Ofsted publishes annual report for East of England

According to Ofsted's annual report 96% of childminders were good or outstanding, in line with the national figure, with the 96% of nurseries and pre-schools also receiving the same, just 1% below the whole of the country.

Overall in the East of England, by the end of August 2020, 85% of schools were either good or outstanding, just below the national findings, but unchanged from the previous year.

Meanwhile, an inspection of children services by local authority found Suffolk and Essex to be outstanding, but Norfolk requires improvement to be good.

In terms of primary and secondary schools, Suffolk saw a rise of 2% and 4% respectively in the number of sites rated good or better, totalling 82% and 80%.

Norfolk, however, saw a fall of 1% and 4% totalling 84% and 75% of primary and secondary schools getting the highest two ratings respectively.

The number of primary schools in Essex rated as good or outstanding remained unchanged at 90%, but secondary schools fell by 8% to 77%.

Across the East of England 50 (2%) schools are considered to be 'stuck' at their current rating.

According to Ofsted, they are mostly happy and confident that children have access to good education across the region, but recognised this year has taken a greater toll on children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Ofsted's Assistant Regional Director, John Mitchell, said: "Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are more likely to have suffered through this period. So, now it's really the job of everyone to work together to identify and support those more vulnerable children.

"We're determined not to let this be the generation defined by Covid, it will have an impact of children's progress. But schools, councils, health services, everyone I've spoken to during this process, are pulling together to find and support those more vulnerable children."

It was also recognised by Ofsted that the benefit of working in a classroom environment was difficult to replicate through home-schooling and virtual classes.

Speaking overall for the East of England, Ofsted's Regional Director Paul Brooker, said: "I am pleased that the East of England continues to provide a good quality of education for most of its young people. Inspection outcomes are strong across the board in Early Years and in primary and secondary schools. Almost all our childminders, nurseries and pre-schools are ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, which is great, particularly when working parents rely so much on these services.

"Eight out of every 10 secondary schools are good or outstanding and almost nine out of 10 primaries are good or better.

"In recent years, we have seen steady improvement in children’s services across the region. Our 11 local authorities play a vital role in supporting vulnerable families and keeping children safe from harm, and they were very much on the front line during lockdown. We now boast two outstanding authorities: Essex and Suffolk, and four good.

"The pandemic has had a huge impact on education, so we must absolutely credit teaching staff, childminders, social workers, leaders and everyone else working with children for ensuring that they are safe, secure and making good progress."

• Ofsted
• east of england
• school report