Lowest school ratings in England by area

Q: Which area in England has the lowest school ratings?

Blackpool has the lowest percentage of schools rated Good or Outstanding in the ranking at 58.3%. Telford and Wrekin (68.6%) and Isle of Wight (69.6%) follow.

Q: Why do some areas have lower ratings?

Deprivation is strongly correlated with school ratings, and areas with higher levels of income deprivation tend to sit lower in the ranking. Inspection timing also matters: an authority whose schools are all due for re-inspection may look better or worse than the current reality depending on where the cycle sits.

Q: How can I check a specific school?

Ofsted publishes individual inspection reports for every state-funded school on its own website. This ranking is an area-level summary; the school-specific report is the right source when you are looking at a single school. LiveWhere does not name or rank individual schools.

The English area with the lowest percentage of schools rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted is Blackpool at 58.3%. Even at the bottom of the ranking, the majority of schools in most areas are still rated Good or Outstanding. The average across the 296 ranked areas is 87.6%.

Data last updated: 1 September 2026

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The school results here are area averages. Enter a postcode to see the schools nearest to one home.

Every English local authority ranked by the percentage of schools rated Good or Outstanding at their most recent Ofsted inspection, lowest first. Based on Ofsted's "most recent inspections" release (31 March 2026). Blackpool sits at the bottom at 58.3%, with Telford and Wrekin (68.6%) and Isle of Wight (69.6%) close behind.

England only. Ofsted does not inspect schools in Scotland or Wales, which use their own frameworks (Education Scotland and Estyn). Being at the bottom of this table does not mean the schools are unusable; most areas keep the majority of their schools at Good or Outstanding.

Showing 296 of 296 areas.

