Wildern Partnership SCITT

Wildern Partnership SCITT Initial teacher education inspection report Inspection dates Stage 1: 20 June 2016 Stage 2: 14 November 2016

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This inspection was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors, in accordance with the ‘Initial teacher education inspection handbook’. This handbook sets out the statutory basis and framework for initial teacher education (ITE) inspections in England from September 2015.

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The inspection draws on 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

Primary and Secondary QTS Overall effectiveness How well does the partnership secure consistently high quality outcomes for trainees? The outcomes for trainees 1 The quality of training across the partnership The quality of leadership and management across the partnership ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016

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Information about this ITE partnership

 Wildern Partnership school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) ITE Partnership provides primary and secondary training for graduates. The SCITT offers three training routes: School Direct, School Direct (salaried) and self-funded. Trainees who successfully complete their training are recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS) and almost all achieve a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE).  The SCITT has provided ITE since September 2014. This is the first inspection of this ITE partnership.  There are 30 primary and secondary schools in the partnership. They are situated in the local authorities of Southampton and Hampshire. The partnership has strong links with the University of Chichester.  During stage 1 of the inspection, of the 27 trainees who began the year, 23 trainees were undertaking their final teaching practice. There were 14 secondary trainees. Five were on the School Direct (salaried) route and the

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Information about this ITE partnership

remaining nine were School Direct. All nine primary trainees were self- funded.  In 2016/2017, there are 30 trainees. Six are primary trainees and self- funded. Of the secondary trainees, eight are following the School Direct (salaried) route, three are School Direct and the remaining 13 are self- funded.  In 2015/2016, secondary trainees specialised in one of English, mathematics, chemistry, physics, history, art and design, computing or modern foreign languages. In 2016/2017, geography and biology were offered in addition to these subjects. Primary trainees are trained to teach five to 11 years and secondary trainees 11 to 16 years.

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Information about the primary and secondary ITE inspection

 At stage 1, inspectors visited six schools, all of which were partnership schools. Inspectors observed seven lessons jointly with school-based mentors. While in schools, inspectors reviewed trainees’ files of evidence and held discussions with headteachers, individual trainees, mentors and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from 2014/2015.  Meetings were held with programme leaders, the quality assurance committee, primary and secondary tutors, professional mentors and the executive board.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the partnership’s self-evaluation and improvement plan, recruitment and selection procedures, assessment information against which trainees’ progress is ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 tracked, trainees’ academic assignments, trainees’ development targets, evidence of feedback from partnership school headteachers, trainees and mentors, as well as evidence of meeting the statutory ITE criteria.

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Information about the primary and secondary ITE inspection

 Inspectors took account of 10 responses to the trainee online questionnaire.  At stage 2, inspectors visited six schools, half of which were partnership schools. Six NQTs were observed, one of whom had been seen at stage 1. Discussions were held with headteachers, NQT mentors and NQTs.  Inspectors reviewed the partnership’s own surveys of stakeholders’ views, including those of employing schools, NQTs and trainees.  Inspectors met with headteachers, trainees for the current year, programme leaders and the quality assurance committee. They reviewed documentation to support trainees’ transition to employment as NQTs. Updated documentation from stage 1 was also evaluated.

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Inspection team

Louise Adams HMI (lead inspector) Sarah Hubbard HMI (assistant lead inspector)

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The key strengths of the primary and secondary partnership are:

 the shared vision for excellence across the partnership, which focuses sharply on the needs of trainees, pupils and schools  the schools’ commitment to, and benefit from, their participation in all aspects of the training. Headteachers say the high-quality trainees they employ as teachers are an asset to their schools. Other school staff benefit from the high-quality training and excellent professional development opportunities offered by the partnership  the very rigorous quality assurance of all aspects of the training, which leads to sharply focused actions for improvement. No stone is left unturned, so all elements of training, support and assessment are continuously reviewed and improved to ensure that trainees receive the best possible provision  the employment rates for trainees, almost all of whom work in local schools. To date, all trainees who have completed their training since the partnership started are still in employment

