Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT Partnership

Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT Partnership Initial teacher education inspection report Inspection dates Stage 1: 3 July 2017 Stage 2: 4 December 2017

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This inspection was carried out by one of 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 within the ITE partnership to make judgements against all parts of the evaluation schedule. The inspector 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 2 The quality of training across the partnership The quality of leadership and management across the partnership ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017

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Information about the primary partnership

 Chepping View Primary Academy school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) offers training in the primary phase (five to 11 years). Trainees who successfully complete their training are recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS) and have the option to gain a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) awarded by Oxford Brookes University.  The SCITT has provided initial teacher education (ITE) since September 2015. This is the first inspection of the SCITT. The lead school is Chepping View Primary Academy in High Wycombe, which previously provided primary School Direct training in conjunction with Oxford Brookes University.  When the SCITT was established, 15 schools were in the partnership. There are now 25 partner schools in Buckinghamshire. Some of the schools are in challenging socio-economic circumstances.

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Information about the primary partnership

 At stage 1 of the inspection, all trainees were on the School Direct fee- paying route. At stage 2 there were 18 trainees; eight on the School Direct (salaried) route and 10 on the School Direct (tuition fee) route. From September 2017, the partnership offers a mathematics specialism pathway into primary teaching. Currently there are 17 trainees on the five to 11 years general primary course and one on the five to 11 years general primary with mathematics route.  The strategic board oversees the work of the SCITT. Partnership leaders and headteachers from partnership schools are members of the strategic board.

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Information about the primary ITE inspection

 This inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors. At stage 1, she visited three schools and undertook joint observations with teacher tutors of four trainees teaching. The inspector observed teacher tutors providing feedback to trainees.  Her Majesty’s Inspector also talked with trainees and looked at evidence in their files and e-portfolios to evaluate how well they met each of the teachers’ standards. During the visits to schools, the inspector held meetings with teacher tutors, school-based mentors, headteachers and deputy headteachers. At the SCITT centre, the inspector had discussions with the programme leader and assistant leader; a group of trainees; a group of partnership headteachers; teacher trainers and centre-based ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017 trainers; quality assurance mentors; a group of teacher tutors and school- based mentors; and members of the strategic board.

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Information about the primary ITE inspection

 The inspector reviewed the partnership’s self-evaluation and improvement planning documents; recruitment and selection procedures; trainee tracking and assessment documentation; the partnership agreement; external examiner reports and the content of the training programmes. The inspector also checked the partnership’s compliance with statutory requirements, including safeguarding, and the initial teacher training criteria.  At stage 2, the inspector visited three schools and, with their NQT mentors, observed five newly qualified teachers (NQTs). Discussions were held with headteachers and NQT mentors. The inspector considered the NQTs’ transition targets and had discussions with the NQTs about their training and transition into the teaching profession. The inspector had a discussion with one trainee from the 2017/18 cohort.  At the centre, discussions were held with the SCITT leadership team; members of the strategic board; partnership headteachers; quality

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Information about the primary ITE inspection

assurance mentors; a group of NQTs; a group of teacher tutors and school- based mentors from schools; and a group of current trainees. The inspector had a telephone conversation with one headteacher who has appointed an NQT and whose school is joining the partnership. The inspector also had a telephone conversation with an NQT mentor who supports an NQT employed in a school in another part of the country.

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Information about the primary ITE inspection

 The inspector took into account the 15 responses from Ofsted’s online survey of trainee teachers, which trainees completed in 2017.

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Inspection team

Ann Henderson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (lead inspector)

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Key strengths of the primary partnership

 All trainees completing their training successfully secure employment in teaching at the end of their training. The proportion of trainees who complete their training is above the sector average.  The partnership is well regarded in the local area and is making a strong contribution to meeting local recruitment needs.  Trainees demonstrate high standards of personal and professional conduct. They have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep pupils safe. ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017  Trainees are reflective practitioners. They readily act upon advice to improve their teaching to ensure that pupils make good progress over time.  The well-planned, centre-based training provides trainees with a strong understanding of the primary curriculum. There are good opportunities for trainees to work in contrasting schools in a range of socio-economic circumstances.

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Key strengths of the primary partnership

 Communication across the partnership is of high quality. Partnership leaders ensure that trainees and school leaders are provided with timely guidance and support. Academic and pastoral support for trainees is very effective.  Leaders are passionate about providing high-quality training and support for trainees. Their positive response to stage 1 of the inspection has resulted in significant improvements. Quality assurance procedures are effective. This demonstrates a good capacity for further improvement.

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The partnership should:

 strengthen outcomes further by embedding new systems to validate trainees’ attainment and to identify and take action where concerns arise  continue to monitor the quality and consistency of teacher tutor and school- based mentor support so that all trainees benefit from the high standards of support experienced by most.