England average 87.6%

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1	Blackpool North West	58.3%	43	£723	£29,003
2	Telford and Wrekin West Midlands	68.6%	77	£861	£31,966
3	Isle of Wight South East	69.6%	47	£953	£27,818
4	Somerset South West	72.1%	268	£1,021	£31,482
5	Stockport North West	74.1%	116	£1,125	£35,381
6	Bury North West	74.4%	84	£970	£32,333
7	North Lincolnshire Yorkshire and The Humber	75.0%	80	£654	£31,556
8	Rochdale North West	75.6%	90	£859	£30,216
9	St. Helens North West	75.9%	70	£811	£32,249
10	Manchester North West	76.0%	188	£1,380	£31,845
11	Oldham North West	77.1%	107	£951	£30,497
12	Wirral North West	77.8%	125	£862	£32,879
13	Rotherham Yorkshire and The Humber	77.8%	123	£689	£30,238
14	North Tyneside North East	77.8%	79	£860	£31,954
15	Coventry West Midlands	78.0%	118	£1,022	£32,014
16	Liverpool North West	78.4%	171	£916	£32,275
17	Shropshire West Midlands	78.6%	151	£828	£31,720
18	Dorset South West	79.1%	158	£1,059	£31,779
19	Cornwall South West	79.2%	280	£995	£29,806
20	Thurrock East of England	79.2%	56	£1,389	£36,566
21	Tameside North West	79.5%	98	£935	£30,977
22	Bristol South West	80.0%	154	£1,893	£34,210
23	East Devon South West	80.2%	372	£977	£32,316
24	Exeter South West	80.2%	372	£1,318	£30,446
25	Mid Devon South West	80.2%	372	£881	£33,847
26	North Devon South West	80.2%	372	£848	£29,688
27	South Hams South West	80.2%	372	£1,014	£32,529
28	Teignbridge South West	80.2%	372	£965	£30,740
29	Torridge South West	80.2%	372	£792	£33,103
30	West Devon South West	80.2%	372	£854	£28,280
31	Herefordshire West Midlands	80.5%	99	£831	£30,857
32	Eastbourne South East	80.6%	188	£1,174	£32,670
33	Hastings South East	80.6%	188	£1,008	£29,568
34	Lewes South East	80.6%	188	£1,343	£34,977
35	Rother South East	80.6%	188	£1,164	£30,840
36	Wealden South East	80.6%	188	£1,266	£33,762
37	Breckland East of England	80.7%	419	£935	£32,000
38	Broadland East of England	80.7%	419	£941	£32,169
39	Great Yarmouth East of England	80.7%	419	£841	£30,176
40	King's Lynn and West Norfolk East of England	80.7%	419	£941	£31,354
41	North Norfolk East of England	80.7%	419	£865	£30,383
42	Norwich East of England	80.7%	419	£1,148	£31,766
43	South Norfolk East of England	80.7%	419	£984	£33,526
44	Knowsley North West	80.8%	61	£860	£33,730
45	Salford North West	81.0%	101	£1,173	£32,850
46	Kirklees Yorkshire and The Humber	81.8%	182	£784	£31,356
47	Dudley West Midlands	81.8%	107	£855	£31,445
48	Burnley North West	82.4%	626	£633	£31,974
49	Chorley North West	82.4%	626	£803	£33,903
50	Fylde North West	82.4%	626	£875	£34,683
51	Hyndburn North West	82.4%	626	£650	£31,250
52	Lancaster North West	82.4%	626	£830	£30,059
53	Pendle North West	82.4%	626	£673	£30,962
54	Preston North West	82.4%	626	£791	£30,358
55	Ribble Valley North West	82.4%	626	£822	£32,690
56	Rossendale North West	82.4%	626	£814	£31,479
57	South Ribble North West	82.4%	626	£809	£33,036
58	West Lancashire North West	82.4%	626	£805	£32,599
59	Wyre North West	82.4%	626	£747	£31,017
60	Southampton South East	82.4%	76	£1,261	£33,589
61	Swindon South West	82.6%	88	£1,103	£35,976
62	Wiltshire South West	82.8%	234	£1,091	£33,697
63	Halton North West	82.9%	66	£754	£31,982
64	Bexley London	83.3%	84	£1,540	£40,962
65	Wakefield Yorkshire and The Humber	83.6%	141	£810	£32,838
66	Croydon London	83.9%	127	£1,586	£40,305
67	Windsor and Maidenhead South East	84.0%	66	£1,801	£42,813
68	Brighton and Hove South East	84.0%	64	£1,816	£34,728
69	Leicester East Midlands	84.3%	113	£1,020	£30,218
70	Cannock Chase West Midlands	84.4%	410	£868	£30,922
71	East Staffordshire West Midlands	84.4%	410	£861	£33,710
72	Lichfield West Midlands	84.4%	410	£1,100	£37,378
73	Newcastle-under-Lyme West Midlands	84.4%	410	£837	£31,176
74	South Staffordshire West Midlands	84.4%	410	£965	N/A
75	Stafford West Midlands	84.4%	410	£902	£35,272
76	Staffordshire Moorlands West Midlands	84.4%	410	£732	£33,983
