University of East London Partnership

December 2012 This inspection was carried out by ten of Her Majesty’s Inspectors, one seconded inspector and six additional inspectors in accordance with the Handbook for inspecting initial teacher education from September 2012.

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The inspection draws upon evidence from each phase and separate programme within the ITE partnership to make judgements against all parts of the evaluation schedule. Inspectors focused on the overall effectiveness of the ITE partnership in securing high-quality outcomes for trainees.

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Inspection judgements

Key to judgements: Grade 1 is outstanding; grade 2 is good; grade 3 is requires improvement; grade 4 is inadequate

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Inspection judgements

Primary QTS Secondary QTS Employment- based routes ITE for FE

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Inspection judgements

Overall effectiveness How well does the partnership secure consistently high quality outcomes for trainees? 2 2 2 2

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Inspection judgements

The outcomes for trainees 2 2 2 2 The quality of training across the partnership 2 2 2 2 The quality of leadership and management across the partnership 2 2 2 2 University of East London Partnership

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Inspection judgements

Initial Teacher Education inspection report Inspection Dates 3–6 December 2012 December 2012 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 services, 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.

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Inspection judgements

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please 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 December 2012

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Key findings

 The partnership is successful in supplying good teachers, from a diverse range of backgrounds, who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to raising standards and aspirations in the communities in which they work.  Trainees have good skills in facilitating a positive climate for learning and good behaviour and in ensuring that pupils and students make good progress in their lessons.  The teacher training team is skilled and experienced and provides very effective support for trainees, ensuring that they develop good practice as a result.  The recruitment and selection procedures are rigorous and effective in attracting trainees who become good teachers

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To improve the ITE partnership should:

 In all phases, seek to raise the proportion of trainees who become outstanding teachers by: – ensuring that partners at all levels are fully engaged in improvement planning and understand what they need to do to raise trainees’ attainment further – focusing improvement planning very specifically on outcomes for trainees so that the impact of actions taken can be measured and good practice more widely shared.

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Information about this ITE partnership

1. The University of East London offers initial teacher education leading to qualified teacher status (QTS) in primary, secondary, secondary employment based routes and in post-compulsory education and training. The provision is located in the university’s Cass School of Education and Communities. The university works in partnership with a wide range of schools and colleges and several local authorities. It offers courses in the three to seven and five to 11 age ranges in primary, and training in primary modern foreign languages. The university’s secondary programme offers training leading to a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) in nine subjects, and in ten subjects on the employment based route. The university is rightly proud of its rich cultural diversity and the good reputation it holds in local schools and colleges. December 2012

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Information about the primary partnership

 The provider works in partnership with 97 schools in 17 local authorities in East London and the Thames Gateway. There are currently 351 trainees following a one-year postgraduate course of initial teacher training leading to qualified teacher status (QTS). There are 70 trainees following the Early Years 3–7 course and 281 on the primary 5–11, course. There are 20 trainees on the modern foreign languages course specialising in French or Spanish. Of these, 12 specialise in French and eight in Spanish.

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Information about the primary ITE inspection

 The primary phase inspection was carried out by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors, one seconded inspector and two additional inspectors.  Inspectors observed teaching by 31 trainees and eight newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in six schools. Many of the lesson observations were carried out jointly with school-based mentors and university tutors and their feedback to trainees was observed.  Meetings were held with headteachers, mentors, tutors, trainees, newly qualified teachers and senior members of staff at the university. A wide range of documents was scrutinised together with trainees’ files and journals.

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Inspection team

Robert Lovett HMI: Lead inspector Grahame Sherfield HMI: Assistant lead inspector Steven Popper: Seconded Inspector team inspector Julie Ward: Additional Inspector team inspector Helen Wiseman: Additional Inspector team inspector

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The key strengths of the primary partnership are:

 a strong sense of community-based partnership which meets a local and national need for high quality teachers and fully reflects the diversity of the local community  the preparation of trainees to work in a culturally and linguistically diverse community  highly effective subject-specific feedback on trainees’ teaching of mathematics and phonics (letters and the sound they make) facilitated through the consistently good use of detailed lesson observation documentation December 2012  very effective school-based and central training with a good focus on teaching the core subjects of English, mathematics and science and the wider curriculum, leading to effective teaching, pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and their good progress  the rapid and effective action taken by the partnership to support trainees’ well-being and professional development  rigorous processes to recruit enthusiastic, reflective and committed

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The key strengths of the primary partnership are:

trainees, eager to listen to advice and improve their practice  the commitment of schools and the ITE partnership to work collaboratively to prepare for changes in teacher education and sustain high quality training for teaching.

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The partnership should:

 sharpen improvement planning to identify successful strategies to accelerate trainees’ progress further by: – including milestones to support the tracking of progress made in meeting the success criteria identified – using the partnership’s identified priorities to inform success criteria and enhance accountability  ensure trainees take greater responsibility for setting and recording their weekly improvement targets and tracking their success in achieving them  address inconsistencies in the quality of support offered by new trainers through improving induction procedures, including early joint lesson observations, and modelling of effective feedback.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

2. The partnership correctly judges outcomes for trainees as good. Of those trainees completing the course in 2012, almost all were judged to be good or better, with over half attaining highly. Attainment has risen since the partnership was last inspected. No trainees who completed the course have failed to gain QTS in the last three years. All groups of trainees do better than similar groups both nationally and in London. While trainees from minority ethnic backgrounds do better than their peers nationally and locally, they do less well than other groups of trainees on the course. The partnership is aware of this and is providing a range of additional tutor support to ensure that all trainees achieve equally well.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

3. Of those trainees observed teaching, all were performing at least as well as expected at this point in the course. Some trainees exceeded expectations and are already well on the way to becoming good or December 2012 outstanding teachers. In the strongest examples, trainees have high and consistent expectations regarding pupils’ behaviour. As a result of the effective training, they are able to use a range of strategies to ensure pupils listen well and work hard. Trainees recognise the essential link between good teaching and pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and so teaching is fast paced, interesting and enjoyable.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

4. All of the newly qualified teachers observed taught lessons which were at least good and most were outstanding. They demonstrate very good subject knowledge across a range of curriculum areas and use questioning exceptionally well to assess how much pupils have learned and where gaps remain.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

5. The proportion of trainees completing the course on time is similar to that found on other courses nationally. The partnership provides good support for trainees whose circumstances require them to take a break from the course and, as a result, many of these trainees go on to complete, gain QTS and become good teachers. Pastoral support for trainees is very good. The provider is quick to react to any concerns.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

6. Employment rates are high. Almost all trainees are successful in gaining teaching posts. A high proportion of them are employed in local authorities in East London and the Thames Gateway. Headteachers say that many of those trainees currently enjoying school experience are well placed to secure teaching posts when they finish. Schools are effusive about the quality of trainees and newly qualified teachers from the partnership. As one said, ‘They arrive in schools ready to start teaching and are well prepared for the rigours of the classroom.’

