SCITTELS

March 2014 This inspection was carried out by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors in accordance with the ITE Inspection Handbook. This handbook sets out the statutory basis and framework for initial teacher education (ITE) inspections in England from January 2013.

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The inspection draws upon evidence from 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

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

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Inspection judgements

The quality of training across the partnership

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Inspection judgements

The quality of leadership and management across the partnership SCITTELS Initial Teacher Education inspection report 10–13 February 2014 March 2014 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

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Inspection judgements

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 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 March 2014

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Information about the primary partnership

 This school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) partnership works predominantly with schools in Newham and with a small number of partnership schools in neighbouring local authority areas. The SCITT offers a range of full-time, one-year primary initial teacher training programmes enabling trainees to gain qualified teacher status through a post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) and a School Direct programme with PGCE or School Direct (salaried). The two PGCE routes each comprise 60 credits at master’s level. This qualification is validated by the University of Roehampton.  Trainees specialise in the Early Years Foundation Stage (3–5 years), Key Stage 1 (5–7 years), Lower Key Stage 2 (7–9 years) or Upper Key Stage 2 (9–11 years). At the time of the inspection, there were 60 trainees: 28 following a PGCE course; 13 on the School Direct programme with PGCE; and 19 on School Direct (salaried).

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Information about the primary partnership

 The SCITT makes use of additional expertise from schools, independent consultants, local authorities and colleagues in other parts of the partnership to enhance the training.

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Information about the primary ITE inspection

 Inspectors observed 15 lessons taught by 13 trainees and two newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in a total of four schools. Inspectors also met with groups of trainees and NQTs in schools and at the SCITT centre.  Meetings were held with senior leaders from the SCITT, school-based tutors and professional tutors, headteachers and members of the managing group board.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including: the provider’s evaluations of how well it is performing; course handbooks; achievement, completion and employment data; committee minutes; external examiner reports; and documents relating to school experience placements.

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Inspection team

Robert Lovett HMI Lead inspector John Menendez Assistant lead inspector March 2014

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The key strengths of the primary partnership

 The provider’s leadership and management are exceptionally strong. The SCITT is very well led by the strategic manager who is responsive and meticulous in her determination to provide high-quality teachers for local schools.  Trainees are extremely well prepared to manage pupils’ behaviour and promote positive attitudes to learning. They recognise the essential link between high-quality teaching and pupils’ attitudes to learning.  Trainees receive excellent training in inclusion which promotes high levels of expertise and confidence in working with pupils from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities.  Trainees reflect carefully on how well they are doing. They are highly professional, very well prepared and conscientious. They have a clearly articulated commitment to working with local schools and the community to improve pupils’ life chances.  High-quality central- and school-based training in phonics, reading,

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The key strengths of the primary partnership

comprehension, science and mathematics prepares trainees exceptionally well in terms of subject knowledge.  Training in foundation subjects is strong and much valued by trainees. They speak highly of the very practical nature of the training.  Course cohesion is very strong with a clear line of sight through target setting, trainees’ planning, quality assurance and final, high-quality outcomes.  Assessment and self-evaluation are rigorous and include a high level of responsiveness to feedback from schools and trainees, and external evaluations of the provider’s performance.  Trainees are exceptionally well prepared to teach and have high levels of commitment. Employment rates are consistently high with most trainees teaching in partnership schools.

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The partnership should:

 improve recruitment and selection procedures in order to ensure that completion rates are high every year. March 2014

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

1. In 2013, almost all trainees were graded good or better by the end of their training, with three quarters judged outstanding overall. Over half were judged outstanding in those Teachers’ Standards relating to the quality of teaching. While there are some small, in-year variations in outcome between groups, there are no significant differences over time. The partnership’s assessments of trainees are detailed and accurate.

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

2. Trainees are extremely positive about the course. All of those spoken to by inspectors had chosen the SCITT as a result of careful research or recommendation. They said that they would strongly recommend the SCITT as a good place to train, and many have already done so.

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

3. Completion rates are well above average overall, although small cohorts result in some variation between years, particularly in respect of timely completions. For example, in 2012, five trainees failed to complete in the year they started, but four completed the following year, three at a good standard and one outstanding. Employment rates are high. In recent years, almost all trainees have gained full-time teaching posts at the end of their training. Employment rates for School Direct trainees are exceptionally high. In 2013, all of the School Direct trainees obtained a teaching post in a partnership school. The SCITT is very successful in meeting the needs of partnership schools, with about three quarters of trainees securing teaching posts in a partnership school. Many SCITTELS-trained teachers are rapidly promoted to posts of responsibility.