77	Tamworth West Midlands	84.4%	410	£930	£32,499
78	Adur South East	84.4%	286	£1,416	£31,626
79	Arun South East	84.4%	286	£1,240	£32,595
80	Chichester South East	84.4%	286	£1,340	£31,008
81	Crawley South East	84.4%	286	£1,495	£34,740
82	Horsham South East	84.4%	286	£1,490	£38,400
83	Mid Sussex South East	84.4%	286	£1,436	£40,993
84	Worthing South East	84.4%	286	£1,300	£33,809
85	County Durham North East	84.6%	260	£653	£31,535
86	North Warwickshire West Midlands	84.9%	252	£983	£36,130
87	Nuneaton and Bedworth West Midlands	84.9%	252	£918	£31,733
88	Rugby West Midlands	84.9%	252	£1,051	£37,795
89	Stratford-on-Avon West Midlands	84.9%	252	£1,150	£39,412
90	Warwick West Midlands	84.9%	252	£1,244	£40,821
91	Blaby East Midlands	85.0%	287	£998	£33,384
92	Charnwood East Midlands	85.0%	287	£967	£33,775
93	Harborough East Midlands	85.0%	287	£982	£39,905
94	Hinckley and Bosworth East Midlands	85.0%	287	£932	£33,708
95	Melton East Midlands	85.0%	287	£810	£28,603
96	North West Leicestershire East Midlands	85.0%	287	£920	£33,071
97	Oadby and Wigston East Midlands	85.0%	287	£1,022	£28,726
98	Peterborough East of England	85.0%	82	£1,014	£30,861
99	Buckinghamshire South East	85.1%	236	£1,486	£38,720
100	Sefton North West	85.1%	103	£940	£31,019
101	Boston East Midlands	85.2%	361	£809	£29,252
102	East Lindsey East Midlands	85.2%	361	£707	£28,575
103	Lincoln East Midlands	85.2%	361	£947	£31,861
104	North Kesteven East Midlands	85.2%	361	£826	£33,758
105	South Holland East Midlands	85.2%	361	£779	£31,152
106	South Kesteven East Midlands	85.2%	361	£846	£31,028
107	West Lindsey East Midlands	85.2%	361	£744	£31,452
108	Lambeth London	85.4%	86	£2,538	£48,098
109	Amber Valley East Midlands	86.2%	419	£807	£32,808
110	Bolsover East Midlands	86.2%	419	£700	£31,534
111	Chesterfield East Midlands	86.2%	419	£760	£31,517
112	Derbyshire Dales East Midlands	86.2%	419	£828	£36,002
113	Erewash East Midlands	86.2%	419	£838	£35,068
114	High Peak East Midlands	86.2%	419	£938	£30,936
115	North East Derbyshire East Midlands	86.2%	419	£793	£32,721
116	South Derbyshire East Midlands	86.2%	419	£888	£36,142
117	Derby East Midlands	86.3%	107	£871	£32,476
118	Walsall West Midlands	86.4%	122	£930	£30,981
119	Cheshire East North West	87.0%	156	£992	£34,097
120	North Yorkshire Yorkshire and The Humber	87.1%	352	£852	£32,198
121	Redcar and Cleveland North East	87.1%	59	£645	£28,759
122	Cheltenham South West	87.2%	300	£1,269	£39,462
123	Cotswold South West	87.2%	300	£1,263	£32,669
124	Forest of Dean South West	87.2%	300	£828	£34,343
125	Gloucester South West	87.2%	300	£1,122	£32,227
126	Stroud South West	87.2%	300	£1,047	£32,928
127	Tewkesbury South West	87.2%	300	£1,106	£33,806
128	Ashfield East Midlands	87.3%	344	£799	£30,561
129	Bassetlaw East Midlands	87.3%	344	£735	£30,504
130	Broxtowe East Midlands	87.3%	344	£943	£32,499
131	Gedling East Midlands	87.3%	344	£909	£32,329
132	Mansfield East Midlands	87.3%	344	£797	£30,007
133	Newark and Sherwood East Midlands	87.3%	344	£818	£33,108
134	Rushcliffe East Midlands	87.3%	344	£1,050	£33,354
135	Cambridge East of England	87.3%	268	£1,805	£40,863
136	East Cambridgeshire East of England	87.3%	268	£1,042	£37,152
137	Fenland East of England	87.3%	268	£844	£30,706
138	Huntingdonshire East of England	87.3%	268	£1,065	£36,655
139	South Cambridgeshire East of England	87.3%	268	£1,407	£42,309
140	Hartlepool North East	87.5%	39	£562	£30,307
141	Nottingham East Midlands	87.8%	106	£1,015	£27,496
142	Birmingham West Midlands	87.9%	443	£1,106	£31,944
143	Luton East of England	87.9%	70	£1,231	£29,729
144	Babergh East of England	88.0%	321	£970	£31,452
145	East Suffolk East of England	88.0%	321	£848	£31,925
146	Ipswich East of England	88.0%	321	£1,002	£32,270
147	Mid Suffolk East of England	88.0%	321	£1,011	£36,494
148	West Suffolk East of England	88.0%	321	£1,188	£33,979
149	Basingstoke and Deane South East	88.1%	530	£1,312	£42,443