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

7. The proportion of trainees judging the overall quality of training as good in the 2012 NQT survey was above the national average and rose by 8% from 2011. The survey highlights some significant strengths, particularly how well prepared NQTs are to work with learners who speak English as an additional language, their confidence in working with pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and their ability to look after the welfare and safety of pupils. Where NQT responses have been less positive, the partnership has taken effective action to improve. For example, trainees’ confidence in maintaining a good standard of behaviour was below average in 2011. To address this, the partnership has put in place a number of effective strategies to develop trainees’ skills and confidence. The partnership introduced a particular focus on maintaining good behaviour through good teaching, greater emphasis on pupils’ progress and developing positive attitudes to

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

learning. In lectures and workshops, tutors model best practice so that December 2012 trainees can see practical applications of effective strategies. As one NQT said, ‘When you saw tutors doing things to quickly get the attention of 150 students, you knew you could use them in classrooms.’ As a result, trainees and NQTs are confident and skilled in maintaining good relationships and ensuring learning is enjoyable and proceeds at a good pace. The whole partnership focuses well on equipping trainees with the skills to fully engage and challenge pupils, in the knowledge that this is the most effective way of promoting good behaviour. As a result, the most recent NQT survey recorded a sharp rise in confidence in this aspect of the training. The proportion judging their preparation to be very good was 15% above the national average. The end-of-course trainee evaluations in 2012 indicate a further strengthening in trainees’ confidence in ensuring good

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

behaviour and in how highly they rate the course overall.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

8. Trainees are well prepared to teach phonics and comprehension. Trainees following the Early Years route are particularly confident and teach phonics well. An NQT working in a Nursery class displayed high levels of knowledge, modelled the use of language well and made very effective links between letter sounds, spelling and writing. While ensuring that trainees are well prepared to teach phonics, the partnership maintains a holistic approach to the teaching of English. There is a shared recognition that the need to encourage a love of books and reading goes hand-in-hand with the development of key literacy skills. An English test is administered as part of the selection process for trainees. Strengths and weaknesses are identified and form the basis for pre-course tasks and research. Trainees’ English subject knowledge continues to be assessed during the course and appropriate additional support is available should they need it.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

9. Training for the teaching of mathematics is highly regarded by both trainees and NQTs. Trainees’ subject knowledge is assessed at interview and any weaknesses are addressed through pre-course tasks. A detailed audit of trainees’ skill and knowledge takes place at the start of the course and points for action form part of trainees’ professional development action plans. Further testing of subject knowledge takes place during the year. Trainees who are struggling are provided with additional support. The university now shares trainees’ audit scores with school-based mentors so that schools can play a full part in helping trainees acquire the skills and experience they need. The centrally taught training sessions model best practice and explore ideas which can be used in schools. These practical hands-on events are much valued by trainees. They include the use of resources to develop pupils’ mathematical understanding and making effective use of

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

interactive whiteboards. They also helpfully explore common misconceptions in mathematics and how to tackle these. Trainees particularly value opportunities to visit schools to observe good December 2012 teaching. Assignments and tasks completed while working in schools help make the link between theory and practice.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

10. Support and challenge from mentors in placement schools is of good quality. Trainees are observed teaching mathematics every week. The pro-forma for observing mathematics is used well to ensure that subject-specific judgements are made and that feedback is carefully focused. Weekly improvement points often involve aspects of mathematics teaching which are monitored and reviewed at the next meeting to look at trainees’ progress. Trainees do not take sufficient responsibility for setting, recording and reviewing their weekly improvement targets or their success in achieving them.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

11. There is good central and school-based teaching of key skills and knowledge in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology. The partnership has maintained an emphasis on high quality teaching across the curriculum so that trainees are well prepared to teach a range of subjects, including music, history, art and physical education. The focus on pupils’ progress in all subjects is exemplified in tasks and assignments. This is evident, for example, in the case of trainees with a foreign language specialism, where the need to use pupils’ progress to evidence trainees’ own progress against the Teachers’ Standards is clear.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

12. Strong links with very effective schools raise trainees’ awareness of best practice in working with disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. As a result, trainees feel well prepared to teach these pupils. They say that ensuring that all pupils have work which is closely matched to their abilities and needs is a thread running through all aspects of the course. Trainees familiarise themselves with the policies and procedures regarding special educational needs at the start of their placements and spend time with the special educational needs coordinator in their schools.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

13. The quality of training, as seen through the accurate and developmental feedback from tutors and mentors, is overwhelmingly good, with a number of examples of outstanding practice. Tutors and mentors encourage trainees to reflect on the success of their teaching and how they can improve. They ask well-focused questions which invite trainees to think about teaching and learning from the viewpoint of their pupils. In these feedback sessions and in documentation, there is a clear focus on collecting evidence of progress against the Teachers’ Standards. Tutors are experienced practitioners and have a range of skills to enable them to support trainees. Mentors are well trained, with good induction procedures for those who are new to the role. University tutors carry out frequent joint lesson observations with school staff in order to benchmark their judgements and give support December 2012 in providing feedback to trainees. However, this practical support in

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

school is not always offered at an early enough point for some new trainers.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

14. Because the quality of central and school based-training is overwhelmingly and consistently at least good, trainees are very well prepared to teach, whether in partnership schools or when meeting the learning needs of pupils more widely.

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good

15. Self-evaluation is accurate and robust. This results in improvement planning which is well focused on the most important priorities, such as improving the performance of all trainees so that a higher proportion are graded as outstanding by the end of the training. The plan identifies appropriate areas for improvement but the identified priorities are not explicitly linked to the success criteria. The improvement plan does not currently identify milestones during the year. There is scope to sharpen the focus on ongoing evaluations and the partnership’s own survey of trainees’ views at the end of the course. The interim self-evaluation provides a useful summary of the progress made in meeting key priorities overall.

