New primary places in Wigan all in good schools last year

But with the share of new places in top-rated schools varying widely across the country, the Association of School and College Leaders says it is often those in deprived areas that struggle to improve their standing in a “unfair and punitive” system.

Department for Education data shows 21 new primary places created in Wigan in the year to May 2019 were in schools judged outstanding by the government inspection body Ofsted – none were in schools deemed good. That accounted for all new school places– compared to the national average of 91% of new places created in top schools.

And when it comes to pre-existing school places, the area also has more in good or outstanding schools than the national average – 97% compared to 89%. Ofsted inspects all state-funded schools in England, and can rate a school as outstanding, good, requiring improvement or inadequate. It recently announced it would visit schools after the summer holidays to see “how they are getting back up to speed” after closures due to Covid-19, but stressed these would not be inspections.

The proportion of new places in top-rated schools varied widely across England – while dozens of local authorities saw all their new spots in schools with the two more favourable judgements, several had none.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said many factors lie behind local differences, including how many good or outstanding schools exist in the first place. He added: “It is unfortunately a feature of the school system in England that schools in deprived areas are more likely to be downgraded by Ofsted than those in more affluent areas.

A DfE spokesman said: “We will continue to support local authorities and schools themselves to keep raising standards and ensuring children receive the education they deserve.”