outstanding 2012
Harris Primary Free School Peckham Outstanding 2012
Reach Academy Feltham Outstanding 2012
Stone Soup Academy Outstanding 2012
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School Outstanding 2012
Aldborough E-ACT Free School Good 2011
Barnfield Moorlands Free School Good 2011
Bristol Free School Good 2011
Eden Primary School Good 2011
Etz Chaim Jewish Primary School Good 2011
Krishna-Avanti Primary School Good 2011
Langley Hall Primary Academy Good 2011
Maharishi School Good 2011
Rainbow Primary School Good 2011
St Luke’s Church of England School Good 2011
7
Free school name Ofsted Judgement Year opened
Stour Valley Community School Good 2011
The Free School Norwich Good 2011
West London Free School Good 2011
Woodpecker Hall Primary Academy Good 2011
Alban City School Good 2012
Beccles Free School Good 2012
Bolingbroke Academy Good 2012
Cobham Free School Good 2012
EBN Free School Good 2012
Everton Free School Good 2012
Kings Leadership Academy Good 2012
Lighthouse School Leeds Good 2012
London Academy of Excellence Good 2012
Rimon Jewish School Good 2012
Sandymoor Good 2012
Southwark Free School Good 2012
Steiner Academy Frome Good 2012
The City of Peterborough Academy, Special School Good 2012
The Gateway Primary Free School Good 2012
The Rural Enterprise Academy Good 2012
Batley Grammar School Requires Improvement 2011
Kings Science Academy Requires Improvement 2011
Nishkam Free School Requires Improvement 2011
Sandbach School Requires Improvement 2011
The Priors School Requires Improvement 2011
Bedford Free School Requires Improvement 2012
CET Primary School, Tower Hamlets Requires Improvement 2012
8
Free school name Ofsted Judgement Year opened
CET Primary School, Westminster Requires Improvement 2012
Enfield Heights Academy Requires Improvement 2012
Greenwich Free School Requires Improvement 2012
Grindon Hall Free School Requires Improvement 2012
Harpenden Free School Requires Improvement 2012
St Michael’s Catholic Secondary School Requires Improvement 2012
The Tiger School Requires Improvement 2012
Wapping High School Requires Improvement 2012
Al Madinah School Inadequate 2012
Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School Inadequate 2012
IES Breckland Inadequate 2012
The Hawthorne’s Free School Inadequate 2012
9
© Crown copyright 2014
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About this publication:
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Reference: DFE-00587-2014
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