Teach East ITE Partnership

Teach East ITE Partnership Initial teacher education inspection report Inspection dates Re-inspection: 8–11 May 2017

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This inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one Ofsted Inspector 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 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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This is a re-inspection of primary/secondary provision, following the previous inspection in 2016 that judged it to require improvement. The re-inspection was conducted as a one-stage process.

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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 2 The quality of training across the partnership 2 The quality of leadership and management across the partnership ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017

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Information about the partnership

 Teach East is a partnership of 29 schools located in and around Peterborough. Teach East provides school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) for 19 trainees to teach in the 5–11 age range and 10 trainees to teach in the 11–16 age range. Teach East offers general training in the primary phase. In the secondary phase, it currently provides training in English, mathematics and science.  The partnership offers school-based training routes for School Direct and School Direct (salaried) trainees. Trainees on both routes are trained together and the courses share the same leaders and managers.  Teach East offers the postgraduate certificate in advanced educational practice (PGCert) in partnership with the University College Institute of Education, London.  The work of the SCITT is overseen by the partnership’s executive committee, which includes five headteachers drawn from partner primary and secondary

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Information about the partnership

schools.  Since March 2016, the partnership has been led and managed by five co- directors, drawn from partner primary and secondary schools. One co-director is the nominated leader of Teach East.  The partnership offers day-long weekly central training sessions throughout the year. These consist of general professional training as well as phase- and subject- specific training sessions. The majority of sessions take place in a recently developed training centre at Arthur Mellows Village College. A small proportion of sessions are provided at other partnership schools.

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Information about the ITE inspection

 Inspectors observed the teaching of 12 trainees in seven schools. They also met with mentors, headteachers, course directors and members of the partnership executive group.  Inspectors scrutinised trainees’ files, course handbooks, development plans, information on progress, completion rates and employment rates of trainees, and evidence of the partnership’s improvement planning.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentary evidence, including information on recruitment and selection, statutory safeguarding arrangements and compliance with the initial teacher training criteria.  Inspectors scrutinised tracking, assessments and summary reports, records of trainees’ teaching, and evidence of how well trainees’ teaching meets the teachers’ standards.

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Inspection team

Adrian Lyons Her Majesty’s Inspector lead inspector Andrew Mayer Ofsted Inspector assistant lead inspector ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017

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The key strengths of the partnership are:

 Leaders’ prompt and effective action has transformed the areas of the partnership’s work that were identified as requiring improvement in the previous inspection.  Trainees are highly successful in gaining employment in local schools, which is making a strong contribution to the supply of effective teachers in the Peterborough area.  The range of high-quality and contrasting training experiences gives trainees an effective introduction to the role of the teacher. Encouraged by well-trained mentors, trainees develop the skills necessary to become effective, resilient and reflective teachers.  The development of trainees’ subject knowledge gives confidence to their teaching and earns the respect of pupils. Working relationships between trainees and pupils are effective.  Well-designed second school placements effectively broaden the trainees’ experience of teaching in a range of contexts and socio-economic circumstances.

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The key strengths of the partnership are:

 High levels of effective quality assurance ensure that trainees receive at least good training. The communication between the partnership and staff in placement schools strongly supports trainees’ progress and pastoral care.  Trainees effectively manage other adults on their placements, especially in primary schools.

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The partnership should:

 check that the recently implemented systems for ensuring high-quality training and communication are sufficiently robust to facilitate further growth  improve the central tracking system so that trainees’ progress and attainment can be checked easily  ensure that second-setting mentors are always provided with information about their trainees so that timely support can be provided from the start of the trainees’ placement  structure the informal opportunities that trainees have to observe and team teach with experienced practitioners to ensure that their learning is continually developed. ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017

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Inspection judgements

1. The improvements, begun in spring 2016, have continued strongly. Leaders have significantly developed the quality of training so that it is resulting in better outcomes for all groups of trainees. The partnership’s co-directors have built on their accurate understanding of what needed to be done. They have used their complementary skills and knowledge to very good effect. They have, in a short period of time, brought about urgent improvements that have transformed the quality of training across the partnership.

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Inspection judgements

2. The leadership and management of the partnership is very effective. The pursuit of excellence is now central to the partnership’s activities. Trainees and training staff in partner schools are very positive about the management of the SCITT and its efficiency. Leaders have a very good overview of the programme and a track record of taking decisive and effective action to improve the programme over the last 12 months. This demonstrates a strong capacity to improve further.

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Inspection judgements

3. Evidence from current trainees and school-based trainers confirms the improvements claimed by leaders. These improvements are new and work well because the relatively small numbers of trainees and schools involved in the partnership enable trainees to be known really well by leaders. Leaders agree that systems are not yet sufficiently well developed to ensure that all the current strengths could be maintained if the number of trainees were to grow dramatically too soon.

