Place-based disparities faced by stuck schools in England: a contextual understanding of low performance and the role of inspection outcomes

In 2017 the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) identified stuck schools that have failed inspections continuously since 2005. Our study used quantitative methods to identify factors associated with improving or remaining stuck by analysing a sample of 580 primary and secondary stuck schools and their matched comparison group. We found that not only geographical location, student population, and deprivation play a part when explaining stuckness, but critically, persistently receiving less than good inspection grades contributed to this through two negative cycles: Schools located in more challenging places or with more disadvantaged pupils received worse inspection grades, which triggered increases in teacher turnover, and further received less than good Ofsted inspection judgements. These findings call for place-based inspections that consider school location and student composition, and recognise the detrimental role that inspections can play when judging school effectiveness, particularly of schools educating the most disadvantaged communities.