Dozens of schools have leaped hundreds of places up the rankings now factors such as pupil demographics are being taken into account.
The Fairer Schools Index shows that teachers are making a big difference to children growing up in England’s most deprived areas. Red House Academy in Sunderland is the highest climber. It was previously ranked “below average” at 2,720 out of 3,259 schools in the Department for Education’s tables. But using the index, it climbs 1,919 places to be ranked as “average” in 801st position.
And Jarrow School in South Tyneside jumps from 2,104 in the DfE rankings to 590 when using the index. Its headteacher Paul Atkinson said: “There’s a bigger story to tell in every school. It’s not just about results. Our students come from some of the most deprived areas of the country. About 33% of our students are diagnosed with Special Education Needs and Disabilities and 48% are on free school meals.
The best schools in England have been revealed in a ‘Fairer Schools’ index
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“We would love to have the best outcomes in the UK but in terms of our context, is that realistic? You’ve got to aspire to high results, but you’ve got to take into consideration starting points as well. I think it’s critical to take that into account when evaluating schools, so I welcome the Fairer Schools Index.”
Mr Atkinson, who was the school’s assistant head until 2022, says Jarrow has a child-centred approach and is investing heavily in its teachers. It also offers funded rewards and incentives, such as ski and theatre trips and 48 extra-curricular activities including darts, poetry and coding. “The opportunities we offer are phenomenal,” he said. “Alongside that, I’m really proud of the career side we offer, in terms of raising aspirations and showing students what’s out there.”
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Matt Tate is the headteacher of Hartsdown Academy in Margate, Kent, which is now in the top 30% schools in England
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Matt Tate is the headteacher of Hartsdown Academy, which climbs 1,656 places from its DfE position of 2,500 to 894, thanks to the Fairer Schools Index. It puts the school in Margate, Kent, where 37 languages are spoken and 65% of pupils are on free school meals, in the top 30% in the country. Mr Tate said: “The majority of our students come from significantly deprived areas of the country.
“Last year, in Year 11, 30% of them didn’t start with us in Year 7 because their accommodation and other things were unstable.” When Mr Tate took over in 2016, Hartsdown was one of the lowest performing schools in the country, with high rates of violence and kids smoking in the corridor. But that has all changed now.
“Last year, we were the 11th most-improved school in the country,” Mr Tate said. “We’ve gone from one of highest exclusion schools in the country to zero exclusions now in about five years.” A key challenge has been tackling poor literacy. Kids arrive at Hartsdown Academy with an average reading age of eight.
The school implemented an International Baccalaureate programme, in which students stay in one classroom for 20 hours of the week with one person teaching 10 hours of literacy and another teaching 10 hours of numeracy. They still spend five hours on other subjects but because they’ve got two teachers who know them really well, they really push them,” Mr Tate explained. “We see an average of 18 months’ reading progress in a year. We’re all about setting high standards and intentions combined with expert care and support.”
Of the Fairer Schools Index, he added: “I’m really pleased this seems to be the direction of travel for evaluating schools. Our children need good results to have a great future, so outcomes have to be a key measure. But this should be looked at alongside a more contextual measure.
“The reality is we have a very complex cohort that brings needs and issues and when you take that into account, I think our staff should be praised for the hard work that they do, rather than being compared with a leafy suburban school with a different context.”