150	East Hampshire South East	88.1%	530	£1,265	£38,545
151	Eastleigh South East	88.1%	530	£1,219	£35,120
152	Fareham South East	88.1%	530	£1,179	£38,434
153	Gosport South East	88.1%	530	£1,173	£32,029
154	Hart South East	88.1%	530	£1,418	£40,376
155	Havant South East	88.1%	530	£1,159	£33,371
156	New Forest South East	88.1%	530	£1,249	£32,601
157	Rushmoor South East	88.1%	530	£1,391	£35,884
158	Test Valley South East	88.1%	530	£1,236	£36,186
159	Winchester South East	88.1%	530	£1,514	£40,800
160	Central Bedfordshire East of England	88.1%	129	£1,258	£38,692
161	Stoke-on-Trent West Midlands	88.1%	93	£718	£30,000
162	Cheshire West and Chester North West	88.3%	160	£1,000	£33,588
163	Basildon East of England	88.6%	557	£1,428	£36,361
164	Braintree East of England	88.6%	557	£1,223	£36,062
165	Brentwood East of England	88.6%	557	£1,623	£51,739
166	Castle Point East of England	88.6%	557	£1,266	£37,381
167	Chelmsford East of England	88.6%	557	£1,439	£38,520
168	Colchester East of England	88.6%	557	£1,200	£33,069
169	Epping Forest East of England	88.6%	557	£1,846	£37,899
170	Harlow East of England	88.6%	557	£1,531	£32,136
171	Maldon East of England	88.6%	557	£1,137	£35,500
172	Rochford East of England	88.6%	557	£1,302	£38,766
173	Tendring East of England	88.6%	557	£1,058	£29,709
174	Uttlesford East of England	88.6%	557	£1,305	£41,851
175	Trafford North West	88.6%	91	£1,373	£38,270
176	Solihull West Midlands	88.6%	83	£1,284	£37,105
177	Cumberland North West	88.9%	172	£687	£34,421
178	East Riding of Yorkshire Yorkshire and The Humber	88.9%	149	£724	£34,667
179	Sandwell West Midlands	89.1%	124	£953	£28,891
180	Cherwell South East	89.3%	309	£1,316	£39,006
181	Oxford South East	89.3%	309	£1,957	£38,346
182	South Oxfordshire South East	89.3%	309	£1,418	£39,973
183	Vale of White Horse South East	89.3%	309	£1,369	£39,792
184	West Oxfordshire South East	89.3%	309	£1,315	£33,480
185	South Gloucestershire South West	89.3%	116	£1,474	£34,539
186	Southend-on-Sea East of England	89.3%	52	£1,316	£34,310
187	Broxbourne East of England	89.4%	532	£1,692	£36,727
188	Dacorum East of England	89.4%	532	£1,613	£38,155
189	East Hertfordshire East of England	89.4%	532	£1,550	£43,810
190	Hertsmere East of England	89.4%	532	£1,846	£36,554
191	North Hertfordshire East of England	89.4%	532	£1,445	£43,011
192	St Albans East of England	89.4%	532	£1,934	£48,392
193	Stevenage East of England	89.4%	532	£1,445	£37,682
194	Three Rivers East of England	89.4%	532	£1,828	£42,141
195	Watford East of England	89.4%	532	£1,834	£35,685
196	Welwyn Hatfield East of England	89.4%	532	£1,510	£41,496
197	Bradford Yorkshire and The Humber	89.5%	209	£739	£29,129
198	Sheffield Yorkshire and The Humber	89.7%	178	£936	£32,728
199	North Northamptonshire East Midlands	89.7%	144	£995	£34,208
200	Wolverhampton West Midlands	90.0%	111	£948	£31,772
201	Hull Yorkshire and The Humber	90.0%	96	£695	£29,957
202	Ashford South East	90.2%	597	£1,253	£35,014
203	Canterbury South East	90.2%	597	£1,288	£31,386
204	Dartford South East	90.2%	597	£1,580	£38,937
205	Dover South East	90.2%	597	£1,037	£34,198
206	Folkestone and Hythe South East	90.2%	597	£1,189	£33,335
207	Gravesham South East	90.2%	597	£1,345	£37,254
208	Maidstone South East	90.2%	597	£1,303	£34,011
209	Sevenoaks South East	90.2%	597	£1,828	£40,240
210	Swale South East	90.2%	597	£1,127	£33,882
211	Thanet South East	90.2%	597	£1,125	£30,566
212	Tonbridge and Malling South East	90.2%	597	£1,500	£39,286
213	Tunbridge Wells South East	90.2%	597	£1,543	£40,252
214	Bromsgrove West Midlands	90.4%	243	£998	£38,456
215	Malvern Hills West Midlands	90.4%	243	£955	£28,140
216	Redditch West Midlands	90.4%	243	£982	£31,474
217	Worcester West Midlands	90.4%	243	£984	£33,823
218	Wychavon West Midlands	90.4%	243	£962	£32,550
219	Wyre Forest West Midlands	90.4%	243	£838	£30,404
220	Northumberland North East	90.4%	168	£696	£30,696
