UK Schools & Education API — Ofsted Ratings, Catchment Analysis & School Data
School quality is the single biggest factor in UK residential property prices after location itself. A home in the catchment of an Outstanding primary school commands a 10-20% premium over an identical property near a Requires Improvement school. But Ofsted ratings, school types, and pupil counts live in the Department for Education’s Get Information About Schools (GIAS) database — a clunky interface designed for administrators, not developers. The Education endpoint delivers catchment-style analysis via API: all schools within a configurable radius of any UK postcode, with Ofsted ratings, school phases, types, and pupil numbers aggregated into a summary that property platforms and relocation tools can use directly.
What You Get
- •Schools near postcode: list of schools within radius (1.5km summary, 3km standard, 5km full) with name, phase, type, Ofsted rating, pupil count, and postcode
- •Ofsted summary: count of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate, and Not Yet Inspected schools in the area
- •Phase filter: optional filter by school phase (primary, secondary, all-through, nursery, 16-plus)
- •School types: academies, free schools, local authority maintained, independent, special schools
- •Location context: resolved postcode and local authority
Data Sources
DfE Get Information About Schools (GIAS)
The Department for Education’s register of 32,000+ schools in England. Contains school name, address, phase (primary/secondary/all-through), type (academy/maintained/free school/independent), pupil count, age range, and governance structure. Updated termly.
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education’s inspection ratings for every state-funded school. Four ratings: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate. Linked to GIAS via URN (Unique Reference Number). Inspection reports published on a rolling basis.
Use Cases
Property Platform School Overlay
Rightmove and Zoopla show nearby schools, but their data isn’t available as an API for third-party platforms. The Education endpoint enables any property portal to add school quality data to listings. The Ofsted rating summary gives buyers an instant area quality signal.
Relocation Advisory Tools
Corporate relocation services help employees find homes near good schools. The phase filter lets parents search specifically for Outstanding primary schools or secondary schools with sixth forms. This data-driven approach replaces manual school-by-school research on the Ofsted website.
Local Authority Planning
Council education departments analyse school capacity and quality distribution across their area. Pupil counts combined with school phases reveal where new school places are needed. Batch calls across a local authority’s postcodes map the education landscape.
Childcare & Education Startups
Tutoring platforms and after-school clubs identify areas with high demand. Postcodes with many schools rated Requires Improvement represent a market for supplementary education services. The pupil count data sizes the addressable market.
Example
Request
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ "https://www.ukdatapi.com/api/v1/education/OX1%202JD?depth=standard&phase=primary"
Response
{
"data": {
"location": { "postcode": "OX1 2JD", "local_authority": "Oxford" },
"schools": [
{ "name": "St Ebbe's Church of England Primary School", "phase": "primary", "type": "voluntary_aided", "ofsted_rating": "Good", "pupils": 210, "postcode": "OX1 1PT" },
{ "name": "New Hinksey Church of England Primary School", "phase": "primary", "type": "voluntary_controlled", "ofsted_rating": "Outstanding", "pupils": 178, "postcode": "OX1 4RF" }
],
"summary": { "total": 8, "outstanding": 2, "good": 5, "requires_improvement": 1, "inadequate": 0, "not_inspected": 0 }
}
}Pricing
| Depth | Credits |
|---|---|
| Summary | 3 |
| Standard | 8 |
| Full | 16 |
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