Praise for Hartlepool schools as more achieve 'good' ratings from Ofsted

It comes as the overall percentage of Hartlepool schools judged to be “good” or better by education watchdog Ofsted has increased to 87% in 2018/19, compared to 82% the previous year.

In turn, the percentage of schools rated as “require improvement” has dropped to just 13%, with it being 18% the previous year, and there continues to be no schools rated “inadequate”.

During the past year a total of 16 schools in the town were inspected by Ofsted, 13 primary, two secondary, and one special school.

Eight schools maintained their “good” rating from their previous inspection, two remained “require improvement” and one remained “outstanding”, Springwell School.

Three schools inspected improved from “require improvement” to “good”, one dropped from “outstanding” to “good”, and one dropped from “outstanding” to “require improvement”.

The findings were presented in a report to Hartlepool Borough Council Children’s Services Committee, with councillors praising the work being done in the town.

Coun Brenda Harrison said: “I think this reflects the excellent work being done in our schools throughout the town. I think that needs to be sung from the rafters.

“It’s unfortunate that some of the schools are not graded as we would have hoped, but I’m hoping they get the right sort of support.

“Ofsted paint one picture and there is another picture.

“By-and-large, yes there are some disappointments, but it does reflect a really good standard of education throughout the town.”

School representatives on the committee also said they were “really proud of the education in Hartlepool”.

Amanda Whitehead, assistant director for education on the council, noted there is more to a school than what appears in an Ofsted report.

Coun Lesley Hamilton also raised how Ofsted can sometimes provide issues in the way it regulates and inspects schools.