University of Roehampton

Roehampton University Education Department, University of Roehampton, London SW15 5PJ

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Inspection dates 6 March to 9 March 2023

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Inspection judgements

The quality of education and training Outstanding Good

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Inspection judgements

Leadership and management Outstanding Good

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Inspection judgements

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good Good

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

Trainees are inspired by their lecturers, who instil in them real enthusiasm for teaching their subject or phase. The course is also designed to ensure that trainees are well prepared for the practical realities of a career in teaching, including managing workload. They learn how to be resilient and to think critically about what knowledge to teach and how to teach it. Trainees’ well-being is central to leaders’ work. One trainee summed this up by likening the course to a marathon, with university staff being ‘the crowd cheering trainees on’.

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

Trainees are exceptionally well prepared to understand and manage pupils’ behaviour. Secondary-phase trainees especially value putting their learning about behaviour into practice during professional hub days. The curriculum prepares trainees to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This learning is complemented by subject studies. Through this, trainees learn how to adapt teaching to the context of their specialisms and to the needs of the pupils they teach.

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

Trainees become confident subject experts. Primary-phase trainees receive an excellent grounding in teaching the full range of national curriculum subjects. Trainees particularly like that they can specialise in subjects and take their expertise further. Preparing primary- phase trainees to teach early reading is a priority. Secondary-phase trainees also benefit from training in early reading. They value how this prepares them to support less confident readers. Typically, trainees spoke highly of communication across the partnership. They like the reflective questions that are used to help join up the centre-based training with their school placements. In the secondary phase, however, support from school-based mentoring is at times not as effective in extending trainees’ knowledge of how to translate theories about teaching their subject into classroom practice.

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Information about this ITE provider

◼ The provider currently has 673 primary-phase trainees and 152 secondary-phase trainees. ◼ The primary phase has trainees on the three-year Bachelor of Arts degree course, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), the School Direct (salaried and non- salaried) routes and the teacher apprenticeship programme at level 6. ◼ Trainees in the secondary phase are on the PGCE, School Direct (salaried and non- salaried) routes and the teacher apprenticeship programme at level 6. ◼ The provider has 108 partnership schools in the primary phase and 109 partnership schools in the secondary phase. It works with approximately seven all-through schools. ◼ There are 15 level 6 teacher apprentices in the primary and secondary phases. The secondary-phase apprentices are preparing to teach art, English and history.

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Information about this inspection

◼ This inspection was carried out by nine of His Majesty’s Inspectors and three Ofsted Inspectors. ◼ Inspectors met with partnership leaders (including the head of the initial teacher education (ITE) department), the heads of the primary and secondary phases, and the primary- and secondary-phase management boards. ◼ Inspectors met with two groups of senior leaders from primary and secondary partnership schools. They held meetings with trainees, school-based mentors, university mentors, early career teachers, teacher apprentices and subject tutors. They met with a local authority representative who works with the university. ◼ Inspectors spoke to 42 primary-phase trainees, 60 secondary-phase trainees, teacher apprentices and 48 early career teachers. Some of these discussions took place remotely. ◼ In the primary phase, focused reviews were conducted in early reading, art and design, computing, humanities (geography and history), modern foreign languages,

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Information about this inspection

mathematics, music, physical education and science. ◼ In the secondary phase, inspectors carried out focused reviews in art, computing, English, geography, history, mathematics, modern foreign languages, music and science. ◼ Inspectors visited 23 primary placement settings and 12 secondary placement settings. Primary phase report

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better?

This course enables trainees to thrive in their development as teachers. Everyone involved in teaching the programme, both at the university and in school, makes sure that trainees receive the knowledge and guidance that they need to get the very best start in the profession. Leaders evaluate the ITE curriculum and trainees’ experience with rigour. They use the views of partnership schools and trainees to make necessary refinements.

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better?

Course leaders have made sure that the ITE curriculum is extremely ambitious in scope. Its content choice is rigorous. Leaders have planned every aspect of the curriculum coherently, with the entitlements of the core content framework (CCF) included in a consistently purposeful way. Leaders and staff have carefully considered the CCF statements and have woven these into each element of the course.

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better?