221	Westmorland and Furness North West	90.7%	147	£819	£31,152
222	Portsmouth South East	90.9%	61	£1,374	£33,158
223	Torbay South West	90.9%	43	£924	£30,270
224	Darlington North East	90.9%	42	£691	£34,199
225	Kensington and Chelsea London	90.9%	39	£3,739	£52,257
226	Newcastle upon Tyne North East	91.2%	100	£1,220	£31,966
227	West Berkshire South East	91.3%	83	£1,355	£38,458
228	Leeds Yorkshire and The Humber	91.5%	279	£1,148	£33,515
229	Wokingham South East	91.7%	72	£1,469	£44,111
230	Waltham Forest London	92.0%	78	£1,772	£39,555
231	Hillingdon London	92.1%	99	£1,581	£38,369
232	Plymouth South West	92.2%	98	£1,008	£31,014
233	Bolton North West	92.3%	129	£902	£30,480
234	Ealing London	92.3%	94	£2,126	£38,799
235	Bedford East of England	92.3%	76	£1,177	£36,712
236	North East Lincolnshire Yorkshire and The Humber	92.3%	65	£651	£29,004
237	South Tyneside North East	92.3%	62	£746	£29,128
238	Reading South East	92.3%	61	£1,582	£35,444
239	Elmbridge South East	92.5%	399	£1,885	£45,950
240	Epsom and Ewell South East	92.5%	399	£1,713	£42,922
241	Guildford South East	92.5%	399	£1,754	£42,296
242	Mole Valley South East	92.5%	399	£1,565	£37,490
243	Reigate and Banstead South East	92.5%	399	£1,652	£43,199
244	Runnymede South East	92.5%	399	£1,600	£44,427
245	Spelthorne South East	92.5%	399	£1,726	£40,321
246	Surrey Heath South East	92.5%	399	£1,510	£37,923
247	Tandridge South East	92.5%	399	£1,649	£40,389
248	Waverley South East	92.5%	399	£1,470	£41,166
249	Woking South East	92.5%	399	£1,628	£42,282
250	Medway South East	92.5%	103	£1,235	£35,222
251	Greenwich London	92.5%	88	£1,998	£42,380
252	West Northamptonshire East Midlands	92.6%	188	£1,088	£34,405
253	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole South West	92.7%	100	£1,400	£32,755
254	Brent London	92.9%	89	£2,018	£39,164
255	North Somerset South West	92.9%	80	£1,212	£35,144
256	Blackburn with Darwen North West	92.9%	77	£715	£29,448
257	Stockton-on-Tees North East	93.3%	78	£736	£31,419
258	York Yorkshire and The Humber	93.8%	63	£1,206	£33,954
259	Barnsley Yorkshire and The Humber	93.9%	91	£697	£31,927
260	Redbridge London	94.3%	79	£1,734	£38,214
261	Calderdale Yorkshire and The Humber	94.4%	100	£760	£32,131
262	Slough South East	94.4%	51	£1,567	£35,073
263	Tower Hamlets London	94.9%	92	£2,462	£45,744
264	Wandsworth London	95.0%	81	£2,640	£52,539
265	Bath and North East Somerset South West	95.1%	80	£1,893	£33,618
266	Barking and Dagenham London	95.2%	62	£1,700	£34,846
267	Milton Keynes South East	95.3%	113	£1,346	£38,297
268	Doncaster Yorkshire and The Humber	95.5%	128	£699	£31,492
269	Sunderland North East	95.7%	116	£710	£30,176
270	Middlesbrough North East	95.8%	57	£699	£29,634
271	Islington London	96.0%	63	£2,884	£48,456
272	Wigan North West	96.2%	127	£749	£32,381
273	Sutton London	96.4%	64	£1,569	£40,612
274	Barnet London	96.6%	132	£1,953	£39,848
275	Harrow London	96.6%	60	£1,781	£37,682
276	Havering London	96.7%	82	£1,567	£39,880
277	Gateshead North East	96.9%	84	£808	£30,631
278	Lewisham London	97.1%	86	£1,832	£41,878
279	Haringey London	97.2%	82	£2,225	£43,550
280	Bromley London	97.6%	100	£1,693	£47,915
281	Southwark London	97.9%	101	£2,516	£45,988
282	Newham London	100.0%	102	£1,931	£37,228
283	Enfield London	100.0%	97	£1,833	£37,608
284	Warrington North West	100.0%	88	£903	£34,692
285	Hounslow London	100.0%	76	£1,962	£35,997
286	Hackney London	100.0%	73	£2,667	£42,783
287	Richmond upon Thames London	100.0%	60	£2,349	£49,370
288	Hammersmith and Fulham London	100.0%	59	£2,861	£48,702
289	Camden London	100.0%	57	£2,834	£49,107
290	Merton London	100.0%	56	£2,181	£42,328
291	Kingston upon Thames London	100.0%	52	£1,821	£45,263
292	Westminster London	100.0%	52	£3,209	£57,610
293	Bracknell Forest South East	100.0%	38	£1,481	£37,879
294	Rutland East Midlands	100.0%	20	£966	£40,339
295	City of London London	100.0%	1	N/A	N/A
296	Isles of Scilly South West	100.0%	1	N/A	N/A