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Inspection judgements

4. Leaders and managers are able to base their actions on a deep and accurate understanding of local and regional needs because of the effective partnership that now exists with local schools. Communication between the centre staff and school staff is very effective. A weekly newsletter informs mentors and school managers of the content of central training. School-based tasks are provided to ensure that the theory delivered in training is converted into practice by trainees.

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Inspection judgements

5. Outcomes for trainees across the partnership are good. All trainees who complete the course are judged to be exceeding the teachers’ standards. All trainees are on track to be at least good by the end of their training, with around one third being on track to be outstanding.

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Inspection judgements

6. For the last two years, all trainees completing the partnership’s programme have found jobs, with the vast majority teaching in local schools. Of the current trainees, nearly all have already secured employment in local schools for the next academic year. The majority of trainees begin their teaching career in one of the two schools in which they have undertaken their training.

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Inspection judgements

7. Leaders and managers have successfully built on the systems and processes in place at the time of the previous inspection. Revised guidance for trainees and schools is enabling all partners to know what is expected of them. Across the partnership, the progress of trainees’ teaching is tracked and checked through a new ‘standards tracker’. When working as intended, this is a very powerful tool, but its use is made less effective because of the difficulties being experienced ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017 with its implementation. Sometimes schools and trainees experience frustration with the technology and it is not always easy for them to use the system to submit the required work electronically.

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Inspection judgements

8. Trainees have weekly contact with course co-directors. Through this, their progress is monitored and any pastoral issues are addressed. Trainees are known exceptionally well by partnership leaders and are highly appreciative of the approachability and availability of the leaders. As a result of this new approach to pastoral support, the overwhelming majority of trainees complete their course, and retention rates have improved to be in line with those achieved by similar providers nationally.

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Inspection judgements

9. The recruitment and selection process is now far more rigorous. Leaders aim to select trainees with the ability, skills and resilience necessary for success. For example, as part of the new selection process, potential trainees complete a written exercise, have a structured interview and are observed teaching a small class. This is a new development for trainees recruited for the next academic year. One applicant told inspectors that they found the process challenging. Leaders demonstrated through their current recruitment statistics that they are now being highly selective in admitting potential trainees to the programme. In the past, recruitment processes have been less rigorous. As a result, some trainees began the programme with greater training needs than the current leaders would have wished.

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Inspection judgements

10. By the time trainees reach the summer term, their teaching demonstrates strong subject knowledge and great enthusiasm for their subject. This leads to very confident performance in the classroom. Due to the effective training they receive, trainees are confident in promoting equal opportunities and in incorporating the development of literacy in their subject teaching. Trainees are confident in evaluating their teaching in terms of its impact on pupils’ progress. They are acutely aware of the need to assess pupils’ learning over a period of time and use assessment information well to do this.

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Inspection judgements

11. Trainees are very confident in ensuring good behaviour. They are adept at establishing highly effective professional relationships very quickly. This results from the very successful and popular training they receive from a recognised expert. The online questionnaire completed by trainees was very positive about all aspects of their training and exceptionally so regarding the training they are given regarding behaviour management.

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Inspection judgements

12. Trainees are very reflective and demonstrate a hunger for advice on how to improve. Trainees’ professional conduct is invariably excellent. Their training prepares them well for participation in the wider life of the school, such as understanding the role of the form tutor.

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Inspection judgements

13. Trainees are proactive in seeking out opportunities to observe good practice in their placement schools. This is often facilitated by school-based trainers. Expectations of how much observation and team teaching trainees should ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017 participate in are not clearly set out by the partnership. This results in some variability in trainees’ experience.

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Inspection judgements

14. Trainees have good opportunities to experience a range of different types of school. Their contrasting experiences are well planned, taking note of factors such as academic outcomes in schools and proportions of pupils who speak English as an additional language. Although the partnership operates in a small geographical area, the partnership is able to draw on a large range of socio- economic contexts between different schools. In addition to the two main placements, trainees have experience in special schools and pupil referral units, as well as in the key stage above and below that for which they are being trained. As a result, trainees are well prepared to teach in a range of educational settings, including those in challenging circumstances.

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Inspection judgements

15. An area for improvement at the previous inspection was ensuring the effectiveness for all trainees of the second school experience. This is now an area of strength. Trainees describe the experience as ‘eye-opening’ and comment very positively on how valuable the experience is. Quality assurance visits and the timing of the seven-week placement in the second school add to the quality of the experience. Some mentors questioned whether the transitions between placements are planned effectively. Leaders accept that information from the previous school experience could be used better to plan for the move to the next. Support for the transition, from the training programme to the newly qualified teachers (NQT) year, is now being developed by partnership leaders.

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Inspection judgements

16. Both salaried and non-salaried trainees enjoy the same training experience and the same opportunities to visit different schools. Salaried trainees have prior experience as teaching assistants and are expected to take on a greater teaching load more quickly than their non-salaried colleagues.

