Ofsted will criticise school attended by minister's son

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, is facing a major embarrassment next month as his children's school is set to receive a devastating inspectors' report criticising standards.

The report by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, on Grazebrook primary school in Stoke Newington, north London, will demand tough action to improve teaching at the school.

It could also be censured as giving cause for concern when the report is published in mid-April.

The Schools Secretary and his wife, the Housing minister Yvette Cooper, send two of their children to Grazebrook – which received a glowing report from inspectors as a result of their last visit five years ago. The report comes as ministers are demanding tough action to improve standards in inner-city schools.

The school, which has around 450 pupils aged between three and 11, has a large percentage of youngsters who do not speak English as a first language. The commonest languages spoken are Turkish, Gujerati and Bengali.

According to the last Ofsted report, many pupils join Grazebrook with low to very low attainment.

Even in this report, which cited improved teaching standards for helping pupils to make good progress, it said: "Few children will have reached the early learning goals set for this age (the end of reception class) especially in literacy, numeracy and social skills."