A closer look at the top 10

Which areas have the lowest-rated schools?

Blackpool sits at the bottom at 58.3% of schools rated Good or Outstanding, followed by Telford and Wrekin (68.6%) and Isle of Wight (69.6%). Even at the bottom of the table, more than half of schools are still rated Good or Outstanding in almost every area.

A cluster of shire-district rows sits in the low 70s because they inherit Somerset County Council's figure (the 2023 unitary and its former districts all share the same underlying data). The remaining bottom-ten authorities are a mix of northern metropolitan districts and a couple of southern unitaries, without a single dominant regional pattern.

Context matters when reading these numbers. An area at 72% Good or Outstanding still has roughly seven in ten schools in the top two Ofsted tiers; being ranked "worst" here is not the same as being poorly served.

Why do some areas have lower school ratings?

Ofsted has consistently found a correlation between income deprivation and school ratings. Areas with a higher share of pupils from the most deprived neighbourhoods tend to sit lower in the ranking, though the correlation is far from perfect and several deprived authorities have very strong Ofsted numbers.

Inspection timing is the other factor. An authority whose schools are largely due for re-inspection may look better or worse than the current reality depending on how the cycle has landed. The renewed framework (November 2025 onwards) is being phased in gradually, so most schools in the ranking still carry a grade from an inspection several years old.