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

4. High-quality moderation, feedback and target setting ensure that the assessment of trainees is accurate. All trainees observed were teaching at the level the SCITT indicated. All are likely to be good or better by the end of the course.

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

5. Rigorous recruitment and selection procedures ensure that trainees with the right skills and aptitudes to become good or better teachers are accepted onto the course. The SCITT recognises the need to strengthen selection processes relating to trainees’ resilience and their understanding of the significant demands of the course in order to make completion rates consistently high.

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

6. Trainees and NQTs display an excellent understanding of how to promote positive attitudes to learning. Trainees from all routes demonstrate the ability to use a variety of strategies to manage pupils’ behaviour exceptionally well. They use praise very well to encourage all pupils to contribute and to help pupils become confident, well-motivated March 2014 learners. Relationships with pupils are very positive. Trainees have high expectations of what pupils can do and make these expectations clear. Trainees assess pupils’ learning very well, often by walking around and checking on how well they are doing. There is good support for the most-able pupils so that they are challenged to succeed. In a very successful start to a mathematics lesson, the trainee skilfully directed questions towards individual pupils at a level which made them think hard before proffering an answer. Because questions were challenging,

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

carefully phrased and directed at individuals and small groups, all pupils were fully engaged, with any at risk of losing focus quickly brought back into the fold.

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The outcomes for trainees are outstanding

7. Trainees are very resourceful. They are self-motivated, highly reflective and keen to succeed. Most have significant prior experience of working in schools, which contributes to the high-quality outcomes.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

8. Trainees speak highly about the quality of both school and central training. The level of coherence between the taught aspects of the course, school placements and school-based training is very strong. This is best illustrated through the excellent coherence between the tasks set and teaching required in the course handbook. The most recent NQT survey is very positive. NQT confidence is particularly high in relation to key national and local priorities such as establishing and maintaining good behaviour, phonics, working with pupils from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and teaching disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. Current trainees confirm these high levels of satisfaction, with all of those who responded to the online survey saying that they feel very well prepared to teach and particularly well prepared to teach core skills such as English and mathematics. They also praise

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

the quality of training in foundation subjects such as design and technology, art and physical education. They say they are being well prepared to teach the revised National Curriculum from September, with tutors and trainers taking care to ensure that they are able to see the links between the best of current and future practice and requirements.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

9. Trainees say that training in inclusion and being able to work with pupils from a wide range of cultures and linguistic backgrounds is excellent. They feel exceptionally well prepared to teach in an ethnically diverse part of London. They also say that their preparation to manage behaviour and encourage positive attitudes to learning is excellent, with trainers demonstrating various attention-grabbing techniques in workshops when it takes trainees too long to settle.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

10. Trainees have extensive opportunities to learn from experienced teachers in good and outstanding schools. They spoke highly of the newly introduced immersion experience where trainees work in groups March 2014 in a single school to teach reading and writing. This had a significant early impact on their knowledge and understanding of teaching and on pupils’ progress in English.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

11. School placements are of high quality. Almost all partnership schools are judged as good or outstanding. Their quality is rigorously assured, with local knowledge playing an important role. The few schools which are not yet good or better are nonetheless able to demonstrate significant strengths in teaching, leadership and management, and in their rates of improvement. While most school experience placements are within Newham and neighbouring boroughs, trainees nonetheless are able to visit schools with a range of additional provision and different linguistic and cultural contexts. Trainees are exceptionally well prepared to teach anywhere, but especially within the local community of schools.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

12. There are very clear procedures in place to ensure the consistency of training in all partnership schools. A wide range of high-quality lesson observations against the Teachers’ Standards are completed by school- based tutors and professional tutors. Excellent target setting leads to trainees’ outstanding progress in the classroom. Target setting overall is a particular strength, with strong coherence between pre-course assessments and tasks, trainees’ development plans, the SCITT’s assessment procedures and trainees’ weekly teaching plans. Well- designed, pre-course tasks enable trainees to make a good start to the course. Very effective use is made of post-selection information to identify the training needs of individuals.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

13. SCITTELS is exceptionally responsive to feedback from trainees and schools. The partnership analyses trainees’ frequent evaluations of training in great detail and, where appropriate, rapidly adapts training in response.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

14. All of the school-based tutors observed provided accurate feedback, both in respect of the overall judgement and their analysis of trainees’ strengths and weaknesses. However, not all tutors ask trainees sufficiently probing questions about their teaching. Some opportunities to encourage trainees to reflect more deeply on what went well and what could be improved are lost. School-based tutors speak highly of the quality of training they receive with very good additional support for colleagues new to the role. They receive extra central training and an early joint lesson observation with an experienced professional tutor. If school-based tutors miss one of the termly training sessions they receive additional support from a professional tutor to make sure they are aware of emerging priorities. As a result of early feedback provided to the strategic manager, the quality of school-based tutors’ questioning to

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

improve trainees’ teaching is a priority for the next termly training session. In response to recommendations from the last inspection report, high-quality, subject-specific lesson observation forms have been March 2014 introduced for science and mathematics. These, together with the existing assessment form for phonics, are having a positive impact on trainees’ confidence and ability to teach key skills.

