Kirklees and Calderdale SCITT

Kirklees and Calderdale SCITT Kirklees and Calderdale SCITT, Leeds, Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire WF16 9BB

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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 provider?

Programme leaders have designed an ambitious training programme to ensure trainees are well prepared to join the ‘professional family’ of teachers in the Kirklees and Calderdale area. Trainees develop a clear understanding of the local context and of local safeguarding priorities.

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

Trainees benefit from expert input that sharpens their knowledge of pedagogy and practice. Central training develops trainees’ understanding of important aspects of teaching, such as how to support pupils with a range of SEND. Primary trainees receive training on subject-specific aspects of core and foundation subjects. Specialist external input enables secondary trainees to build their subject-specific knowledge.

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

Trainees are based in schools for most of their training year. These placements begin at the start of autumn term to allow trainees to immerse themselves in school life from the very first day of the course. Trainees benefit from consistently high-quality mentoring in schools. Mentors access regular training to ensure that the support and direction provided to trainees is closely aligned with the core training programme.

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

The communication between the training provider, mentors and trainees is strong. This ensures that all stakeholders keep a strong focus on trainees’ emerging needs. Mentors and trainees, past and present, consistently praise this aspect of the programme. Almost all current trainees would recommend the ITE provider to others considering joining the teaching profession.

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Information about this ITE provider

◼ In the 2022/23 academic year, The Kirklees and Calderdale SCITT (school-centred initial teacher training) trained 39 trainees. This includes 19 in the primary age- phase and 20 in the secondary age-phase. ◼ The SCITT is hosted by the Kirklees local authority. Oversight of the SCITT is maintained by the SCITT executive board. Members of the executive board include headteachers from partnership schools and representatives from the local authority. ◼ The partnership is currently based in the same building as a primary school in Heckmondwike. Leaders are reviewing the location of the partnership. ◼ All trainees can opt to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) through the University of Huddersfield. Most trainees opt to do so. The University of Huddersfield also provides much of the subject-specific teaching for trainees on the secondary phase training programme. ◼ The provider also provides an option to follow the School Direct (salaried) route into

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Information about this ITE provider

teaching. ◼ At the time of this inspection, trainees were based in 23 primary schools and 10 secondary schools. All of these schools were judged as either outstanding, good or requires improvement at the most recent Ofsted inspection. ◼ The director of the SCITT has been in post since September 2022.

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Information about this inspection

◼ This inspection was conducted by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors and one Ofsted Inspector. ◼ Inspectors met with the director of the SCITT (who is also the secondary phase lead), the primary phase lead, the SCITT business manager and members of the executive board. Minutes from executive board meetings were also reviewed. ◼ The inspection team conducted three focused reviews in the primary phase. These were in early reading, mathematics and religious education. In the secondary phase, focused reviews were conducted in mathematics, history and geography. Inspectors met with the subject experts and course leaders, reviewed course documents and visited schools to talk with trainees, mentors and senior leaders. They looked at evidence of trainees’ learning and observed them teaching the subject being reviewed. ◼ All primary phase trainees and the majority of secondary phase trainees spoke to inspectors during the inspection.

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Information about this inspection

◼ Six schools were visited during the inspection. Inspectors spoke to leaders, mentors and trainees from several other partner schools throughout the inspection. ◼ Inspectors considered the results of surveys completed during the inspection by trainees and members of staff.

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better?

Trainees benefit from a coherent and well-implemented training programme. Using expertise from a range of local experts, this training curriculum is delivered well to trainee teachers. The programme ensures that the Department for Education’s core content framework is covered.

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better?

Across the primary-age and secondary-age training programmes, trainees access several subject-specific training days. The primary-age trainees are trained on aspects of every national curriculum subject. Some trainees are not, however, provided with sufficient opportunity to put the learning from subjects into practice when in placement schools. Elsewhere in the primary-age programme, leaders have prioritised the training sessions on teaching pupils how to read. Trainees are appropriately taught about early reading, including the importance of systematic synthetic phonics in helping children to read fluently.