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The key strengths of the primary and secondary partnership are:

 the leaders’ use of the strengths of partnership schools. For example, schools with a large percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language lead training on, and provide experience of, meeting these pupils’ needs ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016  the individual care and support for each trainee, making amendments to the training when required. For example, through ongoing assessment and tutor meetings, gaps in knowledge and experience are identified and supplemented when required  the rigorous recruitment processes, which result in the selection of high- quality trainees who demonstrate professionalism, enthusiasm, commitment and determination to be the best they can be  the pre-training invitations, support and activities, which ensure that trainees feel involved and hit the ground running when they formally begin their training at the start of the academic year.

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The partnership should:

 continue to improve completion rates through further analysis of trends over time  enable trainees to understand more fully the complexities of why some pupils are considered to be disadvantaged and how the pupil premium might help meet their needs.

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Inspection judgements

1. The overall effectiveness of Wildern Partnership SCITT for primary and secondary trainees is outstanding. Leaders’ vision for trainees to become excellent teachers who are lifelong learners, reflective practitioners and critical thinkers is fulfilled extremely well. Consequently, trainees become very effective NQTs, who evaluate well what they are doing and seek ways to become even better. Trainees and NQTs are consistently very reflective and responsive to feedback. They are whole-heartedly committed to teaching and want to be the very best teachers they can be.

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Inspection judgements

2. High-quality training is provided by current practitioners from partnership schools. This reflects the very strong relationships and mutual respect between the SCITT and partnership schools. Headteachers recognise and appreciate the good development opportunities for their own staff, both in terms of the training provided by the SCITT and the professional development involved in delivering sessions for trainees. This approach to training enables course leaders to select the best possible trainers from across the partnership and be very responsive when further training needs are identified. The excellent training enables trainees to develop their practice rapidly.

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Inspection judgements

3. Rigorous and carefully planned recruitment processes ensure that trainees demonstrate the commitment and skills to be effective teachers and have the essential resilience to meet the needs of the role. When making selections, ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 leaders place a high priority on enthusiasm, professionalism and strong interpersonal skills. Consequently, trainees and NQTs are very motivated and positive, fitting into their schools seamlessly as part of staff teams. Local headteachers describe them as being ‘a breath of fresh air’ and say they often bring a new energy to teachers who have been in post for longer periods of time.

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Inspection judgements

4. The training meets the needs of local schools very well because NQTs demonstrate excellent skills and understand what they need to do for their pupils to be successful. All trainees who completed their training in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 are employed and almost all work in local schools. Many remain teaching in the school in which they were trained. In 2014/2015, five of the 30 trainees did not complete their training for a variety of reasons related to health and family situations. In 2015/2016, completion rates improved. Only one trainee did not complete the training, but three of the remaining 26 trainees deferred, also due to health and family issues. All three intend to complete their training this academic year. Leaders analyse each individual situation to identify any ways in which they can prevent a recurrence, but do not yet have sufficient information to identify trends over time. The partnership is very responsive

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Inspection judgements

when trainees encounter difficulties, providing all necessary support to enable them to stay on track if possible.

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Inspection judgements

5. The initial resilience trainees demonstrate at interview is developed further through innovative training. Last year, the majority of trainees found it invaluable in helping them to develop strategies to manage the challenges of the role. However, a few fed back that it did not meet their needs well because their resilience was already high. Consequently, leaders reviewed the training content and structure, so the timing is more appropriate and it can now be adapted to meet trainees’ differing needs. Although it is early in the revised training for 2016/2017, trainees talk positively about how this is helping them to develop useful skills to manage a range of difficult situations, including stress, workload and colleague relationships. All NQTs and recently qualified teachers are employed as teachers, indicating that leaders select the right applicants and provide excellent support to enable them to cope with the role

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Inspection judgements

once they have completed their training.