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good

16. Recruitment rates are high for men, trainees from minority ethnic groups and older trainees. Rates are high when compared with both national and London averages. Recruitment from nationally under- represented groups has increased in each of the last three years. Schools and trainees say that the recruitment and selection process is rigorous and of high quality, with one school adopting and adapting the partnership’s procedures for its own teacher selection process. Headteachers say they feel fully involved and are well prepared for interviewing candidates. There have been recent changes in the tasks and questions, intended to test trainees’ resilience and further improve completion rates. The recently introduced system for tracking the progress of trainees from interview to course completion is now becoming embedded, resulting in the partnership becoming increasingly well placed to track the impact of its actions on trainees’

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good

17. The partnership is innovative in ensuring that trainees are well prepared to teach across the curriculum through developing strong links with very effective schools to demonstrate best practice in areas such as physical education, maximising pupil progress and working with disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Schools have engaged very positively with the provider in building a partnership which is proactive and reflects the evolving pattern of December 2012 teacher education. Headteachers speak very enthusiastically about the willingness of the university to engage with them in delivering school- based training through teaching school alliances and federations. They describe the provider as an eager partner in seeking innovative solutions to problems. There is a shared ambition to ensure that teachers in all schools are of high quality in order to meet the learning needs of pupils and narrow achievement gaps.

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good

18. The collaborative training agreement is explicit with regard to the roles and responsibilities of all members of the partnership. It outlines how committees are structured and how they function, lines of accountability and how the views of stakeholders such as trainees are represented. Criteria for the selection and de-selection of schools are clear, as is the focus on equality and diversity and health and safety.

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good

19. Headteachers, mentors and tutors are very clear about the partnership’s key priorities, such as the link between high quality teaching, positive attitudes to learning and pupils’ progress. Communications are good and the provider reacts quickly and positively to both concerns and suggestions for improvement. Quality assurance procedures are effective and robust. The partnership has been very successful in providing good teachers who are well prepared to teach and who fully represent the vibrant cultural and ethnic diversity of the schools it serves.

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Annex: Partnership schools

The following schools were visited to observe teaching: Christchurch Primary School Mission Grove Primary School Roding Primary School St Edward’s Catholic Primary School Tollgate Primary School Woodberry Down Primary School December 2012

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Information about the secondary partnership

 The secondary phase offers a one year full-time postgraduate course leading to the award of qualified teacher status (QTS). Training is available in secondary subjects including design and technology, English, mathematics, sciences (chemistry, physics, biology and physics with mathematics), modern foreign languages, information and communication technology (ICT) and physical education (PE). At the time of the inspection, there were 145 secondary trainees.

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Information about the secondary ITE inspection

 Team inspectors worked across both the secondary phase and the secondary employment-based route.  Inspection of the secondary phase included visits to schools to observe trainees and NQTs teaching. The team observed 11 PGCE trainees teaching and 19 NQTs. In addition, inspectors met with trainees individually and in small groups, and held meetings with mentors and professional coordinating mentors.  The team also observed taught sessions at the university on the first day of the inspection, observing sessions across a range of subjects as well as one session for the ‘virtual school’. Two inspectors met with members of the partnership development committee.  Inspectors reviewed a range of evidence, including practices for upholding statutory safeguarding and compliance with initial teacher training criteria, trainees’ teaching folders and evidence for the Teachers’ Standards, data about outcomes for trainees, self-evaluation and action plans.

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Inspection Team

Joanna Beckford-Hall HMI: Lead inspector Adrian Lyons HMI: Assistant lead inspector Susan Wareing HMI: Subject inspector – modern foreign languages Brian Cartwright HMI: Subject inspector – science John Williams: Additional Inspector – team inspector John Hibbs: Additional Inspector – team inspector Terence Hunt: Additional Inspector – team inspector

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The key strengths of the secondary partnership are:

 good quality outcomes for trainees across all secondary subjects, preparing trainees very well to deliver high quality subject teaching both as a trainee and later as an NQT December 2012  challenging urban school contexts which demand trainees’ perseverance and commitment; almost all trainees rise to this challenge and attain very well in schools with high student mobility, high proportions of students who speak English as an additional language, disabled students and students with special educational needs  high employment and the good reputation of the secondary course that successfully supports recruitment to East London schools  good quality training in managing behaviour so that trainees and NQTs are confident in setting high expectations and helping students develop positive attitudes to learning  highly reflective NQTs, who quickly become mentors themselves, and trainees who want to listen and learn to continually improve their practice.

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The partnership should:

 Improve the proportion of trainees who attain outstanding outcomes, in all secondary subjects, by: – ensuring that all mentors and professional coordinating mentors frequently receive high quality training so they know how to coach trainees to move from good to outstanding levels of competency in planning for learning and in their teaching – enabling all partner schools to know about and share more widely the very good mentoring practice that already exists in some schools.  Improve the ways in which all partners have ownership of the strategic direction of the provision and quality across the partnership by: – engaging all partner schools in evaluating the quality of training and outcomes for trainees over time – ensuring that action plans are shared and understood by mentors and professional coordinating mentors to enable all trainers to play a key part in driving improvement.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

20. Most trainees attain a good standard in their teaching by the end of the course. Attainment has been good overall for the last three years, with a steady rise in the proportion of trainees attaining at the highest level in their school-based work and attaining well in all aspects of the Teachers’ Standards. The number of trainees whose attainment is no higher than meeting minimum expectations is now declining.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

21. Leaders monitor outcomes for trainees in groupings such as by gender, ethnicity, age and by trainees with a declared disability or specific learning need. Last year, the proportion of male trainees attaining the December 2012 highest level showed some slight difference between male trainees from minority ethnic groups and their peers. Trainees within the age range of 21 to 24 years tend to perform better than trainees in upper age ranges. However, this is often linked to the proportions across subjects and leaders are carefully tracking how well these different groups perform. The percentage of science and mathematics trainees attaining at an outstanding level is increasing.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

22. In recent years, the number of trainees withdrawing from the course rose. In 2012, this has improved and only two trainees in the current cohort have withdrawn so far this year. Around 94% of the trainees who started the course completed it successfully last year. More trainees withdraw from information and communication technology (ICT) than other subjects. Leaders are aware of this and are tracking carefully the progress of ICT trainees currently. Leaders provide good support to help trainees resolve personal or academic issues affecting their training. If trainees defer, they return to good support and succeed well.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

23. Employment is high and above that found nationally but rates have been inconsistent across subject areas previously. This is becoming more comparable and almost all subjects reach employment rates that are in line with or above those found nationally. Many NQTs are appointed to teach in partnership schools. They often quickly progress into middle and sometimes senior leadership roles. Their success as NQTs and good achievements in their early career are testimony to what school leaders confirm as good quality training and robust selection of trainees with the aptitude and attitudes appropriate for teaching.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