Whichever route trainees are on, course leaders have ensured that early reading is a priority. Well-sequenced sessions at the university build and strengthen trainees’ knowledge over time, including in systematic synthetic phonics (SSP). Carefully planned pre-course and in-school tasks are designed to ensure that trainees build on what they already know and put their learning into practice. Trainees regularly revisit their understanding, for example through quizzes. Regardless of the age range that they will be teaching, all trainees are exceptionally well prepared to teach pupils to read using SSP.

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better?

Every national curriculum subject is taught in great depth by lecturers with expertise in their fields. Course leaders use research to support trainees in learning how to present subject matter clearly and explicitly. Trainees learn how to plan and resource lesson sequences. They feel fully prepared to teach the primary national curriculum by the time they complete their training. The subject specialism aspect of the course adds significantly to trainees’ confidence. Teaching pupils with SEND is carefully and meaningfully integrated into all aspects of the training programme. Trainees draw on this learning regularly.

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better?

The curriculum is co-designed with partnership schools. This helps to ensure that what trainees learn and practise on their placements aligns closely with subject content taught at university sessions. The mentoring programme makes a marked contribution to how well the training is integrated. Reflective questions devised by leaders help trainees and their mentors focus on the key things that trainees need to learn, practise and master. Trainees develop an excellent understanding of the purpose of assessment. They are shown how to use assessment approaches to identify misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ knowledge. School-based mentors are impressed at how well trainees reflect on, and adapt to, the assessment routines in their placement schools.

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better?

Learning more about the professional behaviours expected of a teacher informs all parts of the course, including lectures. The sessions are thought provoking. They encourage trainees to challenge stereotypes, as well as to develop a greater understanding of the professional standards for teachers. The assessment of trainees is a thorough and ongoing process. Each person understands the part they play in making sure that trainees progress successfully through the curriculum. Mentors consistently set clear, weekly targets. Assignments are well designed and strategically placed to enable trainees to know what they are doing well and what to work on next. Where trainees need more help, they get this quickly from staff who have the expertise to address trainees’ specific development and well-being needs.

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compliance criteria?

◼ The provider meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria.

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principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision?

◼ The provider meets the principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision in the primary phase.

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principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision?

Apprentices in the primary-phase cohort all have their main placement in specialist provision. Starting with the initial assessment, each apprentice’s development needs are carefully identified and planned for. The training is continually adapted and refined to meet apprentices’ needs. This means that they are very well supported to acquire and practise the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for their career in teaching. Off-the-job training is used purposefully to increase and consolidate apprentices’ development as confident and successful teachers. Every step of the way, apprentices receive training and guidance from staff with up-to-date subject knowledge. These staff are highly skilled at helping apprentices to reflect on their practice. They work collaboratively with apprentices to identify and prioritise the key actions needed to embed and strengthen their knowledge, skills and behaviours.

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better?

Every part of the Roehampton secondary ITE curriculum is ambitious and well considered. Leaders have designed and implemented a course that prepares trainees to become confident and expert subject teachers.

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better?

Trainees are extremely positive about their experience. They appreciate the coherence of the course and breadth of their learning. They develop as reflective practitioners who understand that teaching is a continuous journey of development. They feel that their individual needs are recognised and met by their tutors. Assessment of each trainee’s progress is planned and managed well. This means that those trainees who need more support and guidance receive these in a timely and well-targeted manner.

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better?

Subject tutors are recruited for their expertise and experience. They ensure that trainees receive carefully sequenced and engaging subject sessions. These sessions focus equally on extending trainees’ subject knowledge and their understanding of pedagogical practice in their chosen field. In art, for instance, a typical session includes developing trainees’ own expertise in a discipline such as textiles. This is followed by reflection on how their learning is being put into practice in schools. Trainees also learn about how to plan and adapt purposeful assessment approaches for their subject specialism. Subject tutors ensure that they get to know trainees well. This enables them to respond to trainees’ needs and to personalise the course where needed. For example, some trainees receive additional support to develop specific aspects of their subject knowledge.

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better?

In addition to subject sessions, trainees learn about the things that they will need to do to be a successful teacher, for example how to manage pupils’ behaviour and create calm, orderly classrooms. Professional studies training is based on current, credible and well- selected education research. It enables trainees to understand how pupils learn and what they can do to ensure that all pupils, including pupils with SEND, understand and remember more. The CCF entitlements underpin the design of centre- and school-based training.

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better?