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Inspection judgements

6. Leaders know their trainees extremely well, both in terms of their teaching strengths and weaknesses, and their personal situations. Leaders do all they can to meet the needs of individual trainees, whether it be providing additional training or offering coaching conversations to help trainees make decisions about which direction their career should take. Trainees and NQTs were unanimous in their praise and appreciation for the support they receive from the course leaders.

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Inspection judgements

7. Leaders are very aware of, and responsive to, changes in school situations, whether leadership, mentoring or overall effectiveness. Training and ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 placements usually take place in good or outstanding schools. Where a school is not, or is experiencing long- or short-term challenges, the partnership considers carefully whether the trainee’s needs are likely to be met and puts in place additional support if required. School placements for self-funded trainees are considered very carefully to ensure that the school and mentor provide the best possible support. Where, occasionally, this does not work out as well as hoped, the partnership takes swift and appropriate action to remedy the situation. This has led to the ‘deselection’ of schools and mentors when required. Feedback from trainees and NQTs confirmed that almost all placements supported their development very well and those that did not were

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Inspection judgements

8. Very effective links with the University of Chichester provide excellent opportunities for, and access to, research and qualifications. Academic assignments are carefully designed in collaboration with the university to enable trainees to select areas of research which are relevant and useful for their personal and professional development as teachers. Trainees very much appreciate the opportunity to explore subjects which are of interest to them and the impact of their learning is evident in their classroom practice. Previously, trainees have undertaken the professional certificate of education. This year the university has supported the partnership’s decision to upgrade to masters credits, recognising trainees’ high-quality work and leaders’ determination to raise standards even further.

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Inspection judgements

9. Very well-planned and carefully moderated academic assignments, combined with highly effective subject-specific training, ensure that primary and secondary trainees develop excellent subject knowledge. Primary trainees say there are no areas of the curriculum they do not have confidence in teaching and mentors confirm that this is the case. This includes teaching phonics, early mathematics and physical education, in which trainees and NQTs demonstrate high-quality teaching skills. Secondary subject tutors provide high-quality training so that trainees develop excellent subject knowledge and deliver high- quality lessons. Trainees speak very positively about the relevance and effectiveness of their training, so that they are well equipped to teach their chosen subjects. This training is supported very effectively by subject-specific mentors from across the partnership.

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Inspection judgements

10. The way in which quality assurance is woven through all areas of training and programme design is a particular strength of the partnership. The dedicated quality assurance committee ensures that each aspect is reviewed at least annually. Leaders are extremely reflective and proactive in seeking feedback. They use verbal and electronic feedback very effectively to swiftly identify where improvements can be made, consulting all relevant groups before making changes. Leaders plan strategically and identify the right priorities for improvement, which they share with stakeholders. Agreed amendments are implemented efficiently and systematically. Consequently, this very effective ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 programme is continuously being tweaked to meet the needs of each specific cohort and being improved further over time.

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Inspection judgements

11. Very rigorous safeguarding training ensures that trainees and NQTs have a full understanding of their responsibilities and statutory requirements. Over the year, they develop an increasing understanding of what factors can cause pupils to be vulnerable, such as financial disadvantage, special educational needs and/or disabilities and changes in home circumstances. Trainees recognise many of the ways in which these impact on pupils’ learning and develop their skills in meeting a range of needs. However, there was some confusion from trainees as to how pupil premium funding might enable them to meet pupils’ needs more fully, for example in relation to service children.

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Inspection judgements

12. The programme is very well designed to support trainees’ teaching skills and expertise. Weekly training sessions feed directly into school-based tasks, which require trainees to put theory into practice. Each session is reviewed by trainees, resulting in feedback which highlights to tutors and leaders the strengths and weaknesses of the sessions, so that immediate improvements can be made. Trainees and NQTs appreciate the opportunities to utilise the training immediately and improve their skills week on week. The course is designed very well to utilise links between centre- and school-based training and academic tasks, so that they complement each other, linking theory and practice.

