Kingsbridge EIP SCITT

Kingsbridge EIP SCITT Community First Academy Trust, Rivington Ave, Platt Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire WN2 5NG

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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 Outstanding

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

The quality of centre- and school-based training successfully prepares primary and secondary trainees, including apprentices, to become early career teachers. Trainees benefit from high-quality and consistent mentoring.

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

All trainees who spoke with inspectors said that the partnership provides them with effective wraparound care, guidance and support. Trainees told inspectors that leaders of the SCITT are professional and consistent in how they lead, manage and deliver training.

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

Trainees commented that leaders think carefully and deeply about the training that they provide. They said that trainers and mentors stay up to date with educational thinking. Communication between all partners, including trainees and mentors, is a strength.

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

Trainees are successfully prepared to manage pupils’ behaviour. Equally, trainees fully understand their important role in safeguarding pupils. All trainees appreciate how to manage their workload and the wider demands of teaching.

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

Trainees have a secure understanding of how to adapt the delivery of their subject curriculums for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Similarly, they receive appropriate training to enable them to teach pupils who speak English as an additional language.

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

Trainees, including apprentices on primary programmes, gain an insightful understanding of how to teach early reading and phonics. They also learn in depth about the early years and about the foundation subjects of the primary national curriculum. Secondary trainees flourish because they learn about the uniqueness of their chosen subject specialism.

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Information about this ITE partnership

◼ The SCITT has been providing teacher training since 2003. It became an approved apprenticeship training provider in September 2018. Trainees follow either the School Direct (non-salaried) route or the apprenticeship route. ◼ Trainees who follow the primary programmes are trained to teach either the 3 to 7 age phase or the 5 to 11 age phase. Trainees who opt to train for the secondary phase of education are trained to teach the 11 to 16 age phase. Some of these trainees also opt for a post-16 enhancement. Secondary trainees choose a subject specialism from art and design, biology, chemistry, computing, dance, design and technology, drama, English, geography, history, mathematics, modern foreign languages, music, physical education or religious education. ◼ All trainees gain qualified teacher status. Since September 2015, the Kingsbridge EIP SCITT has been working in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University for

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Information about this ITE partnership

all trainees to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. ◼ In the 2021/22 academic year, there were 39 trainees enrolled on the SCITT programmes. This included 25 primary-phase trainees and 14 secondary-phase trainees. Of these trainees, 11 were apprentices in the primary phase and two were apprentices in the secondary phase. ◼ The SCITT is based at Platt Bridge Community School which is part of the Community First Academy Trust. The SCITT is also part of the trust’s Kingsbridge Institute of Learning, working with a range of strategic partners to provide wider teacher training, including for early career teachers. ◼ The partnership works with 26 primary and nine secondary schools across 11 local authorities. ◼ The schools in the partnership have been judged as outstanding, good or requires improvement by Ofsted. Currently, there are no partner schools that are graded inadequate by Ofsted.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection team consisted of three of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and one Ofsted Inspector. ◼ Inspectors spoke with SCITT leaders, including the chief executive officer and the executive headteacher of the Community First Academy Trust. Inspectors met with several SCITT board members and course tutors. Some meetings were held remotely. ◼ In the primary phase, inspectors completed focused reviews in mathematics, music and English and early reading. In the secondary phase, inspectors completed focused reviews in mathematics, English, science and history. ◼ Inspectors considered a wide range of information provided by the SCITT leaders, including information about policies, governance, safeguarding arrangements, trainee placements, apprenticeship routes, staff development and the ITE curriculum. ◼ As part of the inspection, inspectors spoke with 25 trainees and 19 mentors from 19 placement schools. Inspectors also spoke with seven early career teachers who had

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Information about this inspection

previously studied at the SCITT. ◼ Inspectors considered information related to the Department for Education’s ITT criteria and supporting advice.

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better?

Leaders have a clear understanding of the essential knowledge that trainees must learn as part of the ITE curriculum. They have successfully established the order in which trainees should learn this information. Leaders have carefully ensured that primary trainees know and understand how to teach each national curriculum subject. Leaders appropriately align their ITE training curriculum with the Department for Education’s core content framework. They provide primary and secondary trainees, including apprentices, with high-quality learning experiences that prepare them well for teaching in a wide range of schools.

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better?

Leaders ensure that local and national experts in subjects and phases, including from partner schools, help to design and teach the ITE curriculum. They make considered use of current educational research to challenge themselves and to debate with trainees about curriculum subjects and pedagogy, including in the early years.

