The Deepings SCITT

The Deepings SCITT The Deepings School, Deeping St James PE6 8NF

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Inspection judgements

Primary and secondary age-phase combined

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education and training Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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

One trainee, typical of many, said: ‘I have enjoyed every aspect of my teacher training; I feel the quality of training, well-being support and general atmosphere of the course is of a very high quality.’ Trainees strongly value the supportive relationships between staff and trainees. Many describe relationships as being ‘like family’. Trainees are well prepared to teach as they embark on their new careers.

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

Leaders are ambitious for their trainees. Expectations are high. Trainees are introduced to the realities of teaching. Recruitment processes are rigorous, requiring applicants to demonstrate their potential. Leaders’ training programmes are comprehensive. It is designed to ensure that trainees understand how pupils learn and apply effective ways of teaching. All trainees are taught about the importance of teaching reading, including the teaching of phonics in primary and secondary schools.

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

Trainees are taught to be ambitious for all pupils. They learn to adapt their teaching for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. Communication between trainees, programme leaders and mentors is effective. Mentors are well trained. They are consistently effective in providing constructive feedback to promote trainees’ development. The quality of mentoring is highly regarded by trainees.

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Information about this ITE partnership

◼ The Deepings partnership opened in September 2016. Previously, the SCITT was part of the CfBT Education Trust SCITT. The partnership is now overseen by the Anthem Schools Trust. ◼ The partnership currently has 37 trainees. There are 19 trainees in the primary phase and 18 trainees in the secondary phase. The partnership has recommended two further trainees for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS) through the assessment-only route to QTS. ◼ The partnership covers both primary and secondary phases. ◼ There are 42 schools in the partnership. The lead schools in the partnership are The Deepings School and Bourne Westfield Primary Academy. ◼ The partnership offers School Direct, fee-paying and salaried, and assessment-only routes towards QTS. Most trainees additionally opt for a postgraduate certificate in education which is accredited by the University of Hull. ◼ The partnership includes schools that were judged outstanding, good and requires

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Information about this ITE partnership

improvement at their previous inspection. A few schools have not yet had an inspection as they have recently become academies. Two schools visited during the inspection of the partnership had not yet received a school inspection.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was carried out by three of Her Majesty’s Inspectors. ◼ Inspectors spoke with the director of the SCITT, the primary and secondary phase leaders and other senior leaders, including those responsible for the governance of the SCITT. ◼ Inspectors spoke to nine primary-phase trainees and 10 secondary-phase trainees. Inspectors also met with seven early career teachers. ◼ The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for initial teacher education. This included 64 responses from staff across the partnership and 29 responses from trainees. ◼ Inspectors undertook focused reviews of reading, geography and mathematics in the primary phase and English, history and science in the secondary phase to evaluate the quality of education and training across the partnership. ◼ Inspectors made visits to 10 schools to meet with trainees, mentors and headteachers. These visits included observations of trainees’ teaching.

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better?

Leaders have established a strong vision and inclusive ethos for the training partnership through their ‘WE CARE’ attributes: well-being, experience, curriculum, assessment, rigour and high expectations. These attributes permeate all aspects of the training programme. Leaders’ curriculum and checking processes are designed to ensure that trainees receive a good deal. Trainees attain well and most secure employment in partnership schools. The Deepings SCITT is a highly valued provider in South Lincolnshire.

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better?

Leaders, including those responsible for governance, have a detailed understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the partnership. They constantly seek the views of trainees to improve the quality of training. Leaders respond swiftly to feedback from partnership leaders and external monitoring, leading to precise improvement priorities. Leaders’ review processes have informed several recent changes to the training programme for current trainees. An innovative system of formative assessment has been implemented against five core areas of training: behaviour, pedagogy, assessment, curriculum and professional behaviours. This has been implemented effectively in its first year of operation. Leaders have ensured that the programme meets the requirements set out in the Department for Education (DfE) ‘Core Content Framework’.

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better?

The training programmes for both primary and secondary phases have recently been redeveloped. These programmes are ambitious and well sequenced overall. They are designed to ensure that all trainees build strong subject knowledge over time. Trainees gain a deep insight into how pupils learn, including different ways of teaching and checking pupils’ understanding. All primary trainees are taught to use systematic synthetic phonics in their teaching early in the course. Trainees have a good understanding of their responsibilities for safeguarding pupils and promoting equality.

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better?

The training programme for some subjects in the secondary phase is not as consistently well planned and aligned across the partnership as it could be. Trainees and mentors say that in these subjects, trainees’ subject knowledge is mostly developed in school settings. Mentors are not always able to reinforce key subject concepts in the training programme because leaders have not ensured these details are shared. In the primary phase, trainees are introduced to teaching the foundation subjects later in the course. This prevents them from gaining enough insight into the academic research that underpins their training. Consequently, trainees have less time to apply their learning in these subjects.

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better?

Leaders ensure that mentors receive comprehensive training. The weekly progress document precisely identifies trainees’ learning and mentoring focus for each week. Development targets are set with precision. The quality of mentoring is regularly checked by visiting tutors. Mentors say that they welcome these opportunities to calibrate their practice against leaders’ expectations. As one mentor said: ‘I feel well supported and have found being involved in the programme very satisfying.’

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(Information for the partnership and appropriate authority)

◼ The centre-based training of foundation subjects in the primary phase, and some subjects in the secondary phase, does not consistently give trainees the precise subject understanding they need to teach at the level they are training for. Subject trainers do not routinely share details of their element of the course with mentors. Consequently, trainees are sometimes unsure how to connect their learning from the centre to their school-based practice. Mentors are unable to link their support to the subject training as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that they check the effectiveness of subject-based training and share these details with mentors so they can reinforce the content with their trainees.

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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 70192 Inspection number 10214274

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ITE partnership details

This inspection was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) in accordance with the ‘Initial teacher education inspection framework and handbook’. This framework and handbook sets 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 School-centred initial teacher training

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ITE partnership details

Phases provided Primary and secondary combined Date of previous inspection 17 to 20 June 2013

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Inspection team

Chris Stevens, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Di Mullan Her Majesty’s Inspector Hazel Henson Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Annex: Partnership settings, schools and colleges

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

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grade

Bourne Academy 137572 Secondary January Good

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Bourne Grammar School 137793 Secondary September Not yet inspected Bourne Westfield Primary Academy 137599 Primary September Outstanding

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Long Sutton County Primary School 147566 Primary September Not yet inspected Market Deeping Community Primary School 120398 Primary September Requires Improvement Spalding High School 120642 Secondary September Outstanding

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Stamford St Gilberts Church of England Primary School 139178 Primary January Good

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The Deepings School 137873 Secondary September Requires Improvement The King’s (The Cathedral) School 136398 Secondary January Outstanding

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The Morton Church of England (Controlled) Primary School 143256 Primary September Good 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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