Are areas with lower school ratings less safe?

Less than you might assume. Averaging recorded crime across the 20 lowest-rated authorities and the 20 highest-rated ones surfaces figures of roughly 883 crimes per 10,000 people at the bottom of the schools table and 1,219 at the top. The top-rated cluster actually posts a slightly higher average, because London boroughs dominate the top of the schools ranking and London carries above-average recorded crime rates thanks to its dense city-centre economies.

School ratings and crime rates measure very different things and the relationship at authority level is weaker than the popular assumption suggests. If safety is the primary lens for a move, the safest places to live ranking is the right starting point; if schools are the primary lens, this table (or the best school ratings flipside) is more informative than cross-referencing the two.

Are school ratings improving?

Nationally the picture has been broadly stable for several years, with around 87% of schools rated Good or Outstanding across most recent snapshots. Individual authorities can move up or down noticeably between snapshots, particularly if a small number of secondaries are re-graded, but the national headline moves slowly.

The November 2025 framework change makes year-on-year comparisons harder from here on. As more schools are re-inspected under the renewed framework there will be no single "overall effectiveness" grade to compare against the old percentages. This ranking will continue using the original grade where available and will be updated with a separate view of the renewed-framework outcomes once enough schools have been assessed under it.

What to consider when looking at school data

Area-level ratings are a snapshot, not the whole picture. A school rated Requires Improvement three years ago may have improved substantially since; a school rated Outstanding a decade ago may not be the same institution today. Individual school choice matters much more than area averages for any given family.

Ofsted publishes an individual report for every state-funded school on its own website. That report is the right source when you are looking at a specific school. LiveWhere does not name or rank individual schools; we aggregate to area level to give context on how the local picture compares.

If you want the top of this ranking, see the best school ratings by area. Each area profile shows the full Ofsted breakdown alongside cost of living, crime and broadband coverage.

Data and methodology

All figures come from Ofsted's "State-funded schools inspections and outcomes as at 31 March 2026" release. The Good or Outstanding percentage is calculated from schools whose most recent full inspection was under the original framework. Schools inspected only under the renewed framework (from November 2025) are counted in the total but excluded from the percentage. Districts in shire counties inherit the county council's figure because Ofsted publishes at the education-authority level. The ranking covers 296 English areas; Wales (Estyn) and Scotland (Education Scotland) are not included.

Key findings

Blackpool has the lowest Good/Outstanding percentage at 58.3% of schools.
Telford and Wrekin and Isle of Wight follow at 68.6% and 69.6%.
Even the bottom-ranked area keeps more than half of its schools at Good or Outstanding.
The average across the 296 ranked areas is 87.6%.

Methodology

Coverage: Ofsted, most recent inspection outcomes for state-funded schools as at 31 March 2026. Areas are ranked by the percentage of schools rated Good or Outstanding, lowest first. The percentage is calculated from schools whose most recent inspection was under the original framework; schools inspected only under the renewed framework (November 2025 onwards) are excluded from the percentage but counted in each area's total. Ofsted publishes at the local-education-authority level; shire-county districts inherit their county's figure. Scotland (Education Scotland) and Wales (Estyn) use different frameworks and are not included.

Read more about our data sources and approach on the About page.

Frequently asked questions about school ratings

Which area in England has the lowest school ratings?

Does a lower ranking mean the schools are bad?

Not on its own. A low Good/Outstanding percentage means fewer schools reached those grades at their most recent inspection, but a school rated Requires Improvement may have made significant progress since. Ofsted reports also cover primary, secondary, special and alternative provision together, so an area with a high number of alternative provision units may look weaker than a mainstream-only average would suggest.

Why do some areas have lower ratings?

How can I check a specific school?

Related rankings

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Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to cite and share this analysis. Please include a follow link back to this page when referencing our data. For bespoke analysis, expert comment, or high-resolution graphics, get in touch via our press office.

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