Lancashire town named in 'worst places for outstanding education'
only 5% of the town's schools received OFSTED's top grade
Blackpool is one of England’s worst areas for an 'outstanding' education.
Only the Isle of Wight saved the seaside ton's blushes, having 0 schools out of its 45 granted 'outstanding' status. Meanwhile 9 out of the top 10 areas were all in London, with Trafford in Greater Manchester the only Northern area, or one outside of the capital.
The study examined the percentage of schools rated by Ofsted as outstanding in more than 150 parts of England to establish which areas have the highest and lowest chances of offering an outstanding education.
Blackpool has only 5.13% of schools rated as outstanding in their last Ofsted inspection.
Middlesbrough and Peterborough round out the bottom five, placing fourth and fifth worst respectively. The percentage of schools in Middlesbrough that rank as outstanding stands at 6.12% whilst in Peterborough the percentage is 6.67%.
The report has led to concerns schools in the south of the country, and those in the capital in particular are being prioritised.
We spoke to the Regional Director of the National Education Union Pete Middleman.
He said:
"Analysing the situation in London and thinking about why schools there seem to get better results than other big cities and that's largely the result of the 'London Challenge' which saw local authorities working together of the basis of cooperation, not competition.
"The single most important thing that the Govermnent could do to raise educational standards is to increase the income and wages of parents so that kids can concentrate on their schooling and don't need to come to school with the worry of having the right uniform, being able to pay for a school meal or not having the necessary equipment needed for a school to be able to function properly."
The Government said in March this year that all children who need extra help, will receive it in a pledge made in their Education White Paper.