Valley schools rated highly by Ofsted

The figures provided by the Department for Education suggest that there are 1,531 more pupils attending good or outstanding schools in Calder Valley, and 69,359 more pupils attending good or outstanding schools across West Yorkshire since 2010.

Overall 78 per cent of pupils in Calder Valley now attend maintained schools and academies that were rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding. The figure for West Yorkshire is 76 per cent of pupils.

“I am passionately committed to ensuring that all children receive an excellent education and these figures suggest that an increasing percentage of children locally are now taught in schools rated as good or outstanding,” said Mr Whittaker.

“ There is, however, far more to do to ensure that every school delivers a consistently high quality of education.

“For the next generation to flourish, education systems must equip every child with the knowledge and skills, the qualifications and confidence they need to succeed.

‘In 2010 the Government inherited one of the most segregated and stratified education systems in the developed world.

More than a fifth of children left primary school without reaching a basic level of literacy and numeracy; two-fifths finished full-time education without even the bare minimum qualifications that most employers and universities demand.

“What made this scandal more shameful was the inequality it entrenched.

“The poorest students overwhelmingly attended the weakest schools. And as children made their way through the education system in England, the gap between rich and poor widened.

“Closing that gap is extremely important to me and I will continue to work with all local schools to achieve this’, said Mr Whittaker.