24. Inspectors observed trainees and NQTs teaching good lessons, stretching students’ progress and establishing behaviour conducive to effective learning. For example, in a drama lesson about characterisation in Shakespearean texts, the NQT skilfully used two students as directors to coach each group through their rehearsal. The student directors gave useful feedback to each group during rehearsals and, in drawing the whole class back together for the final performance, the directors reminded everyone of the criteria for peer assessment and feedback. Students made excellent progress and thoroughly enjoyed the challenging work set by the NQT.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

25. In a few lessons requiring improvement, planning was not sustaining good progress for all students because the pace of the lesson was slow, questioning was too closed and lessons had limited development of students’ literacy skills. Most trainees know how to use formative assessment information to plan lessons but a few NQTs and trainees are not adept at assessing students’ progress in lessons and responding with feedback to move students’ learning on quickly. December 2012 26. Trainees and NQTs possess good knowledge and understanding of legislation about working with disabled students and those with special educational needs. Using high quality university sessions and experiences in schools, most trainees develop good skills to plan for students’ differing needs. They know how to refer to expert colleagues to deepen knowledge of their students’ needs and learn how best to use teaching assistants to support learning.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

The quality of training across the partnership is good.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

27. The secondary training course is cohesive. It successfully combines university taught sessions, contrasting school placements, professional studies sessions in schools and use of a ‘virtual school’ to help trainees link theory and practical training. The revised model of a lead lecture about a key topic such as special educational needs, leading into subject-based seminars on the same day and a virtual school task, helps trainees to debate the impact of the key issue or theme in their own subject teaching.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

28. Most trainees have a good understanding of teaching numeracy and literacy within their own subject area. Through school placements, they learn more about whole-school policies in these areas. A few trainees are still getting to grips with promoting numeracy and literacy in their teaching but they have a good knowledge base from university sessions to draw upon.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

29. The ethnically, socially, economically and culturally diverse contexts that trainees experience provide excellent opportunity for trainees to learn in contrasting school placements. The demographics of schools in East London and several Home Counties promote trainees’ good skills in working with students who speak English as an additional language, those who are eligible for free school meals and students from different ethnicities. University tutors give good support for trainees when they go to their second school placement but most trainees and mentors agree they would benefit from a face-to-face handover so that the receiving mentor and professional coordinating mentor have a detailed understanding of the trainee’s progress, key strengths and development needs. Some trainees do not always progress as rapidly as they could because the handover does not give tight enough targets for progression against the Teachers’ Standards.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

30. The quality of science and modern foreign languages training at the university and in school placements is good. Trainees and NQTs teaching modern foreign languages achieve very well in helping students value all languages and different cultures, capturing students’ interest because languages are spoken throughout lessons. The good December 2012 teaching observed included a range of interactive tasks, helping students practise their linguistic skills with each other. NQTs and trainees model skills for students to learn and inspectors observed motivated boys making much more progress in languages than is typically found nationally.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

31. Science trainees perform well. The proportions doing exceptionally well continue to rise since the last inspection. A marked strength of science trainees is their very positive and helpful attitude towards students in lessons. Students want to work hard in science, and trainees and NQTs successfully establish a calm classroom so that students can work safely and raise questions of their own about science. Students are taught responsible approaches to practical work and most trainees challenge students to reach high standards in their written work and practical experiments. In some lessons, students are less secure in their understanding of the purpose of practical investigations and trainees do not give sufficient opportunity to let students plan investigations independently. Trainees’ own subject knowledge is good and they keenly engage in additional study to upgrade any areas they are less confident in teaching. Leaders have increased university

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The outcomes for trainees are good

sessions in response to NQT feedback last year, giving more scope for the three science tutors to fully support trainees in developing knowledge of aspects in which they lack confidence.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

32. The quality of mentoring in schools is consistently good. Trainees receive feedback from many lesson observations and weekly meetings. Mentors coach trainees to understand their strengths and targets for improvement linking directly to the Teachers’ Standards and students’ progress. Most mentors and trainees find the electronic standards tracker helpful and understand what constitutes good evidence to meet the standards.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

33. Most trainees receive at least good training on school placements. The professional studies sessions in schools reiterate and complement training at the university. However, feedback from the NQT survey last year was much less positive than in recent years. Staffing issues affected some subjects and NQTs reported that they felt much less well prepared for national priority areas such as managing behaviour and working with parents. By contrast, this year most trainees comment that the taught university-based sessions, complemented by in-school training, are proving a solid grounding in all national priority areas. Most trainees are very competent in establishing good relationships with students and appropriate classroom conduct.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

34. Processes for quality assuring training in schools are well understood by school trainers and roles are clear. Trainees receive their entitlement to weekly meetings and regular formal lesson observations. December 2012 Informal lesson observations by mentors sustain good progress for most trainees. School-based trainers monitor trainees’ progress weekly but the frequency of visits by university tutors and the timing of their visits is not always at a suitable point to support a collated view of trainees’ progress within and across all secondary subjects.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

35. The university tutor visits to schools to quality assure mentoring are effective at individual school level and where schools are involved in formal partnership arrangements. The impact of quality assurance visits, jointly moderated lessons and scrutiny of trainees’ work is not collated quickly enough to give the whole partnership a comprehensive picture of the training needs of all trainers. The ‘bigger picture’ about quality across the whole partnership is not yet being used to determine how individual schools could lead aspects of training across the partnership, or to secure consistently outstanding teacher training in all partner schools.

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good

36. Since the last inspection, a new leader has taken over and is now responsible for three phases of teacher training, including the secondary course. The secondary team has sustained good outcomes since the last inspection and has good capacity for further improvement. Leaders at the university and within the partner schools have a clear vision for excellence and the commitment of schools to the partnership is impressive. Over many years, the university has nurtured relationships with schools to secure good quality school-based training. The partnership’s vision for sustaining high quality initial teacher education serving the needs of schools, students and trainees in East London is established and successful.

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good

37. Headteachers praise the quality of NQTs, reporting improvements each year. Inspectors observed many good quality NQTs. A high proportion of NQTs who work in partnership schools are promoted to middle or senior leadership positions over time, showing the confidence of leaders in recruiting teachers each year from the university. Senior leaders comment on how well NQTs quickly take the initiative, lead events in school and integrate into the life of the school, developing good relationships with staff and students. However, university leaders have not formally captured, evaluated and celebrated the very positive views in schools about the work and success of high quality NQTs.

