More than 200,000 pupils in England are being educated in schools that have performed poorly for at least 13 years, despite being inundated with improvement initiatives from central and local government, a report shows.

The schools’ regulator Ofsted has identified 415 “stuck” schools, in all phases of education, that have received persistently poor inspection ratings and have been locked in a cycle of low performance for so long they have potentially failed two whole cohorts of children.

Ofsted defines stuck schools as those that have undergone at least four full inspections and have failed to achieve a rating of either good or better since September 2006.

Most are in deprived and neglected areas of the country including Derby, Southend-on-Sea and Darlington, and are blighted by high levels of pupil mobility, geographical isolation, problems with staff recruitment and poor parental motivation.

“In some of these areas, a pupil will go through their whole primary or their whole secondary school life never having attended a good school: 13 years or more,” the report said. “This is failure of the highest order. The whole school system has been letting down these children for over a decade.”

The chief inspector of schools, Amanda Spielman, said the majority of schools in challenging areas were already providing children with a good education. “What the remaining stuck schools need is tailored, specific and pragmatic advice that suits their circumstances – not a carousel of consultants.”

Responding to the report, teachers’ leaders accused the schools watchdog of contributing to the difficulties facing struggling schools. “Ofsted identifies the problem of ‘stuck’ schools but persistently and resolutely fails to recognise its own role in creating the problem,” said Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU).

“Even when these schools are doing well in terms of pupil progress, Ofsted disproportionately and unfairly awards them negative grades which can end teacher and school leader careers.”

Ofsted’s new report, Fight or Flight? How “Stuck” Schools are Overcoming Isolation, explores why 415 struggling schools appear unable to lift standards, while others which face similar challenges and have delivered a low standard of education over a long period, finally manage to improve.

The majority of stuck schools are academies (86%) as a result of government policy which requires struggling schools to leave local authority control and join an academy trust. Ofsted says some suffer from a deeply embedded school culture which is resistant to change, while others are chaotic with too much change. One school had 14 different headteachers in 10 years.

The report says few of the school improvement initiatives which have emerged from central and local government over the years have proved successful, and concludes that struggling schools need to identify their specific needs and get support tailored to meet those needs. Getting behaviour right is key.

Ofsted is urging the government to fund a trial of more extended inspections of some of the schools it has identified. Unlike with current inspections, it does not want to pass judgment but to enable support to improve standards. During the election campaign, the Conservatives pledged to increase Ofsted’s powers to inspect schools in England with longer, more detailed inspection visits and increase funding.

Responding to the report, the Department for Education said 86% of schools were now rated good or outstanding but acknowledged there was more to do. “Ofsted plays an invaluable role in improving standards and we are working with them to look at how best to support these schools.”

Stephen Rollett, curriculum and inspection specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, echoed the NEU’s concern about the detrimental impact of the inspection system itself.

“The use of blunt judgments has a stigmatising effect on schools which makes it harder to recruit the teachers and leaders needed to secure sustainable improvement and become unstuck. Instead of stigmatising these schools we need to make them places where teachers and leaders want to work.”