Setting

Dr David Owen Sheffield Hallam University Faculty of Development and Society Owen Building Floor 11 Sheffield S1 1WB

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Sheffield Hallam primary ITE partnership

Thank you for the help which you and your colleagues, trainees, newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and schools gave when Terry Holland, Nicola Whiteside and John Menendez, Additional Inspectors, and I conducted a monitoring inspection of your primary ITE partnership on 12 March 2015. The focus of the inspection was to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of behaviour training.

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Sheffield Hallam primary ITE partnership

Having considered all of the evidence I am of the opinion that, at this time, the quality and effectiveness of behaviour training are good.

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Context

Sheffield Hallam University works in partnership with around 406 schools to provide initial teacher education (ITE) in both the 3–7 and 5–11 age ranges across a number of training routes. At the time of the monitoring inspection, there were 481 trainees following the three-year Bachelor of Arts (BA) course (across all three years), 40 trainees undertaking the two-year, part-time BA programme and 110 on the postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) course. In addition, 131 full-time PGCE trainees were following the School Direct route; working in collaboration with 12 school alliance clusters.

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Context

Inspectors visited four partnership schools. They observed parts of lessons taught by six trainees and four NQTs. Inspectors also held a discussion with three trainees who were following the School Direct route. Meetings were held with the trainees, NQTs, school-based tutors and headteachers in the four partnership schools visited and, at the university, with senior leaders and those responsible for leading and delivering behaviour training. Inspectors reviewed a range of documents including Ofsted Picadilly Gate Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566862 Direct email :rcowley@cfbt.com Page 2 improvement plans, impact studies and trainees’ files. One inspector observed a training session relating to behaviour management that was being held in one of the partnership schools for NQTs and the wider staff. They also considered a range of

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Context

lecture notes and slide presentations from across the different programmes to evaluate the range and quality of behaviour training over time.

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Outcomes for trainees

Trainees and NQTs manage behaviour effectively so that they maintain a productive learning environment, promote good attitudes to learning and ensure their pupils make at least good progress. Those observed demonstrated a raft of skills and strategies to reinforce high expectations of behaviour and maintain good discipline. These were carefully chosen to match the age and needs of the pupils and to complement the policies already embedded in practice by their placement school. In all instances, trainees and NQTs had good relationships with their pupils, clearly built upon mutual respect. The consistent promotion of positive behaviour management principles was strong. Inspectors observed, for example, frequent praise for those pupils who were demonstrating the expected behaviours; the implementation of reward systems to motivate pupils to adhere to the rules; and, the constant verbalisation of the good behaviours that trainees and NQTs wanted to see so that

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Outcomes for trainees

pupils understood precisely what was expected of them.

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Outcomes for trainees

A significant strength of all those observed was the promotion of positive learning behaviours so that pupils developed healthy attitudes to their work and an optimistic mind-set towards their learning. For example, one trainee consistently reinforced that they were just as interested in how much effort pupils put into their work as they were in how well they achieved. Pupils understood that is is alright to make mistakes because this was part of the learning process. As a result, a productive working atmosphere was created and low level disruption was minimal; all pupils gave of their best and readily attempted challenging work.

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Outcomes for trainees

Trainees and NQTs expressed that, while trained in how to deal with more complex or extreme physical behaviours, such as de-escalation strategies, they were less confident in handling these situations because they had not had as much opportunity to experience these incidents themselves. However, all realised that the priority had rightly been to ensure they could effectively manage the routine, everyday behaviours of their class and see the link between maintaining good behaviour and ensuring high quality teaching and learning.

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The quality of training across the partnership

The quality of behaviour training is a strength of the partnership. Trainees particularly appreciate the expertise of their lecturers who draw upon scenarios from their own broad range of past experiences to show the relevance of different behaviour management strategies to the classroom. Centre-based training covers Page 3 many facets of behaviour management: the social and emotional triggers of poor behaviour; the modelling of positive learning behaviours as adults; as well as the promotion of tolerance and respect to reduce inequality and the potential for prejudice-based bullying. Leaders are constantly reviewing their training programme so that trainees receive the most up-to-date thinking and guidance about managing behaviour. Recent reviews have highlighted the need to embed the taught content more consistently within lectures for other subject areas. For example, science, design technology and physical education lectures now reinforce the specific learning

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The quality of training across the partnership

from the discrete behaviour modules, to provide further examples of the value and relevance of the various approaches in different contexts.

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The quality of training across the partnership

Trainees value the opportunities to apply their learning from centre-based training in a range of school placements. School placement officers work hard to ensure all trainees receive a range of contrasting placements so that there are opportunities to work in different school contexts and with different age groups. However, not all trainees understand the rationale that lies behind the choice of their placements; consequently, they are not always able to capitalise on the opportunities these schools afford to fully hone their behaviour management skills in a range of situations.

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The quality of training across the partnership

Senior leaders seek regular feedback from trainees and NQTs about the quality of their training. Analyses from mid- and end-of-module evaluations reveal that of the very large majority of trainees responding to the partnership’s own survey at the end of their course, 87% believe their training in managing behaviour was ‘very good’ or ‘good’. Many positive testimonials are also received from employing and partnership headteachers, who equally believe that trainees are well equipped to deal with classroom behaviour. These figures are in stark contrast to the NQT survey data published by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) which over time have revealed NQTs’ perceptions to be below the sector norm. While the 34 responses returned in 2014 equate to only 4% of the total number of trainees completing their course, leaders are aware that more needs to be done to ensure perceptions of training and levels of confidence are as strong as the competencies

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The quality of training across the partnership

demonstrated by trainees’ in the classroom.

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The quality of leadership and management of the ITE partnership

Leaders utilise a range of effective systems to track the achievements of their trainees, ensure parity between different courses and target intervention and guidance to those who need it most. For example, the renewed data tracking system, updated in September 2014, is allowing staff to analyse trainee outcomes in each of the Teachers’ Standards throughout their course. Those that are not yet good at promoting good behaviour are quickly targeted for extra training or a supplementary placement to get them back on track. Impact data shows that this approach is increasingly successful; nearly all trainees attending the last round of Page 4 intervention sessions are now reaching a higher standard of behaviour management during their subsequent assessed placements.

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The quality of leadership and management of the ITE partnership

Leaders are responsive to trainee and NQT feedback. Innovative plans are already in place to initiate an NQT contract at the end of this academic year; the university and each trainee entering into an agreement to acknowledge the continuation of their partnership working throughout the crucial first year of teaching. This supplements the programme of continuous professional development already being delivered to NQTs and the wider staff in partnership schools. An annual conference and regular ‘teach meet’ sessions, where NQTs can gather to share experiences and learn from each other, also contribute to the package of continued support available for NQTs once they have graduated. Leaders await the outcomes from the next series of internal and external surveys to demonstrate the full impact of this work.

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The quality of leadership and management of the ITE partnership

I hope that you have found the inspection helpful in promoting improvement in your ITE partnership. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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