Compton SCITT

Compton SCITT The Compton School, Summers Lane, North Finchley, London N12 0QG

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Inspection judgements

Primary and secondary age-phase combined

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education and training Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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What is it like to be a trainee at this ITE partnership?

Trainees enjoy their time at Compton SCITT. They value the strong, supportive relationships they have with leaders, mentors, tutors and colleagues from their placement schools. Trainees are enthusiastic and confident about their future in the teaching profession.

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What is it like to be a trainee at this ITE partnership?

However, the course content is not sufficiently focused on how to teach subjects or phases. For example, the programme does not prioritise subject knowledge development. Training does not go into depth about how to adapt teaching for all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or those who speak English as an additional language.

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What is it like to be a trainee at this ITE partnership?

Effective collaboration between the SCITT and the partnership schools supports trainees to achieve qualified teacher status by the end of their training. Placements prepare trainees well to manage behaviour. They learn how to create a classroom environment that enables pupils to focus on learning. Trainees understand their roles in keeping pupils safe. They are confident with procedures and policies that they should follow should they have any concerns about pupils’ welfare.

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What is it like to be a trainee at this ITE partnership?

Trainees feel well supported by leaders in managing their workload. They said that leaders prioritise trainees’ well-being and that leaders ‘could not have done more’ for them during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

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Information about this ITE partnership

◼ The SCITT has 40 trainees. There are 16 primary-phase trainees and 24 secondary- phase trainees. ◼ There are 13 primary and eight secondary partnership schools. All partnership schools that have been inspected are graded good or outstanding. ◼ Trainees follow either the School Direct (salaried and non-salaried) route or the Post- graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) route.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was carried out by three of Her Majesty’s Inspectors. ◼ Inspectors visited and met with trainees, leaders and mentors from 10 partnership schools. ◼ Inspectors met with or spoke remotely to 19 trainees and four early career teachers (ECTs). ◼ Inspectors carried out focused reviews in early reading and phonics, English (primary and secondary), science (primary and secondary) and physical education (secondary). ◼ Inspectors met with the senior leaders of the SCITT. Inspectors also held meetings with members of the strategic partnership board, professional tutors, subject leaders and ECTs. ◼ Inspectors reviewed the 48 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and the 31 responses to the trainee survey.

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better?

SCITT leaders and the strategic partnership board share a clear commitment to making sure that trainees are happy and successful in their training year. The strategic partnership board is highly supportive of the work of the SCITT and partnership schools. However, it does not hold SCITT leaders fully to account for all the education and training they provide.

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better?

SCITT leaders and the strategic partnership board have an over-positive view of the quality of some aspects of the education and training provided. Leaders’ checks on the quality of the SCITT’s work do not routinely help them to identify areas that need to improve.

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better?

The primary-phase trainee programme covers all the subjects within the national curriculum. The general professional studies programme covers classroom management and teaching approaches well, for both the primary and secondary phases. The partnership complies with the core content framework, which is threaded through the programme. However, the curriculum does not cover and revisit some aspects of the core content framework in depth. Training does not focus fully on ensuring that trainees develop and deepen their knowledge of the subjects and phases they will teach.

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better?

Trainees have regular objectives linked to the centre-based training. These help trainees to meet all the teachers’ standards. Sometimes, objectives do not pinpoint precisely what trainees need to learn and do in order to deepen their subject and curriculum knowledge. The programme content prepares trainees to teach their subjects and phases. However, some aspects of the programme are underdeveloped. For example, in the primary phase, trainees learn about how to teach early reading and phonics, but they are not given clear guidance on how to match reading books to pupils’ phonics knowledge.

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better?

Trainees use current research well. They are encouraged to reflect regularly on their teaching and how pupils learn. They benefit from professional learning sessions with mentors and tutors. Guidance for mentors from SCITT leaders includes helpful overviews about the training programme content. This means that mentors know what subject content trainees have covered and need to apply in their placement settings. Discussions between trainees and mentors help develop trainees’ general teaching skills.

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better?

However, SCITT leaders have not assured themselves of the quality of the support trainees receive in individual partnership schools. Mentors do not receive specific training or resources to extend their own subject knowledge and understanding of educational research and practice. This means that, on occasion, the quality of education and training varies between placement schools. This includes the quality of mentors’ feedback to trainees and individual target-setting.

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(Information for the partnership and appropriate authority)

◼ Some aspects of the primary and secondary course are well planned and sequenced. The curriculum covers general professional studies, with consideration given to the core content framework. However, some key aspects of subject-specific principles are covered superficially. Leaders should ensure that the course enables trainees to deepen their knowledge fully in the subjects and phases they are teaching. ◼ Leaders do not evaluate the effectiveness of school-based training and identify where improvements are needed. SCITT leaders do not deliver specific training for mentors on how to develop and deepen trainees’ readiness to teach their subject and phase. Consequently, the quality of school-based training varies. SCITT leaders need to give mentors subject-specific training so that support for trainees is consistent across the partnership.

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comply with the ITE compliance criteria?

◼ The partnership meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria.

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ITE partnership details

Unique reference number 70299 Inspection number 10167803

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ITE partnership details

This inspection was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) in accordance with the ‘Initial teacher education inspection framework and handbook’. This framework and handbook set out the statutory basis and framework for initial teacher education (ITE) inspections in England from September 2020.

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ITE partnership details

Type of ITE partnership SCITT Phases provided Primary and secondary combined Date of previous inspection 10 October 2016

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Inspection team

Ruth Dollner, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Helen Matthews Her Majesty’s Inspector Jasper Green Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Annex: Partnership schools

Inspectors contacted trainees and staff at the following schools, as part of this inspection:

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grade

Elsley Primary School 101519 Primary September Good

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Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School 101338 Primary September Good

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Northside Primary School 101296 Primary September Outstanding

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Moss Hall Infant School 101295 Primary September Outstanding

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Brettenham Primary School 146946 Primary September Not yet inspected The Compton School 136418 Secondary September Outstanding

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Finchley Catholic High School 101362 Secondary September Good

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Southgate School 142727 Secondary September Good

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Wren Academy Finchley 135507 Secondary September Outstanding guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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