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Inspection judgements

1. The overall effectiveness of the Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT is good. Trainees and NQTs are overwhelmingly positive about the effective training they receive, which makes a strong contribution to their good and sometimes outstanding outcomes. The coherent and well-planned, centre- based training programme provides a combination of opportunities for trainees to develop a good understanding of pedagogy, develop their professional skills and increase their subject knowledge across the primary curriculum. This combines well with the practical experiences trainees have in different placement schools.

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Inspection judgements

2. The reputation of the partnership within the local area is strong. School leaders recognise that the NQTs they employ from Chepping View are reflective professionals who fully committed to the teaching profession. SCITT leaders’ vision and ambition have led to the partnership rapidly expanding, with an increase in applicants for training places and more schools joining the partnership. The SCITT now offers both salaried and fee-paying routes and has expanded the programme to include general primary training with a mathematics specialism. ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017 3. Programme leaders have found it difficult to involve schools requiring improvement in the partnership because there are very few schools judged less than good or outstanding in the locality. One school previously judged to require improvement, and now good, provides trainees with the opportunity to

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Inspection judgements

experience good practice in the early years phase of education. Trainees value this opportunity to observe and discover how children in the early years learn.

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Inspection judgements

4. Virtually all trainees’ practice exceeds the minimum level expected for QTS by the end of the training. There are no significant differences between the attainment of different groups of trainees. Trainees quickly establish good relationships with pupils and school staff and are positive role models. Their contribution to the wider life of the school is welcomed by school leaders.

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Inspection judgements

5. Trainees and NQTs confirm that recruitment process are rigorous, with a combination of small-group teaching tasks, presentations, written reflections and a formal interview. Partnership schools are fully involved in the recruitment process, which ensures that successful applicants are well-motivated graduates who are eager to join the teaching profession.

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Inspection judgements

6. Communication between partnership leaders, trainees and school leaders is very effective. Partnership leaders regularly update teacher tutors and school- based mentors through emails, telephone conversations and visits to partnership schools. School leaders and NQT mentors welcome the useful transition documents which they receive prior to NQTs taking up post. They say that most targets are eminently suitable to guide the NQT into further improvements at the start of their career. In almost all cases, schools confirm that the strengths and areas identified for development align with their own views of the NQT.

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Inspection judgements

7. Since the start of the partnership, completion and employment rates have exceeded the national average. Trainees are generally supported well during their training and receive valuable guidance and support in applying for teaching posts and preparing for interviews.

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Inspection judgements

8. The partnership provides effective training for teacher tutors and school-based mentors to help them to understand their roles and responsibilities in supporting and developing trainees’ teaching skills. All teacher tutors and school-based mentors attend the partnership’s training. However, at stage 1 of the inspection, a few of the teacher tutors new to the role did not fully grasp the importance of their role in providing high-quality, focused feedback and support to trainees. As a result, in a small minority of cases, trainees’ skills were not built on and embedded quickly enough for them to develop good teaching skills by the end of their training. In this context, at stage 1 of the inspection, a few trainees said that the quality of teacher tutor and school- based mentor support was not consistently good. ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017 9. Following inspection feedback at the end of stage 1, partnership leaders took

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Inspection judgements

effective action to increase the checks made on the quality of feedback and coaching provided for trainees by teacher tutors. This has now improved and current trainees are very positive about the quality of coaching and mentoring support they receive from their teacher tutors and school-based mentors. Trainees say that the cycle of being set short-term targets which are checked carefully during lesson observations, combined with precise feedback, enables them to develop their teaching skills and deepen their understanding of how to motivate and engage pupils in learning.

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Inspection judgements

10. The partnership draws successfully on the expertise within the partnership to deliver a range of centre-based training sessions. For example, the teaching of early mathematics is led by a mathematics subject leader in a partnership infant school. A senior leader, who leads mathematics in a primary school, provides the focus on the teaching of mathematics at key stage 2.

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Inspection judgements

11. Partnership leaders welcome, and act on, the feedback from trainees in order to continue to improve the quality of the training programme. For example, at the request of the trainees, one of the taught phonics sessions at the start of their training is delivered by a specialist phonics expert in a partnership school rather than at the centre. Trainees receive additional phonics training in the spring and summer term, observing phonics teaching and supporting practice Year 1 phonics screening checks in schools. Consequently, trainees are able to observe high-quality phonics teaching. They witness how pupils’ responses and the effective use of resources and questioning help to support different groups of pupils to be successful in their learning. Trainees talk positively about the impact of this training, which helps to increase their own understanding of how pupils learn, and their confidence in teaching phonics effectively.