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Inspection judgements

13. Trainees and NQTs demonstrate high-quality skills in planning appropriate, interesting and well-structured lessons which motivate pupils to learn. They use assessment effectively to identify what pupils have learned in each lesson and use that information well to adapt the planning for future lessons. They recognise their responsibility for ensuring that pupils make progress and consistently adjust their teaching well to take account of pupils’ different starting points and the ways in which they learn best. Lesson time is used well and teachers check how well pupils are learning during lessons, making adjustments to activities when required. The most effective trainees and NQTs, who were assessed as outstanding, tend to do this more precisely than those who were assessed as good.

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Inspection judgements

14. Trainees develop very effective skills in managing behaviour. They explore how pupils behave and what this tells them about how pupils feel or what they experience. Trainees also consider how their own actions and behaviours have an effect on the class and on individuals. This knowledge and their skills are developed over the year so that, as NQTs, they demonstrate very strong skills in managing pupils’ behaviour. Several headteachers and mentors commented on the very positive, specific relationships NQTs have developed with pupils who demonstrate more challenging behaviours. ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 15. Trainees’ teaching over time is good and some is outstanding. Trainees are very responsive to feedback and use it well to improve their practice. There is an appropriately sharp focus on the teachers’ standards, which are referred to in all mentor and tutor meetings. Leaders’ high priority on the quality of

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Inspection judgements

mentoring and tutoring provided ensures that trainees are supported well through useful feedback and targets. Slight variability in the quality of targets was identified at stage 1 and this has now been rectified. All mentors who work in schools attend training to enable them to offer high-quality support and development to trainees. The training provided for class and professional mentors is highly valued and considered to be of very good quality. Leaders and managers carry out joint lesson observations and have follow-up meetings with trainees to check the quality of mentoring and ensure that the high standards they seek are echoed in school. Programme tutors are similarly well developed to provide high-quality feedback and support. Consequently, mentoring and tutoring enable trainees to develop their skills very well over time.

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Inspection judgements

16. NQTs are supported very well through the transition from trainee to teacher. The transition documentation is of particularly high quality. Headteachers commented that it was the best they had seen, giving the full picture of how each trainee had developed over time and their current priorities for their continuing professional development. All agreed that the information was accurate and very useful. Course leaders maintain close contact with NQTs so that all feel well supported and confident that, should they encounter problems, they can speak to tutors, leaders and managers from their training partnership.

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Inspection judgements

17. The partnership complies fully with the criteria for initial teacher training and meets the statutory requirements for promoting equality and diversity, eliminating discrimination and for safeguarding. The partnership ensures that the ITT criteria, which apply to School Direct (salaried) trainees, are also met.

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Annex: Partnership schools

The following schools were visited to observe trainees’ and newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs’) teaching:

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Annex: Partnership schools

Bartley Church of England Junior, Southampton Berrywood Primary, Southampton Bitterne Park, Southampton Botley Church of England Primary, Southampton The Connaught School, Aldershot The Hamble School, Southampton Knightwood Primary, Eastleigh Merdon Junior, Eastleigh ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 Mount Pleasant Junior, Southampton Upper Shirley High School, Southampton Wildern School, Southampton Wyvern College, Eastleigh ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016

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ITE partnership details

Unique reference number Inspection number Inspection dates Stage 1 Stage 2 Lead inspector Type of ITE partnership Phases provided Date of previous inspection Provider address 20–22 June 2016 14–16 November 2016 Louise Adams HMI SCITT Primary and secondary Not previously inspected Wildern School Wildern Lane Hedge End Southampton SO30 4EJ ITE inspection report: Wildern SCITT November 2016 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding

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ITE partnership details

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ITE partnership details

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ITE partnership details

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