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good

38. Leaders have sustained robust processes for recruiting and selecting trainees. School-based trainers are involved in interview panels. Their views are valued and they make positive contributions in selecting December 2012 candidates most appropriate for the one-year course. One mentor explained how this experience helped develop her understanding of the selection process and gave good insight into the calibre of candidates applying for teacher training.

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good

39. From initial interviews, most trainees are given specific subject targets to begin upgrading their knowledge before they join the course. Trainees achieve well in subject booster courses for mathematics and science, and in PE trainees benefit significantly from intensive days at the start of their course in learning how to teach gymnastics, dance and trampolining.

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good

40. Leaders’ evaluation of the quality of training and impact on outcomes for trainees is accurate. Responses to recommendations by external examiners, feedback from trainees and NQTs are well documented in subject action plans. The partnership recognises a priority for further improvement in giving all school-based trainers a robust understanding of trends over time and of how the targets and success criteria in subject action plans can inform their training in school, helping more trainees move from good to outstanding practitioners.

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good

41. The partnership development committee meets regularly and works with senior leaders at the university to share feedback from schools. There is a huge ‘buy-in’ of schools to the partnership, but the process of evaluating, planning for and driving improvements across all partnership schools rests too centrally within the university rather than being ‘owned’ by the partnership. Innovative projects are not shared widely enough in developing mentors’ expertise in learning how to coach trainees to attain at an outstanding level.

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Annex: Partnership Schools

The following schools were visited to observe teaching:

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Annex: Partnership Schools

Beal High School King Solomon High School Oaks Park High School St Angela's Ursuline School Plashet School Willowfield School The Forest Academy Eastbury School The Ockenden Academy Eastleigh Community School Langdon School Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat School December 2012 Robert Clack School Forest Gate Community School Lammas School and Sports College Mayfield School Ilford County High School St Mary Magdalene Academy Harris Academy Chafford Hundred Marshalls Park School

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Information about the employment-based partnership

 The secondary employment based route comprises a one year full-time graduate teacher programme (GTP) leading to qualified teacher status. At the time of the inspection, there were 57 trainees on the programme, lower than in previous years. The 10 subjects are design and technology, English, humanities, information and communication technology (ICT), mathematics, modern foreign languages, physical education, religious education, music and science (physics, chemistry and biology).

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Information about the employment-based ITE inspection

 Team inspectors worked across both the secondary phase and the employment-based route in secondary.  Inspectors undertook lesson observations of 24 trainees and 21 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from the university’s 2011–12 courses, including many undertaken jointly with the trainees’ mentors.  Inspectors observed subject training sessions at the university involving music and design and technology trainees from the current cohort. Inspectors also held discussions with individuals and groups of trainees, NQTs, tutors, mentors and senior leaders across the partnership.  Inspectors considered a wide range of programme documentation, including information related to tracking and assessment, statutory safeguarding and compliance, recruitment and selection, analysis of outcomes for trainees and groups of trainees, and self-evaluation and improvement plans.

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Inspection Team

David Townsend HMI: Lead inspector Susan Wareing HMI: Team inspector Brian Cartwright HMI: Team inspector John Williams Additional Inspector: team inspector John Hibbs Additional Inspector: team inspector Terence Hunt Additional Inspector: team inspector December 2012

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The key strengths of the employment-based partnership are:

 the rising trend of good outcomes for trainees  the good understanding the trainees develop of the connection between the theory of teaching and classroom practice through their training  the emphasis given to ensuring individual trainees teach in diverse school settings and receive the personalised support they need to make at least good progress  the expertise of the university tutors in helping trainees develop their subject knowledge and their skills in preparing trainees and NQTs for their wider professional role  the quality of the mentors supporting trainees in school, who coach and guide trainees effectively in meeting the Teachers’ Standards  the rigorous selection arrangements through which quality entrants to the profession are identified and their initial needs established at the outset.

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The partnership should:

 increase the proportion of trainees whose teaching is outstanding by: – offering trainees consistently high quality feedback on each facet of their teaching and precise targets for moving it on to the next level – focusing evaluations of trainees’ teaching on the extent to which it is meeting the needs of all students  build on the networks already in place to ensure even closer collaboration with partner schools in sharing best practice in mentoring .

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Inspection judgements

42. Outcomes for trainees are good. Completion rates are high in all subject areas. Although withdrawal rates are low, the university has recognised that compared to other age groups, more trainees aged 35 and above leave the course early. It is working to address this issue by carrying out impact studies on the small number of individual cases involved.

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Inspection judgements

43. Employment rates are well above average across subjects. Many NQTs go on to teach in either their first or second placement schools, thus demonstrating the positive impact of the training in meeting local recruitment needs for teachers and school leaders over time. December 2012 44. The majority of trainees make good progress and their attainment is at least good by the end of the training. There is, after a dip in 2010–11, a rising trend of attainment. This improvement in outcomes reflects the enhancements secured to the course, including alterations made to the professional studies programme. However, the proportion of male trainees from a minority ethnic background who are assessed as meeting the minimum standard of practice is higher than in other groups. Most trainees are confident and skilled teachers by the end of the programme. Across subjects, trainees’ teaching was good overall, as was that of NQTs seen, with a small number being judged as

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Inspection judgements

45. Early in the programme, trainees make good progress in forming positive relationship with students and managing behaviour. They quickly understand the students’ ethnically diverse backgrounds, and the needs of bilingual students and those with special educational needs.

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Inspection judgements

46. Careful planning ensures trainees and NQTs all structure lessons well. They demonstrate secure specialist knowledge and skills and, as NQTs, show a good ability to vary the strategies they use to engage students in their subject. One NQT, who was observed teaching religious education to Year 7, showed a good focus on promoting students’ communication, literacy and numeracy skills through the subject. They were asked to prepare and lead interviews with their peers to test out their shared understanding of rites of passage for followers of the Muslim faith. This helped the students to explore and articulate their own knowledge and understanding more deeply.

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Inspection judgements

47. In good lessons, trainees make effective use of questioning. In one drama lesson taught by an NQT, questions were targeted at individual students, and follow-up questions enabled them to reflect upon and expand their responses. Some trainees and NQTs are actively involving students in assessing the quality of their own work in relation to agreed criteria for successful learning through their marking. Trainees and NQTs are typically reflective and take every opportunity to learn from colleagues and their self-evaluations.

