​Seven schools in Wiltshire are currently rated as being 'Inadequate' by Ofsted.

If a school is rated Inadequate- the lowest possible rating- it has received a Grade 4 in most inspection categories, and a Grade 3 for Leadership and Management.

This means the school is failing to provide an acceptable quality of education and care for children and will need to make significant improvements immediately.

  • Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Kitchener Road, Salisbury. Date of inspection: March 2022
  • Rowde Church of England Primary Academy, High Street, Devizes. Date of inspection: March 2019
  • Rowde CofE Academy, High Street, Devizes. Date of inspection: March 2019
  • South Wiltshire UTC, Wilton Road, Salisbury. Date of inspection: February 2018
  • Westwood-with-Iford Primary School, Boswell Road, Bradford-on-Avon. Date of inspection: July 2021

What happens if a school is rated as Inadequate?

If a school is rated as being Inadequate, the Secretary of State for Education will issue an academy order to a maintained school judged inadequate and placed in a category of concern. 

The school will then become a sponsored academy.

This is because Academies have more freedom over curriculum and policies like school hours, uniform and term dates than maintained schools do, so they may bring in some changes.

Inspectors will visit an academy that has been designated as insufficient and placed in a category of concern to monitor its development until it may be removed from the category.

Schools under special measures will have two years to turn things around, while schools with major shortcomings will only have one year.

For more information, and to read all of the inspection reports in Wiltshire, click here.