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Inspection judgements

12. In 2017, all trainees responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for trainee teachers. All trainees were confident that their training would make them good or better teachers. They were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of their placement experiences.

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Inspection judgements

13. Trainees teach early reading well and say that they have developed effective skills to teach physical education (PE), because the centre-based training involves theoretical understanding, and the opportunity to plan sequences of lessons and to observe taught lessons. In addition, experts from a local football association deliver PE training on invasion games, which helps trainees to understand how to meet the needs of pupils of differing abilities.

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Inspection judgements

14. Trainees and NQTs manage pupils’ behaviour well in lessons. This is because, at the heart of their practice, they have a good understanding of how to establish a safe, stimulating learning environment, with respectful relationships between pupils and other adults. ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017 15. Trainees are provided with taught sessions to help them to understand a range of important areas in primary teaching, including teaching disadvantaged pupils; pupils who speak English as an additional language; pupils of differing abilities, including pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities; and the barriers to pupils’ learning. In addition, sessions are delivered to aid trainees’ understanding of children’s learning in the early years. Partnership leaders have carefully planned the timing of the face-to-face training so that it takes place just prior to the trainees’ four-day experience in an early years

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Inspection judgements

setting. Trainees found this to be extremely useful in helping them to understand children’s starting points.

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Inspection judgements

16. At stage 1 of the inspection, the evidence available to support the partnership’s judgements on trainees’ attainment was not sufficiently strong. Partnership leaders took effective action to ensure that current trainees produce high- quality evidence and reflect on the suitability of the evidence to meet the teachers’ standards, before uploading it to their e-portfolio. Teacher tutors are expected to validate the quality and suitability of the evidence to demonstrate achievements in meeting each of the teachers’ standards. The quality of the evidence is now also verified by partnership leaders to ensure that it robustly contributes to judgements on trainees’ attainment.

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Inspection judgements

17. At stage 1, the partnership’s systems and procedures to identify trainees who were struggling were not sharp enough to bring about rapid intervention. As a result, a few trainees did not make the progress they were capable of making toward achieving the teachers’ standards. Partnership leaders have increased the rigour of quality assurance procedures to ensure that, if any concerns arise, they are identified quickly. Quality assurance mentors visit all trainees at an early stage of their first school placement experience. This enables the partnership to identify any concerns and put in place a programme of additional support. At stage 2, clear evidence was available to show that partnership leaders took effective action where concerns had been raised about trainees’ progress. Partnership leaders provided additional support and guidance and put further checks in place to address areas of weaker practice. As a result, the

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Inspection judgements

performance of these trainees has already improved.

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Inspection judgements

18. The strategic board holds the partnership to account effectively. It is driven by the vision of the partnership and the principled resolve to produce high-quality teachers to meet the needs of the local area. The partnership is strong, fulfilling its moral purpose to support and strengthen the profession into the future.

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Inspection judgements

19. The partnership’s self-evaluation of its own performance is thorough and detailed. Areas identified for improvement inform the partnership improvement plan. Clear and effective strategies are put in place to address identified issues. For example, the analysis of trainees’ attainment showed that outcomes in a few of the teachers’ standards were not as strong as in others. Partnership leaders now put a greater emphasis on developing trainees’ subject and ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017 curriculum knowledge; this is a key focus for all lesson observations. Other key areas of focus are trainees’ skills in adapting their teaching to the abilities of different groups of pupils and trainees’ understanding and skills to assess pupils’ learning. Current trainees are positive that both centre-based training and teacher tutor coaching are strengthening their understanding of these

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Inspection judgements

20. Leadership and management of the partnership is good. Leaders have taken decisive action to address the emerging areas for improvement identified at stage 1 of the inspection. This demonstrates a good capacity for further improvement. However, it was too soon to evaluate the full impact of these changes at stage 2.

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Inspection judgements

21. The SCITT partnership complies with all aspects of the ITT criteria. It meets all its statutory duties concerning safeguarding, promoting equality and diversity and eliminating discrimination.

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Annex: Partnership schools

The following schools were visited to observe trainees’ and NQTs’ teaching:

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Annex: Partnership schools

Chepping View Primary Academy, High Wycombe

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Annex: Partnership schools

Great Missenden Church of England Primary School, Great Missenden

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Annex: Partnership schools

Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Marlow ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 2017

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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 Previous inspection report

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ITE partnership details

Provider address 3–5 July 2017 4–6 December 2017 Ann Henderson, Her Majesty’s Inspector SCITT Primary N/A N/A

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ITE partnership details

Chepping View Primary Academy Cressex Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 3NG ITE inspection report: Chepping View Primary Academy SCITT December 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 and child protection. 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 reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format

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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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