Statistics relating to school inspections: FOI release

Information requested

Information on schools and school inspections as follows:

1. How many schools are currently rated within each grade of the six point scale (Excellent, Very Good, Good, Satisfactory, Weak and Unsatisfactory). Please provide this information for each Quality Indicator?

2. How many schools have not been inspected for 5 years, how many have not been inspected for 7 years, and how many have not been inspected for 10 years?

3. For how many years have schools rated either weak or unsatisfactory for any given Quality Indicator been rated either weak or unsatisfactory for this Quality Indicator?

4. What support is provided to schools rated either weak or unsatisfactory for any Quality Indicator in order to help them improve?

5. Please provide any data held regarding the geographical spread across Scotland of schools rated weak or unsatisfactory for any Quality Indicator, including how this geographical spread relates to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Response

All inspections were paused in March 2020, the most current data that we hold is Quality Indicators from 2019/20. A Freedom of Information response that we published in March 2020 holds this information Statistics relating to school inspections - 202100140164.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information you have requested for Quality Indicators from 2020/21 is not held as inspections were paused from March 2020.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

The number of schools not inspected for the number of years you have specified is set out below:

Years since last inspection	Number of schools
Five to seven years	411
Eight to ten years	500
Over 10 years	928

*The figures in the categories are mutually exclusive.
* The figures are calculated on an academic year basis.

These figures include local authority and grant aided primary, secondary, all-through and special schools that are open and eligible for inspection sampling, and is taken from the Scottish Government’s school contact details dated July 2021 School contact details - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The time since last inspection is calculated based on the original inspection and does not include any subsequent further inspections which took place as a result of the outcome of the original inspection.

These figures also include schools that have not been inspected since opening.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.