‘Frankly inexcusable’: Now Leeds primary schools on list of shame

Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council's executive member for children and families

LEEDS has joined Sheffield in having the performance of its primary schools branded “inexcusable” by standards watchdog Ofsted.

The criticism was made in a letter which has emerged from Nick Hudson, Ofsted’s regional director for Yorkshire, to Leeds City Council calling on the authority to show how it will raise standards.

Ofsted has confirmed it has sent letters to councils across Yorkshire but declined to make them public.

However, the Sheffield and Leeds letters have now both found their way into the public domain.

The Ofsted letter, seen by The Yorkshire Post, followed primary school tests showing children in Leeds performed below the national average in reading, writing, maths and science.

It says: “However one compares outcomes for pupils’ attainment at key stages one and two in Leeds, its performance, whether against national or regional figures, is weak.

“This is frankly inexcusable.”

Coun Andrew Carter, leader of the opposition Conservative group on the council, criticised the authority for not making the letter public and accused the Labour administration of trying to “bury bad news”.