King's College London

King's College London Room 1/1 Waterloo Bridge Wing, Franklin Wilkins Building, 2 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NH

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Outstanding

The quality of education and training Outstanding

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Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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

Trainees are unanimous in their praise for King’s College. Many explained that they chose King’s because they valued the personal approach and support. Trainees praised the professional studies and subject-specific sessions taught by King’s highly. Comments such as ‘amazing’ and ‘it has opened my eyes’ sum up trainees’ experience.

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

Trainees are exceptionally well prepared for teaching in the real world. The well-designed professional studies programme (S3P) and subject sessions, ensure that trainees get a first-class grounding in their subject expertise as well in the practice of teaching. These sessions are followed up well by schools, helping trainees to put their knowledge into practice confidently. Meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is given particular emphasis. This helps trainees to develop and embed their pedagogical skills early in the programme.

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

The collaboration between trainees and subject leaders, and with schools, is particularly strong. This helps to ensure that trainees’ needs are met very effectively. Many noted the way training is matched closely to their individual needs.

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

A strong feature of the programme is the way that research evidence is used to guide trainees’ learning. As a result, trainees use up-to-date research skilfully to inform their teaching. Trainees are introduced to a range of credible research evidence and encouraged to be analytical in applying it to their teaching. This is one of the things that makes the King’s College programme distinctive.

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Information about this ITE provider

◼ King’s College London currently has 176 secondary trainees. ◼ King’s College London provides programmes for the Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) route and the School Direct (non-salaried) route. ◼ Nearly all trainees follow the PGCE route. ◼ The provider has 295 partnership schools in the secondary phase .

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was carried out by four of His Majesty’s Inspectors . ◼ Inspectors met with the provider’s leaders, subject directors and members of the partnership management committee. ◼ Inspectors held meetings with trainees, school mentors, professional mentors, centre-based subject tutors and early career teachers. ◼ Inspectors scrutinised the provider’s documents related to improvement planning and curriculum content. ◼ Inspectors reviewed the 99 responses to the trainee survey and the 202 responses to the staff survey. ◼ Inspectors spoke to 41 secondary trainees and five early career teachers. ◼ Focused reviews were conducted in English, mathematics, science (physics, biology and chemistry), religious education, geography and modern languages. ◼ Inspectors visited 12 schools and spoke with representatives of another four by telephone.

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better?

King’s College London provides trainee teachers with a first-class experience. The high- quality curriculum is built around a training and education programme that is skilfully designed, sequenced and delivered. These elements are brought together especially coherently. This ensures that trainees are given expert support to meet the highest professional and teaching standards.

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better?

The strong ITE curriculum meets King’s exacting expectations exceptionally well. Credible research evidence is used impressively to help trainees become analytical and reflective practitioners. Trainees understand deeply how the research impacts on their classroom practice.

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better?

The way the curriculum is sequenced is one of its many strengths. Right from the start, trainees are exposed to the theory and practice of teaching, including behaviour management, SEND and professional conduct. SEND is a common thread that runs purposefully through the whole programme. Trainees have a detailed understanding of the importance of meeting each pupil’s needs and how to adapt their pedagogy. They use this understanding extremely well to inform their practice.

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better?

Trainees are especially well prepared for their placements in school. As one school noted, trainees come with the ‘King’s etiquette’ embedded firmly in their approach. Their professional behaviours are of the highest standard. Trainees’ exceptionally positive attitudes help them to develop their practice rapidly and effectively.

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better?

The link between theory and practice is highly developed. At the centre, subject sessions build coherently on the S3P programme. King’s develops trainees’ subject expertise extremely well, often modelling how to teach a topic. Leaders step in quickly to support those trainees who need to extend their subject knowledge further. The expertise of teachers from partnership schools is used most effectively to boost the already high quality of the centre-based training. This includes, for example, meeting the needs of pupils with SEND as part of the subject training.

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better?

School-based training is coordinated effectively with that provided at the centre. For example, the core content framework (CCF), which is matched carefully to the centre- based curriculum, is picked up consistently by school mentors. This ensures that the CCF is complied with fully and that trainees develop their expertise successfully.

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better?

King’s provides school-based staff with high-quality information and support. The praise school staff give to the lucid and well-timed communication, and the strong, long-term relationships between King’s and schools, is compelling. This enables schools to build on the centre-based training logically and successfully, thus promoting trainees’ expertise effectively.

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better?

Leaders use assessment effectively to check that trainees are learning the intended curriculum, and that the high expectations King’s has for the mentoring programmes are being met thoroughly. A well-designed training programme for mentors supports this work effectively. The quality of mentoring is checked intelligently. Trainees receive high-quality developmental feedback from their mentors, enabling them to complete the ITE programme successfully. Leaders are highly reflective. They use their expertise and insights to drive improvement and sustain exceptional quality in all aspects of trainees’ experience.

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compliance criteria?

The provider meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria.

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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 Higher education institution Phases provided Secondary Date of previous inspection 18 May and 28 September 2015

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Inspection team

Brian Oppenheim, Lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Sam Hainey, Team inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Andrea Bedeau, Team inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Lisa Strong, Team inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Annex: Placement/employment settings, schools and colleges

Inspectors visited the following schools as part of this inspection:

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Name URN ITE phase

Arts and Media School Islington 131690 Secondary Ashcroft Technology Academy 135316 Secondary Barking Abbey School 101192 Secondary Brampton Manor Academy 102740 Secondary Connaught School for Girls 139293 Secondary Graveney School 137005 Secondary Harris City Academy Crystal Palace 135311 Secondary Kingsdale Foundation School 136309 Secondary Mossbourne Community Academy 134693 Secondary St Joseph’s College 138221 Secondary Twyford Church of England High School 137546 Secondary Saint Gabriel’s College 100627 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

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Name URN ITE phase

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Name URN ITE phase

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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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