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Inspection judgements

48. Where trainees’ teaching is not as strong, they demonstrate less confidence in adapting their plans and lessons to the specific needs of all students. A small minority of trainees are less adept at managing transitions between learning activities and this slows the pace at which students learn. Opportunities are sometimes missed to help students develop as independent learners. December 2012 The quality of training across the partnership is good.

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Inspection judgements

49. The training has improved since the last inspection. Key elements of the programme combine well. It is preparing trainees well to teach in secondary schools. This is reflected in the rising trend of positive outcomes for trainees. While the training has particular strengths, a small number of areas need to have greater impact in securing a higher proportion of trainees who are judged good and outstanding.

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Inspection judgements

50. The professional studies taught programme at the university has been reorganised to ensure a sharper focus on the new Teachers’ Standards. The ‘virtual schools’ project is valuable in helping trainees work together to debate and solve key professional challenges, both face-to- face in groups and through an e-learning platform. They create shared approaches for a new school similar in context to those in which they work, for example an assessment, reporting and recording policy. This entails careful reflection of the theoretical underpinning of the teaching approaches they advocate. Schools complement this with well- considered training opportunities, for example enabling trainees to track groups of vulnerable students or liaising with special educational needs coordinators in assessing the specific circumstances of individual students. As a result, trainees gain and NQTs build upon a firm early grounding in how to meet students’ needs, including for those with

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Inspection judgements

special educational needs or students who speak English as an additional language.

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Inspection judgements

51. Inspection evidence also shows that this year’s trainees are more confident in their approach to behaviour management. This theme is addressed early on in the programme and in a coherent way. University lectures and follow-up tutorials, in which trainees reflect on research findings and share experiences from their observations in schools, complement the personalised support they receive from their school-based mentors. Similarly, effective university-based training sessions are giving trainees a good understanding of how to develop students’ literacy and numeracy skills through their specialist subject.

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Inspection judgements

52. The quality of subject tuition at the university, including that offered in science and modern foreign languages, is good. Trainees’ subject knowledge is checked carefully at selection and targets incorporated into the first individual training plan. Those who require them find the subject enhancement courses beneficial. Assignments link theory to practice successfully and trainees make good use of the technology on offer, including the ‘wiki’, to share experiences and resources. They benefit from regularly observing experienced teachers of the subject and planning within teams. This is reinforced through their second school placements, in which trainees are able to trial different approaches and work in new ways. As a result, trainees and NQTs December 2012 specialising in modern foreign languages, for example, are confident in developing students’ linguistic skills and intercultural knowledge.

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Inspection judgements

53. The training is well focused on meeting the individual needs of trainees. From the outset, university tutors and mentors identify and take account of each trainee’s strengths and support needs in determining their individual training plans. Trainees appreciate the regular weekly reviews, where they receive clear guidance on how to broaden their experience in order to meet the Teachers’ Standards. Trainees are diligent in recording evidence over time in relation to each standard and building up a picture of their own performance.

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Inspection judgements

54. In most cases, the quality of school placements and the mentoring trainees receive is good. Assessments of trainees’ teaching are accurate and mentors’ evaluations closely refer to the Teachers’ Standards. Joint lesson observations between university subject tutors and school mentors help secure the consistency seen in the quality of the evaluations. Most trainees and NQTs are offered effective coaching from their tutors, mentors and other colleagues in school on how to further improve their teaching skills. However, some variation in the quality still remains. Occasionally, lesson feedback and the targets set for trainees lack precision and challenge. Not all mentors are forensic enough in their evaluations of the extent to which trainees and NQTs are meeting particular standards, nor diagnostic enough in defining how best to move the teaching on to the next level. As a result, targets are sometimes too generalised.

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Inspection judgements

55. The previous inspection report identified the need to share more widely the outstanding mentoring practice that exists in the partnership. This has been achieved, in part, through the university’s mentor training programme. Most professional coordinating mentors arrange good opportunities for their mentor teams within schools to compare assessment findings and support each other. Within school alliances, there is some active exchange of ideas on support for trainees. However, there is more to do in delivering a partnership-wide strategy for sharing best practice in mentoring so that all trainees receive explicit advice about what constitutes outstanding teaching.

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good

56. Programme leaders have a clear vision for identifying and supporting candidates to become outstanding teachers and future leaders within the diverse community of East London schools. Their ambition for securing further improvement has the full support of the team of university-based subject tutors and the partnership schools. There is a December 2012 clear understanding of what is working well and what needs to be improved. Good leadership and management over time have resulted in good training and outcomes for trainees.

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good

57. Rigorous monitoring and tracking of trainees’ progress has led to a continued rise in trainee outcomes and the rates of completion and employment. More are attaining at good or better levels than at the time of the last inspection. Gaps in attainment are narrowing fast; the picture of improved achievement is apparent across subjects for most trainees irrespective of gender, age or ethnicity.

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good

58. The process for reviewing the subject and professional studies programme elements has improved and enables the university to establish a clearer picture of the quality of training and its impact on trainee outcomes. This has led to an accurate appraisal of performance at subject level and the continued development of subject programmes.

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good

59. Rigorous selection procedures, a strength at the time of the last inspection, usually involve school mentors and typically result in the recruitment of trainees with good potential to teach. Many candidates present with good levels of pre-experience in education settings. The selection process is rigorous and information about trainees’ starting points is used well used to inform initial training plans.

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good

60. Communication between the university and schools is good. Programme documentation is clear and comprehensive. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. The partnership committee is active in reporting on improvement initiatives taking place within clusters of partnership schools and in reviewing evaluations of overall programme performance. However, quality assurance findings and best practice in mentor development are not yet shared effectively across all the schools.

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good

61. Improvement planning is based on a close analysis of internal and externally validated data, self-evaluation and a range of evaluative feedback from stakeholders. Through this, clear development priorities, the key actions required and criteria for evaluation related to intended gains in trainee outcomes have been identified. However, subject mentors are not always aware of the improvement targets when designing and monitoring the school-based training. This serves as a barrier to accelerated improvement in raising outcomes for trainees.

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good

62. Quality assurance systems are robust in ensuring that good level provision is secured and that developments are being embedded in practice. Programme leaders retain a close oversight of how well the programme and assessment arrangements are delivered. Expectations are clarified through clear policies and visiting tutors check this December 2012 carefully in schools at regular intervals. As a result, the quality of training is consistently good and continues to rise, indicating the partnership’s good capacity to improve further.

