SWINDON has a below average number of schools highly rated by Ofsted, according to the school regulators annual report.

A report prepared for Wiltshire Council revealed the figures showing 12 per cent of schools in Swindon were rated as outstanding and 64 per cent were rated as good, compared to 21 per cent and 65 per cent for England overall, for the period up to October 2018.

Seventeen per cent were rated as requires improvement, compared to the average for the south West of 13 per cent.

Although it was closely aligned to Wiltshire, where 14 per cent of schools were rated as Outstanding and 68 per cent rated as good.

Taken together, 90 per cent of schools in Wiltshire were rated good or outstanding by Ofsted in 2016, which fell to 82 per cent for the year ending August 31.

Helean Hughes, director of education and skills at Wiltshire Council, said the fall was mirrored in the national and regional picture and was due to a change in Ofsted's inspection framework.

Although she added that gaps between the attainment of groups vulnerable to underachievement and their peers will inevitably lead to a greater proportion of schools not being judged ‘good’ by Ofsted.