Leeds Metropolitan University

Initial Teacher Education inspection report

Provider address Carnegie Faculty Carnegie Hall Headingley Campus Leeds LS6 3QQ

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Initial Teacher Education inspection report

Unique reference number Inspection number Inspection dates Lead inspector 5–9 March 2012 Christine Dick HMI Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 2 of 11

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Initial Teacher Education inspection report

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s ser vices, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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Initial Teacher Education inspection report

telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. www.ofsted.gov.uk Reference no. 080190 Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 3 of 11

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Introduction

1. This inspection was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors supported by a team of specialist inspectors in accordance with the Framework for the Inspection of Initial Teacher Education (2008-11).

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Introduction

2. The inspection draws upon evidence from all aspects of the provision to make judgements against all parts of the inspection evaluation schedule in the framework. Inspectors focused on the overall effectiveness of the training in supporting high-quality outcomes for trainees and the capacity of the partnership to bring about further improvements. A summary of the grades awarded is included at the end of this report.

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Key to inspection grades

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate

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Explanation of terms used in this report

Attainment is defined as the standard reached by a trainee at the end of their training. Progress is judged in terms of how well a trainee has developed professionally from their starting point to the standard reached at the time of the inspection or at a suitable review point. Achievement is judged in terms of the progress made and the standard reached by a trainee at the time of the inspection or at a recent assessment review point.

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The provider

3. Leeds Metropolitan University validates Initial Teacher Education provision delivered locally by three partner colleges in the Yorkshire and Humberside and Tyneside regions. The colleges provide higher education courses leading to the award of Certificate, Professional Graduate or Post Graduate Certificate in Education. Partner colleges offer additional diplomas in literacy and numeracy and in English for speakers of other languages, offered concurrently with the generic training or as a specialist route post-qualification. The Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) is incorporated within the certificate and graduate routes. There are approximately 654 trainees on the college courses; 95 of them are on pre-service routes. The university manages the validation and quality assures provision delivered by the colleges through its Regional University Network (RUN). The university is a partner in the Centre for

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The provider

Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) led by one of the colleges. Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 4 of 11

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Key strengths

4. The key strengths are: confident, reflective trainees with good subject knowledge that they use successfully to interest and engage students, and which results in positive working relationships and good learning the modelling of good practice by trainers and the high-quality training which enables trainees to make good links between theory and practice trainers’ approaches to encouraging innovation and creativity that are reflected in trainees’ teaching and in the development of interesting learning resources the strong and effective focus on the promotion of mutual respect and good behaviour management to support learning in trainees’ lessons high-quality pastoral, academic and individual support, and intervention which contribute very effectively to trainees’ good progress the good contribution of college partners in shaping and steering an improving provision with good outcomes for trainees.

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Required actions

5. In order to improve the quality of provision, the provider/partnership must: further develop a shared understanding, across all of those involved in the training, of assessment criteria to accelerate trainees’ good progress to outstanding and satisfactory progress to good systematically track and analyse all data relating to trainees’ outcomes in order to: identify specific areas of weakness; identify the reasons behind trends; identify improvements and establish a clearer understanding of the impact of the training on trainees’ progress.

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Recommendations

6. In order to improve trainees’ progress and attainment, the provider/partnership should: ensure all trainees capture the opportunities to develop learners’ functional skills in English and mathematics in their lessons further develop the links with internal and external employers to ensure that trainees have access to their entitlement to consistently high-quality support across all aspects of the training strengthen the cross-partnership focus of the recently appointed collaborative development coordinators on quality improvement. Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 5 of 11

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Grade: 2

7. The overall effectiveness of the partnership in securing high-quality outcomes for trainees is good. Most trainees complete their training successfully and make at least good progress. This level of attainment has been maintained against the backdrop of a particularly challenging period of change at the university and across the learning and skills sector. From different starting points, new recruits to the courses receive good support in the partner colleges. Consequently, many of them make rapid progress from the outset of their training. There are no significant differences in the achievement of any identifiable groups of trainees. On successful completion, many trainees are retained in the partnership beyond the training and progress quickly into promoted posts or further study. A significant proportion of specialist mentors are previous participants in the provision.