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Annex: Partnership schools

The following schools were visited to observe teaching:

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Annex: Partnership schools

Beal High School King Solomon High School Oaks Park High School St. Angela’s Ursuline School Plashet School Willowfield School The Forest Academy Eastbury School The Ockenden Academy Eastlea Community School Langdon School Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat School Robert Clack School Forest Gate Community School Lammas School and Sports College Mayfield School St. John’s C of E School Ilford County High School St. Mary Magdalene Academy Harris Academy Chafford Hundred Marshalls Park School

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Information about the FE in ITE partnership

63. The university works in partnership with four further education colleges to provide a full-time one year pre-service post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) and a part-time two year PGCE and Certificate in education for in-service trainees. At the time of the inspection, there were 35 trainees following the full-time route in a partner college and 55 second-year trainees on the part-time courses. Recruitment to the first year of the part-time provision, and the full-time course at the university, was suspended in 2012 because of low numbers. A new part-time course is due to commence in one of the colleges in January 2013. December 2012

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Information about the FE in ITE inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 lessons taught by trainees, and 13 lessons taught by recently qualified teachers, in four of the partnership colleges and one college no longer in the partnership; nine of these observations were undertaken jointly with mentors.  Centre-based training, for trainees on the full-time route, was observed by one inspector in one of the partnership colleges.  Inspectors also held discussions with individuals and groups of trainees and former trainees working in partnership centres as well as trainers, leaders and managers, college principals, employers and members of the partnership management groups.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentary evidence, including information related to recruitment and selection, statutory safeguarding and compliance, tracking and assessment, trainees’ teaching evidence and assignments, analysis of outcomes for trainees, evaluations and improvement plans, external examiner reports, the university’s website

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Information about the FE in ITE inspection

and initial teacher education on-line resources.  Inspectors also took account of the responses to the trainee online questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Christine Dick HMI: Lead inspector Alan Hinchliffe HMI: Assistant lead inspector Shaun Dillon HMI: Team inspector Pauline Dixey: Team inspector

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The key strengths of the FE partnership are:

 the good training which prepares trainees well and enables them to become good or better teachers  the trainees who provide good role models for students in a socially and culturally diverse community  trainees’ strong focus on the impact of their teaching on learning and their success in motivating students to learn and in promoting good behaviour in their lessons  trainees’ vocational expertise and high expectations of professional standards which help students to improve their employability skills  the high quality support and interventions from trainers which are successful in ensuring that trainees make good progress  the skilled team of teacher educators who model good practice which contributes well to the development of trainees’ practical teaching skills December 2012  the success in securing trainees’ access to a wide range of experience during the training, including opportunities to observe good and

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The key strengths of the FE partnership are:

outstanding practice  the rigorous selection arrangements for the pre-service programme, which ensure the recruitment of a diverse range of trainees from the local community who have the capacity to become good or better teachers.

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The partnership should:

 increase the proportion of trainees whose teaching is outstanding by supporting trainees further in: – ensuring learners at all levels of ability are challenged to achieve as well as they can in their lessons – developing trainees’ skills in the context of their specialist subjects to maximise the opportunities for their learners to improve their skills in reading, writing, communication and mathematics.  Sharpen the analysis and use of data to identify what is working well and what needs to be improved to ensure: – all trainees receive consistently high quality training, and the partnership has a better understanding of the value added by the training – the most effective use is made of the networks and support systems in place in order to learn from, and share, best practice across the partnership.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

64. Trainees’ success and retention rates on pre-service courses are high. On the in-service route, retention rates are lower, often due to trainees’ loss of teaching hours in employing institutions because of funding changes. The vast majority of trainees who are retained in the training achieve their qualification, with an increasing proportion overall attaining at a good or better level. Nevertheless, although the proportion of male trainees from minority ethnic groups completing successfully is similar to that of other groups, fewer of them attain at the highest level. The partnership is working to address this.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

65. Most pre-service trainees are successful in gaining employment in teaching at the end of the training. Many trainees are employed within the partnership colleges or in other local centres. These centres December 2012 maintain good links with the university because of the rich opportunities for the recruitment of high quality teachers. Senior managers in employing institutions speak highly of the skills that recently qualified teachers bring and the positive impact they have on learning, including the continuing professional development of other teachers, in the departments to which they are recruited.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

66. Trainees join the courses with a wide range of expertise and experience. At this relatively early stage in their training, nearly all pre- service trainees have the requisite skills, knowledge and attributes, as defined in the professional standards, to enable them to become good or better teachers. Second-year in-service trainees are well on their way towards becoming accomplished practitioners.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

67. Trainees, from a diverse range of backgrounds themselves, are well prepared to teach diverse groups of students. They provide exemplary role models for their students and raise aspirations through exemplifying best practice in vocational settings. They set high expectations and demonstrate secure subject knowledge, using an appropriate, and in some cases imaginative, range of techniques to help their students to learn. For example, a trainee teaching public services raised his students’ aspirations through powerful role modelling of the high standards expected in the services they were hoping to join.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

68. Typically, trainees’ planning for learning in their lessons is good. They plan lessons carefully, paying good attention to previous learning and meeting the needs of students with different abilities in the same group. Lesson planning directs them to consider how they will help students to develop their mathematics and English skills in the context of the subject they are teaching. Class profiles are often detailed and useful. In one particular good practice example, the trainee teaching the functional skills of mathematics to a mixed ability group tailored a sequence of tasks carefully to match individual needs. As a result, the students found the work challenging and interesting and they remained on task throughout the session. However, not all trainees are universally adept at translating this good understanding of students’ different needs, including mathematics and English, into practical strategies to meet them.

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The outcomes for trainees are good

69. Trainees understand the importance of regular checking on students’ learning and giving feedback on what they need to do to improve. Nevertheless, a few trainees do not give sufficient attention to the routine correction of spelling and grammatical errors in students’ work. They give careful consideration to the impact their teaching has on the progress students make in their lessons and reflect on how it promotes good standards of behaviour overall. As a result, the high expectations, December 2012 positive attitudes to learning and good behaviour, promoted through effective teaching, were a particularly strong feature of the lessons observed during the inspection.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

70. The training is effective in producing trainees who teach well and who develop a keen awareness of the importance of evaluating how well students are learning in their lessons. The strong focus at the start of the course on instilling the professional values needed to be a good or better teacher is evident in trainees’ practice and in the practice of teachers who have completed their training successfully. The training programme is sequenced carefully to build on trainees’ prior experience and help them to develop quickly the requisite skills and attributes and the core values that lie at the heart of good practice in the sector.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

71. Within the university and in partner colleges, a high quality team of teacher educators, with a good understanding of the post-compulsory education sector, support the training very effectively. A particular strength of trainees’ teaching is in the ability to manage challenging behaviour and promote good attitudes to learning. This is a testament to the good focus placed on this aspect in the central training. Trainees are very positive about their experience and how effectively it helps them to develop their skills and confidence as teachers. The training sessions relate educational theory well to practical teaching, and trainees benefit from the opportunities to learn from their own experience and the experiences of others. Placements for pre-service trainees offer good opportunities for them to observe good and outstanding practice and gain an appropriate breadth of practical experience. A ‘taster’ day with the intended mentor prior to the start of

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

the course helps to establish good working relationships and enables trainees to settle in quickly. Both trainees and mentors value this early contact.

