New teams are trying to raise standards at struggling schools

A government source close to the policy said: “The Tories simply did not intervene in schools that were failing – they blew hot air about standards but left thousands of children to fester in underperforming schools.

“We will not tolerate a situation where children, especially those from disadvantaged communities, continue to be abandoned. So we are willing to get our hands dirty and be unpopular to fix these schools.

“But it’s not just about failing schools. Good will not be good enough when it comes to school performance. The education secretary believes that there is always room for schools to improve.”

Ms Phillipson’s early record on standards in the department has been challenged by the Conservatives, who opposed the decision to end with each school receiving a one-word summary of Ofsted performance.

The move was unveiled in September and came after the death of Ruth Perrythe headteacher who committed suicide in January last year after an Ofsted inspection downgraded her school in Reading from “outstanding” to “inadequate”.

Damian Hinds, the Tory shadow education secretary, said of the reform: “The outcome of the inspection is a crucial indicator for parents. While we believe the system can be further improved, scrapping the main inspection outcome is not in the best interests of students or parents.”

The Rise teams are expected to start operating in some parts of the country from January. According to Ministry of Education insiders, the aim is for the teams to learn from best practice across the country and help schools that are consistently struggling to improve.