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Grade: 2

8. Both current and past trainees speak highly of the positive impact the training has had on their professional practice. Those who are now employers of in- service trainees or acting as placement hosts for pre-service trainees speak of the high regard they have for trainees’ enthusiastic approach which adds value to the work-based setting. They appreciate the enrichment opportunities for shared experience with their teams.

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Grade: 2

9. Although many trainees with little prior experience of academic study struggle initially with the high academic expectations, the good support they receive from their tutors ensures that most of them are retained and complete successfully. High-quality feedback from tutors on written assignments helps them to pinpoint what they need to do to bring about further improvements. Final assignments show good levels of progression from the initial drafts and showcase trainees’ ability to link theory to practice, and to engage with relevant literature to support their discussions. Typically, trainees are self-reflective and evaluative, with good skills in identifying a range of appropriate development targets in their personal action planning. In some particularly good examples, trainees used a web-based portfolio to structure and present insightful and critical reflections which were shared online with tutors.

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Grade: 2

10. Trainees are confident and articulate. They have good specialist subject knowledge and often extensive prior experience which enriches their teaching and engages their students’ interest. They plan their teaching carefully and understand the links between good learning and good behaviour in lessons. As a result, they establish very good working relationships in the classroom and in workshops, facilitating an atmosphere of mutual respect. They make effective use of a range of, often innovative, teaching strategies with a clear focus on learning. For example, in early years very good use was made of students’ work placement experience to illustrate the importance of exploratory play. In an English for speakers of other languages lesson, the trainee teacher designed highly original and effective material instead of relying on pre-published resources. Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 6 of 11

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Grade: 2

11. Trainees demonstrate a good knowledge of individual students in their lessons. They plan to meet a range of learning needs through the adaptation of resources or in the deployment of learner-centred methods. Not all trainees, however, are sufficiently skilled in the use of extended questioning to promote deeper learning or in planning an appropriate level of challenge for the most able learners in mixed ability groups. Too few trainees routinely capture opportunities to address literacy and numeracy in the context of their specialist subject.

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Grade: 2

12. Selection procedures are robust. Flexible routes and entry points empower prospective trainees to make the correct choices, leading to good outcomes. Good use of accreditation for prior experience and learning offers further flexibility for trainees to transfer part-way through a course or from another provider. Multiple assessment methods, including pre-course tasks and extended writing, are deployed to judge candidates’ suitability. However, opportunities to gain practitioner perspectives, for example by engaging Skills for Life specialist mentors routinely in selection, are missed. Interview outcomes are discussed with applicants on the day of interview. Strengths and areas for development inform action planning. Where appropriate, trainees aspiring to Skills for Life pathways are directed to subject-enhancement programmes. Application tasks are extended into early assignments. This carefully considered and effectively

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Grade: 2

implemented process supports trainees’ good progress overall.

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Grade: 2

13. The proportion of trainees recruited from minority ethnic backgrounds varies across partnership colleges but is broadly consistent with the profile of the wider community. In one college, improved marketing to this group has resulted in an increase in the number of trainees recruited. However, there is insufficient analysis of applicant referrals to identify trends and target interventions consistently, with the aim of widening participation of under-represented groups across the partnership.

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Grade: 2

14. Effective use of available resources has ensured that the quality of provision and outcomes have been sustained to at least a good standard, despite a period of turbulence in leadership at the university. Where individual support needs are identified, trainees are guided to the specialist support available within partner colleges. Most of those who take advantage of the support offered make good or better progress as a result. The impact of the economic climate is reflected in an increase in the proportion of in-service trainees facing redundancy in recent years. Where possible, these trainees are offered the option to continue on a pre-service route or to extend the period of training to give them time to access appropriate teaching. Not all trainees are clear about the sector-wide employment opportunities available or how best to prepare for moving into different aspects of employment.