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

72. Teacher trainers provide good support for trainees. They are sensitive to diversity in respect of trainees’ cultural inheritance and of their personal circumstances. This good practice is reflected in the purposeful and effective working relationships that trainees establish with their own students. Initial assessment accurately pinpoints trainees’ starting points and takes appropriate account of literacy levels. The initial assessment of trainees’ numeracy skills on in-service routes is less secure and is overly dependent on self-referral for specialist support. Nevertheless, the training prepares most trainees appropriately to support effective links between their specialist subject and functional English and mathematics. They work well with disabled December 2012 students and those who have special educational needs. Good emphasis on improving learners’ reading, discussion and debating skills helps many trainees to increase their students’ maturity of thinking and

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

73. Mentor support for trainees is good overall. All trainees have a mentor but in a few cases the alignment to the specialist subject is not sufficiently strong. Most trainees benefit from high quality mentoring that supports the professional development of their generic teaching skills and the subject-specific aspects; however, the arrangements for quality assuring mentor practice need to be strengthened further. This is particularly the case for the mentors of in-service trainees employed in settings outside the partnership. The role of the university link tutors, who provide helpful support and training, is being strengthened further to better support this and to ensure good practice is shared across the partnership. 74. Trainers’ assessment of trainees’ teaching and written assignments is accurate. Standardised marking, moderation and joint observations between trainers in partnership colleges and university link tutors help

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

to support this. Lesson observation and assessment reports are sampled and moderated as part of routine quality assurance. The feedback to trainees on how well they are doing and the development targets set have improved considerably as a result of moderation. Link tutors support close monitoring of trainees’ achievement through regular contact with college-based trainers. Where necessary, intervention to address any gaps in the training is rapid and supports further improvement. Regular discussion with mentors during placement visits to pre-service trainees ensures that trainees’ individual learning needs are met. A recently introduced ‘entitlement’ document, based on good practice in the primary phase of the university provision, tracks the support that mentors offer to trainees and provides an early warning of any further actions needed. 75. Feedback from trainers is detailed and helpful but not all trainers

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The quality of training across the partnership is good

model best practice by correcting spelling and grammatical errors as a matter of routine. Trainers are effective in encouraging trainees to reflect carefully on their teaching. The ‘rationales’ that trainees are required to complete before observed sessions help them to articulate precisely what they need to focus on from previous commentaries on their practice. These are very useful and, in some cases, they are exemplary.

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good

76. Good leadership and management lead to good outcomes and trainees who are well prepared to teach in the post-compulsory education and December 2012 training sector. Communications across the partnership are very strong and support effective intervention to secure high quality training. The provider has good capacity to improve further. Ambition and high aspirations are well embedded and effectively shared. There is an accurate understanding of what is working well and what needs to be improved, with a strong focus on the impact of actions on trainees’ teaching. The provision is effective in targeting and meeting local needs and is well regarded. However, the partnership has not systematically monitored the value added to provision in partner colleges as a result of the training and the teachers it supplies.

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good

77. Improvement planning is based on the analysis of data, from self- evaluation, external examiner reports and feedback from all stakeholders. Trainee representatives join partnership meetings to share views on their training experiences. Regular programme reviews, through the university quality assurance processes, are rigorous but the standard documentation used does not focus sufficiently on outcomes for trainees. As a result, data have not been being used as effectively as they might be to identify what is working well and what needs to be improved. The teacher education team has recently negotiated an agreement to better match the documentation to the partnership’s improvement planning needs. The revised reporting format will be harmonised across primary, secondary and post- compulsory education and training. Current improvement plans have a much stronger focus on outcomes and measurable targets.

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good

78. The performance of trainees is monitored regularly to ensure that most become at least good teachers by the end of their training. The provider is clear about what needs to be improved and actions taken have resulted in further improvements. For example, a new system of tracking includes a partnership-wide review of trainees’ progress at three set points during the academic year.

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good

79. Partner colleges are encouraged to contribute to improvement planning through collaborative partnership review days. These are usefully timed to follow on from the assessment board meetings. Meetings focus on the identification of what needs to improve. Cross-centre moderation of marking and support for mentors, individually and in groups, is supported well by link tutors. This enhances further the professional development of trainers and is central to sustaining high quality outcomes. Programme leaders and senior managers recognise there is more to be done to ensure that all trainees receive their entitlement to consistently high quality mentoring and good practice is shared. As a result, procedures are in place to ensure ‘hard to reach’ mentors are meeting trainees’ needs and are fully engaged in the planning and implementation of further improvements. December 2012 80. Rigorous selection procedures ensure trainees are on the right course.

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good

These procedures have been further enhanced since the last inspection. The introduction of a pre-interview literacy task has enabled trainees’ written communication skills to be more effectively matched to the academic demands of the training and offers early identification of any additional support needed. Care is taken to ensure that the trainees on the in-service route have relevant subject expertise and the skills required to become effective teachers. Improvements in selection for pre-service trainees involve a three- stage process which includes a micro-teaching session to assess candidates’ suitability. High quality induction at the university at the start of the training offers a good introduction to the wide range of resources available and helps trainees studying in partner colleges to establish stronger university links.

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Annex: Partnership colleges

The partnership includes the following colleges :

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Annex: Partnership colleges

Tower Hamlets College Barking and Dagenham College Havering College of Further and Higher Education Newham College December 2012

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ITE partnership details

Unique reference number Inspection number Inspection dates Lead inspector Type of ITE partnership Phases provided Date of previous inspection Previous inspection report

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ITE partnership details

Provider address 3–6 December 2012 Christine Dick HMI HEI Primary/Secondary/FE/GTP April 2010 http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection- reports/find-inspection- report/provider/ELS/70077 Water Lane London E15 4LZ

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