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better?

Trainees are inspired by their ITE curriculum. They successfully draw on the knowledge that they have been taught through the primary and secondary age-phase programmes to deliver well-thought-out learning for pupils in schools. The SCITT leaders and staff teach trainees to understand important differences in school curriculums, such as in the early years or sixth form. Tutors and mentors ensure that trainees understand their responsibilities for adapting the delivery of their teaching for pupils with SEND. They also support trainees to understand and apply theories relating to behaviour management. Leaders and mentors place great emphasis on developing trainees’ knowledge of how to safeguard pupils.

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better?

Leaders ensure that all trainees gain secure knowledge of how to develop pupils’ early reading by gaining an understanding of the importance of systematic synthetic phonics. Trainees understand that it is essential for disadvantaged pupils to succeed as readers. Tutors and mentors make certain that primary trainees in the 3 to 7 and 5 to 11 age phases learn deeply about early reading. Primary trainees also learn to develop pupils’ communication skills, including the accurate use of a wide range of vocabulary.

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better?

Leaders communicate often with mentors in schools to inform them of trainees’ learning of the taught ITE curriculum. Mentors and programme tutors assess how well trainees know and apply their understanding of the ITE curriculum. Nevertheless, some trainees’ targets for development lack precision. In some instances, targets are too broad and do not link specifically to the essential knowledge contained within the ITE curriculum. Leaders successfully use many ways to evaluate the impact of the training programmes. This includes careful consideration of trainees’ views. Tutors often pair up with mentors to double-check aspects of their work to coach trainees. That said, some of the quality assurance processes used by SCITT leaders do not focus sufficiently on how well the different parts of the ITE curriculum are implemented or on the quality of subject-specific targets set by mentors.

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better?

Leaders engage well with schools to identify the needs of the sector and to develop the ITE curriculum further. Leaders recruit members of the partnership’s headteacher board carefully. This strategic group provides effective challenge, support and guidance for the long-term development of the SCITT.

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(Information for the partnership and appropriate authority)

◼ The targets set for some trainees are uneven in quality. For a minority of trainees, mentors and course tutors favour targets relating to the knowledge and skills associated with generic pedagogy at the expense of the subject content of the taught ITE curriculum. This means that trainees sometimes do not deepen their knowledge of the ITE curriculum as securely as they could. Leaders should ensure that mentors and course tutors set targets that fully align with the taught ITE curriculum, as well as the knowledge associated with generic pedagogy. ◼ Some of the systems to quality assure the partnership’s ITE curriculum do not delve sufficiently well into how some component parts of the curriculum are delivered. This includes how well mentors align target setting to the core ITE curriculum. This means that some aspects of the partnership’s work, including target setting for trainees, are not as effective as they could be. Leaders should further develop their systems so

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(Information for the partnership and appropriate authority)

that they, and the headteacher board, have the breadth of information that they need to systematically evaluate the quality of the ITE programmes.

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comply with the ITE compliance criteria?

◼ The partnership meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria and the criteria for apprenticeships.

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ITE partnership details

Unique reference number 70213 Inspection number 10226817

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ITE partnership details

This inspection was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) 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 SCITT Phases provided Primary and secondary combined Date of previous inspection June 2015

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Inspection team

Tim Vaughan, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Michael Pennington Her Majesty’s Inspector John Nixon Her Majesty’s Inspector Kathleen Harris Ofsted 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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Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy 143388 Primary September Outstanding

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Platt Bridge Community School 139300 Primary September Outstanding

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Bryn St Peters CofE Primary School 106438 Primary September Good

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St Catharine’s CofE Primary School 106464 Primary September Good

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Shevington High School 106529 Secondary September Good

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Standish Community High School 143812 Secondary September Good

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Bedford High School 106523 Secondary September Good

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West Lancashire Community High 131258 Secondary September Good

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Marus Bridge Primary School 143498 Primary September Good

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Hawkley Hall High School 138110 Secondary September Good

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St George’s Primary School 104995 Primary September Good

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Egremont Primary School 143502 Primary September Good

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Chapel Street Community Primary School 105404 Primary September Good

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St Boniface Primary School 105962 Primary September Good

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St Marys RC Primary School 105957 Primary September Outstanding

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Hindley Junior and Infant School 106415 Primary September Good

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Moorside High School 144199 Secondary September Good

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Fred Longworth High School 137448 Secondary September Good

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Westfield Community School 134742 Primary 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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