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The quality of training across the partnership is outstanding

15. Observations of trainees and NQTs, discussions and analysis of trainees’ files and other records indicate that the partnership’s assessments of how well trainees are performing are accurate.

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outstanding

16. The SCITT exists to meet the pressing recruitment needs of local schools. Everyone is acutely aware of the need to produce high-quality teachers to work in a diverse community and is fully committed to meeting this aim. As a result, there is strong commitment from schools to the success of SCITTELS.

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outstanding

17. The strategic manager provides highly effective leadership and knows the SCITT’s strengths and weaknesses extremely well. The SCITT management team has recently been strengthened by the appointment of a number of new staff, including leaders for English, mathematics, recruitment and selection, and inclusion. The management team is growing to reflect the increasing number of trainees and diversity of training, although some of the responsibilities which are currently invested in a few people are not fully formalised, and lines of accountability are not yet sufficiently well established.

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outstanding

18. Key stakeholders are very effectively involved in the leadership of the SCITT. The group board has been instrumental in setting the SCITT’s strategic direction. It also monitors the progress of trainees, the impact of the course and the quality of training. The board took a leading role in writing the revised course handbook which trainees find so useful in informing their day-to-day practice. The course handbook and its alignment with target setting and course tasks is a notable strength. Many trainees and school-based tutors say that they value the clarity and structure it affords. As part of a commitment to a continuous cycle of review, the strategic manager is reviewing the course materials to see where they can be slimmed down and further improvements made.

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outstanding

19. The partnership’s self-evaluation is rigorous and accurate, with appropriate areas for improvement. There is very close cohesion between self-evaluation, feedback from trainees and schools, external moderation and improvement planning so that they form a single seamless process. Quality assurance procedures are well embedded and highly effective.

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outstanding

20. Trainees and schools value the support and feedback they receive. School-based tutors are invited to judge the quality of the support they March 2014 have provided for trainees and this is compared with trainees’ views. This information is shared with both schools and trainees. The SCITT is exceptionally diligent in seeking feedback on how well it is doing. There is a termly survey of trainees’ views based closely on the NQT survey. This shows that areas where provision was less strong in the past, such as in mathematics, have been improved so that they are now of the same high quality as other areas of training. Feedback is invited from trainees on every training session.

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outstanding

21. Very clear communication across the partnership ensures that any concerns are dealt with quickly. Trainees testify to the high quality and responsiveness of the SCITT, professional tutors and school-based tutors. They say that any questions or concerns are quickly acknowledged and addressed.

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outstanding

22. There are very effective procedures for the recruitment and selection of trainees to be potentially good or better teachers. Headteachers and other senior members of staff from partnership schools are fully involved in the interview process. Those new to the role are carefully briefed while more experienced colleagues are reminded of any changes in recruitment and selection procedures. While employment rates are consistently high, completion rates vary.

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outstanding

23. Procedures for the recruitment and selection of trainees are fully compliant with initial teacher training safeguarding and selection requirements. Effective procedures are in place to ensure equal opportunities legislation is fulfilled and the progress of trainees is very carefully monitored. Placement schools are carefully selected and closely monitored to ensure that they provide good venues for trainees to gain experience. There is strong engagement of key stakeholders from partnership schools in the process of improvement. The group board includes representation from partnership schools, teaching school alliances, the local authority and trainees.

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outstanding

24. The high quality of the leadership team, together with very good communication across the partnership, a clear vision for improvement and high levels of responsiveness, mean that SCITTELS has a strong capacity for further improvement.

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Annex: Partnership schools

The following schools were visited to observe teaching: Calverton Primary School, Newham Colegrave Primary School, Newham Curwen Primary and Nursery School, Newham Woodgrange Infant School, Newham March 2014

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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 10–13 February 2014 Robert Lovett HMI SCITT Primary 11–15 June 2012 http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection- reports/findinspectionreport/provider/ELS/70154 Colegrave Primary School Henniker Road Stratford E15 1JY

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