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better?

Secondary-age trainees receive subject-specific learning from a range of external organisations. Trainees value this specialist input. The sessions prepare trainees for teaching many aspects of the national curriculum, as well as reinforcing important messages from central training sessions. For example, trainees are taught how strategies to support pupils with English as an additional language can be applied in individual subjects. Training enables trainees to learn more about behaviour management strategies relevant to their individual subject specialisms. On occasions, the timing of these sessions is not sufficiently aligned to when trainees need to apply this training in their practice.

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better?

Trainees are directed to relevant research and introduced to wider issues in education in parts of the training programme. In some training modules, trainees are encouraged to reflect on this research. They use this to deepen their thinking and consider how it can support their own approaches as a teacher. The use of research to inform practice is not consistent across the programme.

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better?

Trainees feel consistently well supported by programme leaders, visiting tutors and school- based mentors. New mentors receive induction training and have access to enhanced support to help them in their roles. All mentors receive regular updates from programme leaders, including at half termly mentoring seminars. Information about the training programme is also shared with mentors in detailed weekly newsletters. This helps mentors create a sense of integration between the centre-based training and that provided in placement schools. Recent coaching for mentors has focused on ensuring targets for trainees are specific, purposeful and closely aligned to the central training curriculum. As a result, the targets in place to support trainees are of a consistently high quality.

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better?

The systems and processes in place for assessing the progress of trainees are well thought through. Tutors closely monitor the progress made by trainees. They review the extent to which trainees are benefiting from the training curriculum. They do not, however, check that trainees in the primary phase have taught all subjects in the curriculum. Tutors also quality assure the work of mentors. They ensure support is available for trainees who need extra help. Leaders also provide a range of support to ensure the well-being of trainees is promoted throughout the course. This includes the provision of specific well-being sessions.

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better?

Programme leaders, supported by the executive board, continually reflect on the effectiveness of the training programme and how to improve it. They regularly seek the views of stakeholders and act on the feedback received. The quality of communication and wider administration between the SCITT and partner schools is exemplary. This view is shared by all stakeholders who spoke to inspectors during this inspection.

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(Information for the provider and appropriate authority)

◼ In the primary phase, trainees do not receive consistent opportunities to apply their training to all areas of the curriculum at their host schools. Consequently, trainees are less confident in teaching some subjects than others. Course leaders should work with partner schools to ensure that trainees have greater opportunity to apply their training and to develop their practice across all areas of the curriculum. ◼ In the secondary phase, core training sessions are not consistently taught at a point in the course that matches when trainees best need to use this training in their practice in schools. Course leaders should review the sequence of the central training curriculum and ensure the order of sessions better meets the needs of trainees. ◼ Trainees in both phases have limited opportunity to reflect on relevant research in some aspects of the centrally delivered training programme. This impedes trainees’

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(Information for the provider and appropriate authority)

awareness of the key issues and debates in education and within their individual areas of expertise. Leaders should provide better planned opportunities in the programme for trainees to consider relevant literature and research.

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comply with the ITE compliance criteria?

◼ The provider meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria.

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ITE provider details

Unique reference number 70225 Inspection number 10281354 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 sets 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 SCITT Phases provided Primary and secondary combined Date of previous inspection 29 June and 20 November 2015

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Inspection team

James Duncan, Lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Kate Rowley Ofsted 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 phases

Howard Park Community School 107671 Primary Shaw Cross Infant and Nursery School 107608 Primary Staincliffe Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School 107710 Primary

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Name URN ITE phases

Heckmondwike Grammar School 136283 Secondary Tong Leadership Academy 142761 Secondary Whitcliffe Mount, A Share Academy 149162 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 phases

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Name URN ITE phases

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Name URN ITE phases

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Name URN ITE phases

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