More than four in every five of Worcestershire's schools are good or outstanding, Ofsted figures show.

Out of the 243 schools in the area, 47 are rated outstanding and 158 good, as of October 31.

Across the West Midlands, on average, 84% of schools are good or outstanding.

Ofsted, the schools regulator, inspects every new school within three years of being funded.

Inspectors judge education providers on the effectiveness of the leadership, quality of teaching and learning, personal development and welfare, and the outcomes for learners.

If a school is rated as inadequate it will be re-inspected within 15 months, and between one and two years if it requires improvement.

In Worcestershire 17 schools are inadequate, the lowest rating, and 21 require improvement.

Outstanding schools are exempt from routine inspections unless there is a specific concern about performance, however Ofsted said it would like to start inspecting them.

A spokesman explained: "Some schools have now gone for 10 years or more without being inspected, leaving us with a blind spot about the quality of education they offer.

"We have been clear that we would like this exemption to be removed, and have asked the Department for Education to look at the policy again.

"We focus our resources where they can have the greatest impact, so schools with lower grades are inspected more frequently."

Out of the 45 secondary schools in the area, 13 are rated outstanding, and 25 are classed as good. Figures show four require improvement and three are inadequate.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said that there was "a link between the level of school disadvantage and the outcome of Ofsted inspections".

"Naming and shaming schools and labelling them through negative Ofsted judgements is entirely the wrong approach," he said.

A DfE spokesman said: "There are 1.9 million more children in good and outstanding schools compared to 2010. This represents 86% of children, compared to just 66% in 2010."

“The number of schools that are rated Inadequate or Requires Improvement has decreased since 2010, going down from 32% in 2010 to 14% in March of this year."