Leaders check that trainees attend school placements where they will be supported well. They communicate with school leaders to establish high expectations of how they work as partners to support and develop trainees. For example, they provide training sessions for mentors and send out a weekly mailing to share the focus of learning for that week. This is to ensure that trainees are set consistent targets and are supported to meet them. In most cases, the mentoring programme provides trainees with effective support. Nevertheless, some of the feedback and guidance that trainees receive do not embed or build on what trainees have learned at the centre about teaching approaches in their subject.

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better?

Partnership leaders are deeply committed to providing high-quality teachers for the profession through a variety of routes. They work with partnership schools to reflect on how to improve further. School leaders value this collaborative approach. Subject tutors visit trainees in their placements and work with school staff to develop the quality of support and feedback provided. Partnership schools value their link with the university and the opportunity to recruit the high-quality teachers that it provides.

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phase?

◼ At times, the delivery of the ITE curriculum is not fully supported by the mentoring programme. This is because some school-based mentoring does not reflect the training at the centre, particularly the pedagogical principles that underpin learning in a subject. This can affect the suitability of targets and guidance that trainees receive from the mentoring programme. Leaders need to further monitor and strengthen the quality of school-based mentoring to ensure that it makes a consistently positive and helpful contribution to the development and experiences of all trainees.

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compliance criteria?

◼ The provider meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria.

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principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision?

◼ The provider meets the principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision in the secondary phase.

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principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision?

From the planning of the initial assessment onwards, leaders have thought carefully about the programme for apprentices. Their training is largely aligned with that of trainees from other routes in their subject. This means that apprentices participate in weekly, university- led sessions to develop their subject knowledge. They value this and benefit from having a peer group with which to share ideas. They also value the input of their subject tutors, who ensure that they are aware of apprentices’ progress and areas for development. Leaders evaluate apprentices’ subject knowledge. They make sure that the training enables them to become knowledgeable practitioners. They also make sure that employers are aware of the off-the-job training time that is a requirement of the apprenticeship route. They work together with employers to ensure that this time is used purposefully for each apprentice. Apprentices are assessed through a series of well-timed observations and

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principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision?

assignments. Although the second teaching placement is brief, trainees value the contrasting perspective it provides.

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ITE provider details

Unique reference number 70063 Inspection number 10254546

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ITE provider details

This inspection was carried out in accordance with the ‘Initial teacher education inspection framework and handbook’.

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ITE provider details

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 provider details

Type of ITE provider Higher education institution Phases provided Primary Secondary Date of previous inspection 4 to 7 March 2013

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Inspection team

Lisa Strong, Overall lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou, Phase lead inspector primary His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alice Clay, Phase lead inspector secondary His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sophie Healey-Welch His Majesty’s Inspector

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Annex: Placement schools

Inspectors visited the following schools as part of this inspection:

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Name URN ITE phase(s)

Stanley Park Infants School 145385 Primary Green Lane Primary and Nursery School 146127 Primary Goldfinch Primary School 146549 Primary Marvels Lane Primary School 100696 Primary Edmund Waller Primary School 100680 Primary Kelvin Grove Primary School 100690 Primary Chesterton Primary School 145280 Primary Holy Cross Roman Catholic Primary School 100345 Primary Barnes Primary School 102902 Primary Dorchester Primary School 102982 Primary Culvers House Primary School 131103 Primary Southwood Primary School 131845 Primary Monteagle Primary School 130340 Primary Orchard House School 101961 Primary Orleans Primary School 102895 Primary Thomson House School 139549 Primary St John’s Waltham Green Church of England Primary School 100349 Primary St Mary’s Catholic Primary School 102670 Primary Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Battersea 131520 Primary Fox Primary School 100482 Primary Colville Primary School 100481 Primary

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Name URN ITE phase(s)

Avonmore Primary School 100322 Primary Flora Gardens Primary School 100328 Primary Fulham Cross Academy 139364 Secondary The Grey Coat Hospital School 138313 Secondary Wimbledon College 102681 Secondary Ibstock Place School 101064 Secondary Raynes Park High School 102674 Secondary Tiffin School 136910 Secondary Newman Catholic College 101564 Secondary Waldegrave School 138461 Secondary Harris Academy Beckenham 137121 Secondary Teddington School 138460 Secondary Lilian Baylis Technology School 100625 Secondary Dunraven School 137093 Secondary 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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Name URN ITE phase(s)

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Name URN ITE phase(s)

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Name URN ITE phase(s)

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Name URN ITE phase(s)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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