About the data
Every rating and number on ABC Edu comes from official sources, shown as published. Here is where each comes from, how up to date it is, and what is missing.
The official data on ABC Edu was last updated on 18 October 2026: 24,557 open schools in 153 local authorities, 21,667 with an Ofsted inspection in the data.
The sources
Every dataset is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which allows re-use with attribution:
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
ABC Edu is independent. It is not endorsed by the Department for Education or Ofsted, and we don’t use their logos. Personal names in the official files (such as head teachers’ names) are removed before import.
Map positions come from each school’s grid reference in Get Information about Schools. For a few schools without one, the position of the school’s postcode comes from postcodes.io: Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2025. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. 6 open schools have no position at all, so they aren’t on the map, but they appear in name and area searches.
How we show ratings
- Ofsted: we show the latest inspection in the data exactly as Ofsted published it — the date, the type of inspection and each grade in Ofsted’s own words. Ofsted’s grading has changed twice since 2024, so schools inspected at different times have different kinds of outcome. Ofsted inspections explained.
- Results: each measure is shown on its own, with the year it covers and, where the data includes them, the local authority and England figures for the same year.
- No combined scores. We never add measures together, weight them, turn them into stars or rank schools on them.
When a number is missing
The Department for Education uses codes instead of numbers in some cases. We show them in words:
| Code | We show | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| SUPP | Not shown | Not shown, to protect pupils’ privacy (small numbers — usually 5 or fewer pupils). |
| C | Not shown | Not shown, to protect pupils’ privacy (small numbers). |
| NE | No entries | No pupils entered. |
| NA | Not available | Not available for this year. |
| Z | Not available | Not available for this year. |
| NP | Not published | Not published for this type of school. |
| LOWCOV | Not shown | Not shown (fewer than half of pupils covered). |
| NEW | New school | A new school, so there is no figure yet. |
| SP | Under 0.5% | Between 0% and 0.5%. |
Which years we show
- Primary (key stage 2): 2024/25. No progress scores for this year — the DfE couldn’t calculate them (no key stage 1 data because of COVID-19).
- GCSE (key stage 4): 2025/26 provisional for Attainment 8 and English and maths; EBacc from 2024/25 (not in the provisional data); Progress 8 from 2023/24, the latest year it exists — the DfE can’t calculate it for 2024/25 or 2025/26.
- 16 to 18, pupil population and absence: 2024/25.
- Pupil numbers and free school meals %: Get Information about Schools, mostly from the January 2026 census.
- Ofsted: the latest inspections as at the date in the table above. Report cards (from November 2025) and older graded and ungraded inspections are shown separately, each with its date — Ofsted says the new grades can’t be compared to the old ones. Inspections of a predecessor school are labelled.
Sixth form progress bands
The DfE’s 16 to 18 files give each school’s value added “progress band” as a number from 1 to 5, without a key. Our data research found that every school’s score and confidence interval fits the DfE’s published banding rules exactly when the numbers are read as 1 well above average, 2 above average, 3 average, 4 below average and 5 well below average, so we show them in those words. This wording is inferred, not stated in the file.
What isn’t here
- Closed schools are not listed. Their old pages say the school has closed.
- Independent schools are listed with their official details, but Ofsted’s data on state-funded schools, which we use, doesn’t include their inspections.
- Further education colleges, universities and children’s centres are not included.
- Very new inspections may not be in the data yet: Ofsted publishes its data monthly. Check Ofsted’s website for the latest report.
Corrections
We don’t change official figures. If something looks wrong, use “Report a problem” on the school’s page and we’ll check it against the source. Schools update their own details in Get Information about Schools through the Department for Education, and the change reaches ABC Edu at our next update.
Other data we use
Postcode and place searches use postcodes.io (contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right; Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right; ONS data under the Open Government Licence). Map pictures are © OpenStreetMap contributors.