Primary Catholic Partnership SCITT

Primary Catholic Partnership SCITT Holy Family Catholic Primary School Mansel Road West Southampton SO16 9LP

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education and training Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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

Trainees experience a culture of consistently high expectations coupled with nurturing support that helps them to thrive and rise to the challenges of the course. An expert team of professionals around each trainee work brilliantly together to ready them for the realities and rigours of teaching. Caring personal touches help trainees know that they are always well looked after when facing the undoubted demands of an intense training year. Former trainees who spoke to inspectors were unanimous that they would pick the same course if given their time again.

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

Leaders, trainers and mentors are united in a common purpose to provide excellent training. Hugely popular ‘video shorts’ help keep the centre and schools’ input closely aligned. A finely judged balance between theory and its practical application sets trainees up extremely well for their early careers. Trainees develop an exceedingly firm grasp of the fundamentals of primary education, including phonics, behaviour and inclusion. Considerable grounding in teaching pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is just one of the highlights of the course. Former trainees step into their first jobs as well-equipped and highly reflective professionals. They know how to help themselves and tap into additional support that will continue their development. A headteacher of one of the partner schools explained aptly that the training ‘prepares them for a life of teaching’.

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Information about this ITE provider

◼ The provider is in its 25th year of initial teacher education in the primary phase. At the time of the inspection, there were 32 primary trainees. ◼ In the current year, the partnership includes 48 schools. The provider has engaged with approximately 180 schools in recent years spread across a wide geographical area. Most schools currently in the partnership were judged good or better at their most recent Ofsted inspection. ◼ Initially set up as a Catholic school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) provider, the partnership’s reach now extends far beyond Catholic schools. ◼ The provider offers a Level 6 Teacher Apprenticeship route to qualified teacher status (QTS). Teacher apprentices now account for approximately half of all trainees. The vast majority of the remaining trainees are on a one-year postgraduate route to QTS. This route provides the opportunity to opt for an age range of either 5 to 11 or 3 to 7, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education

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Information about this ITE provider

awarded by Bath Spa University. There are also a very small number of fee-paying school-direct trainees.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was conducted by an Ofsted Inspector and one of His Majesty’s Inspectors. ◼ Throughout the inspection, inspectors held discussions with the SCITT director and the mentoring lead. They also met with a range of trainers commissioned by the SCITT to provide central training and a group of lead mentors. The lead inspector met with members of the partnership board, including the chair. At the request of leaders, the lead inspector also spoke separately with the previous longstanding chair who had only recently relinquished the role. ◼ Inspectors visited four partner schools in person and conducted remote visits with another two. During their visits to partnership schools, inspectors spoke with headteachers, other senior leaders, mentors, trainees and former trainees. The inspection also included separate remote meetings with each of these groups from a wider range of partnership schools. In total, inspectors spoke with 16 current

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Information about this inspection

trainees and eight early career teachers who trained with this provider. Overall, the inspection team communicated with leaders, trainers, mentors, trainees or former trainees from, or placed in, over 25 partnership schools. ◼ The inspection team took account of the views expressed in 27 inspection surveys returned by current trainees and 71 completed by staff. ◼ To evaluate how well trainees are prepared to teach, the inspection team focused in detail on certain subjects. Inspectors did focused reviews in early reading, mathematics, history and geography.

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better?

Careful thought has gone into every aspect of this highly ambitious programme. Nothing is left to chance. Everyone is crystal clear about their contribution and strives to deliver to the highest possible standard. User-friendly tools and processes are meticulously crafted to support this work at the centre and in schools. Their surface-level simplicity often belies the complexity of their design and impact.

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better?

Working in close partnership with schools, leaders have precisely planned what trainees should learn and when. Safeguarding, and other fundamentals, including behaviour management and how pupils learn, quickly provide strong foundations. Close attention is paid to how content is introduced, revisited and developed across the year. Preparing trainees to teach English, mathematics and science punctuates the course throughout. This includes an excellent grounding in teaching early reading, and in understanding the importance of systematic synthetic phonics, right across the age ranges. Considerable time is also given to the full range of primary subjects. Mentors described how trainees often bring ‘a fresh new excitement’ and up-to-date research to foundation subjects, which impacts directly on their teaching.

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better?

The requirements of the core content framework are comprehensively met and exceeded. The depth and rigour of aspects of the programme are noteworthy, including preparedness to teach pupils with SEND. The course fosters a clear culture around high expectation for these pupils. Trainees learn how to adapt their teaching to meet pupils’ specific needs and the importance of an inclusive approach.

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better?

Trainers’ expertise and passion shines through. Trainees have systematic and targeted opportunities to observe expert colleagues in schools. They are highly complimentary about the quality and consistency of mentoring that they receive. Mentors diligently carry out their roles with enthusiasm and even excitement.

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better?

The assessment of trainees’ progress is an exceptionally strong feature of the programme. Multiple different elements feed into this and combine effortlessly, from before trainees start the course through to their first early-career steps. This rigour helps to keep trainees on track, and identify and provide any additional input they might need.

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better?

Quality assurance procedures are comprehensive and rigorous. These systems provide leaders and the dedicated board with a wealth of information. Each and every aspect of the provider’s work is interrogated. As one board member said: ‘No stone is left unturned!’ Leaders closely analyse what each indicator shows, posing themselves pertinent questions to find or evaluate any possible areas for further improvement. This outstanding leadership and relentless determination has kept the SCITT at the forefront of developments in initial teacher training.

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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?

The provider’s increasingly popular apprenticeship route is establishing a strong track record as being highly effective preparation for teaching. An initial assessment of each apprentice’s existing knowledge and skills helps shape their protected off-the-job training and, where appropriate, adaptations to the central training. Careful planning goes into how, supported by expert current practitioners, apprentices will gather the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to their desired role. This includes where their employed status means that their training differs from the provider’s other training routes. Apprentices’ progress is closely monitored to inform updates to the underpinning commitment statement training programme as necessary.

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ITE provider details

Unique reference number 70089 Inspection number 10311040

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ITE provider details

This inspection was carried out in accordance with the initial teacher education inspection framework and handbook , which 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 Date of previous inspection 11 June 2018 and 19 November 2018

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Inspection team

Mr Clive Dunn, Lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Harry Ingham, Team member His Majesty’s Inspector

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Annex: schools

Inspectors visited the following schools as part of this inspection:

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Name URN ITE phase

Mason Moor Primary School 116263 Primary Netley Abbey Infant School 116070 Primary Springhill Catholic Primary School 137293 Primary Wordsworth Primary School 141494 Primary 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

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-

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Name URN ITE phase

government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Name URN ITE phase

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Name URN ITE phase

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

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