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Grade: 2

15. Trainers make accurate assessments of trainees’ achievements. However, systems designed to measure the extent of their progress are not universally fully understood. Assessment of trainees’ progress and achievement is not formally shared with mentors. Inconsistent approaches, coupled with insufficient formal mentor involvement, provide trainees with only a partial view of their performance. Consequently, improvement targets are not always securely rooted Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 7 of 11

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Grade: 2

in subject-specific pedagogy. Mentors do not fully understand how they might contribute to the overall assessment of trainees’ outcomes and future action planning. This slows the potential pace of progress for some trainees.

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Grade: 2

16. Nevertheless, the good-quality training across the partnership secures consistently good or better progress for most trainees. They speak highly of the skilful modelling of good teaching and learning by passionate and experienced tutors. This well-qualified and knowledgeable team demonstrates regular engagement with scholarly activity and subject-specific research which informs and influences their practice. In modelling these skills, teachers encourage trainees to apply the learning to their own teaching. They are skilful in drawing on the different backgrounds and experience that trainees bring to the training. In the main, trainees have good information and communication technology skills but their use of technology-enhanced learning is limited. Too few of them harness the benefits of technology to structure and engage interest in their lessons.

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Grade: 2

17. Trainees’ written work is subject to rigorous assessment and double marking by tutors. Constructive feedback is detailed and helpful. Tutors provide good feedback to trainees on their teaching practice. The quality of written feedback from mentors in the workplace is more variable. Formal procedures for the moderation of judgements made about trainees’ teaching practice are at an early stage of development. Quality assurance arrangements do not routinely cover the contributions made by mentors. As a result, trainers do not have a clear overview of where subject-specific development is strong or where it needs further improvement.

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Grade: 2

18. The basic principles of equality and diversity are successfully promoted in centre- based training and across the partnership. Training to teach students with special educational needs and/or disabilities is thorough. Much emphasis is given to this in the taught course and incorporated into assignments. Trainees feel confident that any concerns relating to their own experiences will be handled sensitively and effectively. They understand their roles and responsibilities in terms of their duty of care to learners and in safeguarding their well-being. Trainees’ confidence in addressing issues arising in practice is more variable. As a result, opportunities to explore equality and diversity in the context of the specialist subject are not exploited to their full advantage. In one good example, in a classics lesson, the text being studied revealed institutionalised homosexuality in the Roman army. When several students responded negatively

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Grade: 2

to this idea, having a stereotypical image of the Roman military man based on modern media portrayals such as Gladiator or Spartacus, the trainee opened up a discussion. He was right to be pleased when students suggested their opinions had changed as they left the lesson. Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 8 of 11

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Grade: 2

19. The partnership has good capacity to sustain and build on the high-quality outcomes it achieves for most trainees. Key partnership managers work together effectively to evaluate the provision in centre colleges and across the partnership. Regular meetings support the review processes which contribute to the annual monitoring of provision undertaken at the university. The self- evaluation document draws on the colleges’ own self-assessment and internal quality assurance systems. Evidence of performance is collected from trainees’ perceptions of the quality of the training. It includes the evaluations of external examiners assigned to individual colleges and, more recently, a chief examiner with oversight of the assessment of trainees’ teaching practice across the partnership as a whole.

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Grade: 2

20. Overall, the self-evaluation is reflective and broadly accurate. An increased focus on the collection of data has resulted, for example, in the rigorous tracking of the reasons why individual trainees have withdrawn early from their studies. However, the available data are not yet analysed with sufficient rigour to enable the identification of clear trends and focused action for improvement directly related to trainees’ outcomes. Employers’ views on the quality and impact of the training to support value-added measures are not yet collected as a matter of routine.