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Inspection judgements

17. Trainees are well prepared to support the progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who are disadvantaged, and to provide challenge for the most able pupils. For example, trainees were adept at targeting questions so that focused questions were aimed at some pupils, while more evaluative questions were aimed at the most able pupils. Sometimes this questioning developed empathy well, such as in a science lesson about joints in the human body where pupils were asked to put themselves in the place of an older person suffering from arthritis and consider the impact of this on their life. There is effective training for supporting pupils who speak English as an additional language. Especially, though not exclusively, in primary schools, trainees effectively manage the work of other adults such as teaching assistants.

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Inspection judgements

18. Primary trainees teach English and mathematics confidently, and through the online questionnaire were positive about being prepared well to teach these core subjects. Although central training to teach primary physical education has not yet been completed, trainees have used opportunities to develop their skills in their schools and report that they are confident in this. At the time of the inspection, trainees had just received central training on teaching music. They ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017 told inspectors that this was valuable. Primary trainees are confident in teaching phonics. The written assignment for secondary trainees across all subjects on ‘how children learn to read’ is not universally popular, but emphasises the need for all trainees to develop pupils’ literacy across the curriculum.

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Inspection judgements

19. Trainees have a good knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities under the government’s anti-radicalisation ‘Prevent’ duties. They are clear about how to promote fundamental British values positively through their teaching. They understand their responsibilities to keep pupils safe and know how to fulfil their professional responsibilities related to this.

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Inspection judgements

20. Centrally based training successfully aims to develop the full potential of trainees. It is well planned and well regarded by current trainees. The enthusiasm of the trainers effectively motivates trainees. The NQTs from the partnership have expressed envy at the central training this year. Trainees value the fact that training is delivered by serving practitioners, making it relevant to them. Training is flexible and responsive to the emerging needs of trainees as a group.

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Inspection judgements

21. Subject-specific central training has been enhanced for current trainees in response to feedback from last year’s trainees and from inspectors. Training makes use of effective teachers nominated by partnership schools. However, there is no check on the coherence of the subject training or the subject knowledge of trainees. Leaders accept that, because of this, training does not necessarily use the most up-to-date research about particular subjects or instil in trainees an appreciation of keeping up to date, for example through membership of subject associations.

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Inspection judgements

22. School-based training is the key feature leading to trainees’ success. Trainees report that they are well supported with regular and protected time for their mentors. The quality of mentoring is now remarkably consistent. The partnership has worked hard to ensure that mentors and trainees understand the requirement to use clear and realistic targets. Targets are set following weekly lesson observations and reviewed in mentor meetings. Mentors’ debriefing of trainees’ lessons is highly developmental and characterised by probing questions, resulting in improvement points being identified by the trainee. Mentors value the training they have received for their role, for example observing a video of a lesson which has helped them to agree on the assessment of trainees.

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Inspection judgements

23. The partnership has taken effective steps to improve the accuracy of assessment. Trainees are assessed against each subset of the teachers’ standards, and records show their current attainment. At times, this errs on the side of caution and is not helped by a recording system which some mentors and trainees find difficult to use, so information on grading is not always up to date. Inspectors agreed the partnership’s assessment in all cases, except where the partnership’s current assessments of trainees are a little overcautious. Benchmarking assessments with those of other SCITTs is developing. ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017 24. Quality assurance arrangements are very effective and multilayered. Training for trainers and mentors aims to achieve consistently high standards across the partnership and to develop mentors as coaches and facilitators of trainees’ development. Within schools, the work of mentors is monitored well by

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Inspection judgements

professional tutors or headteachers. There are termly visits from partnership leaders to monitor the quality of the trainees’ experience, to moderate the judgements of mentors through joint observation and to check that placement schools are meeting the requirements of the partnership agreement. Further external analysis from outside the partnership has been put in place for the end of the course. The co-directors are held to account by the executive. This comprises local headteachers and representatives of the local authority. It provides effective challenge and support.

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Inspection judgements

25. Appropriate safeguarding arrangements are in place. Trainees’ qualifications and their suitability to work with pupils are checked and recorded. The partnership fully complies with regulations regarding the recruitment of trainees. ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017

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Annex: Partnership schools

The following schools were visited to observe trainees’ teaching:

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Annex: Partnership schools

William Law Church of England Primary School, Peterborough Hampton Hargate Primary School, Peterborough Fulbridge Academy, Peterborough Hampton Vale Primary School, Peterborough Nene Park Academy, Peterborough Jack Hunt School, Peterborough Arthur Mellows Village College, Peterborough

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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 Stage 1 Stage 2 Previous inspection report

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ITE partnership details

Provider address 8–11 May 2017 Adrian Lyons, Her Majesty’s Inspector SCITT Primary and secondary 13–15 June 2016 28–30 November 2016 https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection- reports/find-inspection- report/provider/ELS/70289 Teach East SCITT Arthur Mellows Village College Glinton Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE6 7JX ITE inspection report: Teach East SCITT ITE Partnership May 2017 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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