‘Inadequate’ private schools triple in number

The number of independent schools judged “inadequate” by Ofsted has tripled over the past three years, new figures show.

Inspectors raised concerns about safeguarding and management, as it rated 13 per cent of the private schools it inspected as inadequate in 2017, compared to 4 per cent in 2014.

This compares to just 2 per cent of state schools that were rated inadequate at the most recent inspection. Ofsted inspects 1,067 independent schools that are not members of associations such as the Independent Schools Council, which conduct their own inspections.

Of the 44 schools rated “inadequate” in the latest inspections, 35 were found to provide ineffective safeguarding.