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Grade: 2

21. The partner colleges are active in anticipating significant change across both the learning and skills, and teacher-education sectors. High-level engagement with sector support and development groups helps to keep them informed. Recent examples include peer coaching and mobile learning. The Regional University Network meetings support the sharing of current developments and best practice. Many trainers are key players in national and local initiatives. They are effective in ensuring knowledge of change is up to date and opportunities for growth can be exploited. The continuation of the Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training function, in a partnership college, ensures key sector events are hosted by the provider. The partnership is responsive to the needs of local employers who value the contribution of the training to developing their own staff. Managers have many examples of the quality improvements observed in

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Grade: 2

their own provision as a result of engaging their staff in partnership courses. In the words of one manager, ‘It lit a fire under them – they want to challenge their learners ... everything is refined and professional’.

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Grade: 2

22. In a few cases, trainees’ knowledge and understanding of important aspects of the learning and skills sector priorities was not consistent with the partnership focus on addressing local and national needs. For example, some trainees’ understanding and attention to the functional skills of English and mathematics in their lessons were limited. This did not reflect an up-to-date knowledge of this important aspect of the sector and future employment needs. Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 9 of 11

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Grade: 2

23. The partnership has good capacity to plan and take action for improvement. Outcomes of self-evaluation inform development plans linked to continuous improvements in the quality and consistency of the provision. For example, the rigorous moderation of written coursework assessment has significantly improved the quality of feedback to trainees. This is now more consistently good or better and helps trainees to progress further. University links across the partnership have been strengthened through the recently introduced role of the collaborative development coordinators.

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Grade: 2

24. In mentor training the increased flexibility in approaches has greatly reduced the proportion of untrained mentors supporting trainees in the workplace. Arrangements for the quality assurance of their contribution to improving trainees’ progress are not yet sufficiently developed. A grading policy has been introduced to support coherence and consistency in tracking trainees’ performance and practical teaching skills. The provider recognises there is more work to be done to ensure a secure understanding and application of the policy across the partnership. Mentors are not sufficiently aware of the provider’s key priorities for improvement or how their role could help to meet these priorities, in particular to further accelerate the pace of progress for all trainees. Action plans occasionally lack further monitoring and updating by staff in order to indicate clearly the timely impact on trainees’ attainment.

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Annex: Partnership colleges

The partnership includes the following colleges:

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Annex: Partnership colleges

Bradford College Hull College Newcastle College Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 10 of 11

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Summary of inspection grades 1

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding; grade 2 is good; grade 3 is satisfactory; grade 4 is inadequate.

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Overall effectiveness

How effective is the provision in securing high quality outcomes for trainees? Trainees’ attainment How well do trainees attain?

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Overall effectiveness

Factors contributing to trainees’ attainment To what extent do recruitment/selection arrangements support high quality outcomes? To what extent does the training and assessment ensure that all trainees progress to fulfil their potential given their ability and starting points? To what extent are available resources used effectively and efficiently? The quality of the provision To what extent is the provision across the partnership of consistently high quality? Promoting equalities and diversity To what extent does the provision promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and eliminate harassment and unlawful discrimination?

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Capacity to improve further and/or sustain high quality

To what extent do the leadership and management at all levels have the capacity to secure further improvements and/or to sustain high quality outcomes? How effectively does the management at all levels assess performance in order to improve or sustain high quality? How well does the leadership at all levels anticipate change, and prepare for and respond to national and local initiatives? How effectively does the provider plan and take action for improvement?

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Capacity to improve further and/or sustain high quality

1 The criteria for making these graded judgements are in the Grade criteria for the inspection of ITE 2008-11; Ofsted November 2009; Reference no: 080128. Inspection report : Leeds Metropolitan University, 5–9 March 2012 Page 11 of 11

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Capacity to improve further and/or sustain high quality

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints about school inspection’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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