University of Leicester

University of Leicester 21 University Road, Leicester, Leicestershire LE1 7RF

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Inspection judgements

Primary and secondary age-phase combined

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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 are exceptionally positive about the high quality of training they receive. They benefit from an ambitious curriculum, delivered by experts, and supported by relevant, up- to-date research. Trainees have ample opportunities to integrate theory and practice. They learn to be instinctively reflective, and this helps them to decide the beliefs and values they will hold as a teacher.

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

Trainees are absolutely clear about how their learning at the university fits together with their school placements. Close working relationships with their mentors/co-tutors are highly prized. A carefully planned school programme helps trainees understand what is going well and how they can improve.

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

Trainees gain rich experiences in schools with different contexts. Primary trainees secure an in-depth understanding of early reading and phonics. Secondary trainees develop their detailed subject-specialist and pedagogical knowledge. Trainees hone their ‘noticing’ skills to enable them to create inclusive learning environments where all pupils get the support they need.

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

High levels of mutual respect mean that staff always have the trainees’ best interests at heart. Trainees’ views are listened to, and their suggestions make a positive difference. They know that their well-being is prioritised. School leaders recognise that trainees are remarkably well prepared for the rigours of the profession. As a result, trainees often secure their first teaching post in a school that works with the university.

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Information about this ITE provider

◼ The provider provides initial teacher training for both primary and secondary education phases. ◼ The provider currently has 99 trainees, 43 in the primary phase and 56 in the secondary phase. ◼ For both primary and secondary phases, the provider offers the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) route and the PGCE School Direct fee-paid route. The provider is currently working with seven lead partners to deliver the PGCE School Direct fee-paid route. The provider also works with four school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) providers to support the delivery of their training. ◼ In the secondary phase, trainees are enrolled on the following secondary subject courses: biology, chemistry, English, geography, history, mathematics, modern foreign languages, physics, religious education and social sciences. Classics is also offered as a subsidiary. ◼ During the current academic year, the University of Leicester is working in

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Information about this ITE provider

partnership with approximately 90 schools across six different local authorities. ◼ The schools currently working with the provider vary in size and are located in different contexts. These schools were judged outstanding, good or requires improvement at their previous Ofsted inspection. A few of these schools are awaiting their first inspection since converting to become an academy.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was carried out by three of His Majesty’s Inspectors. ◼ Inspectors met with the director of teacher education, who is also the primary phase PGCE lead, the two secondary phase PGCE co-leads and the head of the school of education. Inspectors also spoke with other senior leaders and course tutors and some members of the professional services team. ◼ Inspectors spoke with six members of the partnership management group, including representatives of the lead partners who work with the provider, and a sample of senior school leaders. Inspectors also spoke with four representatives of the SCITT providers who work with the university. ◼ Inspectors carried out focused reviews of reading and humanities, including history and geography, in the primary phase. In the secondary phase, inspectors completed focused reviews of English, history and chemistry. ◼ Inspectors visited five primary schools to meet with trainees, mentors, initial teacher

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Information about this inspection

training coordinators and headteachers. These visits included short observations of trainees’ teaching. ◼ During the inspection, secondary-phase trainees were involved in university-based training sessions. Inspectors visited a number of these sessions. Inspectors met with a sample of secondary-phase trainees and spoke with co-tutors from seven schools who had supported these trainees during their most recent school placements. ◼ Inspectors spoke with 31 trainees and 13 former trainees. ◼ Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for initial teacher education for trainees and staff. ◼ Inspectors checked the provider’s conformity with the ITE compliance criteria and looked at records of safeguarding checks. ◼ Inspectors considered a range of documentation linked to the training programme, including curriculum plans, training materials, information about trainee assessment, provider policies, self-evaluation documents and improvement plans.

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better?

The provider has a long-established reputation for training high-quality teachers. Despite this, there is absolutely no sense of complacency. The curriculum is continually reviewed to ensure that it remains responsive to the changing educational landscape. The recently trialled intensive training and practice modules have served to enhance an already successful programme. This proactive and ambitious strategy provides trainees with the best possible experience.

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better?

The provider is unashamedly rigorous in its recruitment and selection processes. University tutors support each successful applicant through the exacting demands of the course and help them to secure their first teaching posts. Many trainees stay in touch with their tutors long after they embark on successful teaching careers.

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better?

The curriculum is thoroughly thought through. Each requirement of the core content framework is deftly interwoven. The provider’s ‘knowing, doing, being, becoming’ approach teaches trainees about the theoretical principles of teaching and how to apply them in practice. Trainees develop a complex understanding of how pupils learn. Every opportunity is taken to enhance trainees’ subject and pedagogical knowledge. This includes a strong emphasis on the importance of phonics for trainees in the primary phase. Trainees’ understanding of how to adapt the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs is a particular strength. One trainee explained that, by doing this, ‘Every child can achieve greatness.’

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better?

The university- and school-based training are intricately aligned. Highly skilled mentors/co- tutors guide trainees through a precisely planned programme of weekly meetings, focused lesson visits and ‘talkthrus’. Trainees frequently reflect critically on their teaching practice and identify pertinent targets for improvement. Visits by university tutors during school placements reinforce the excellent and effective work that takes place between mentors/co-tutors and their trainees.

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better?

The ‘CARD’ system used to assess trainees is very well understood and highly efficient. Carefully chosen statements identify aspects of teaching that trainees can demonstrate with confidence and those that need more work. Additional and timely support gives any trainee who needs it a welcome boost. Trainees make the most of their online portfolios to collate relevant evidence of their professional practice. The vast majority of trainees successfully complete the course, gain qualified teacher status and are awarded their PGCE.

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better?

School leaders and local partners are highly complimentary of the provider’s outward- facing, collaborative approach. As one professional typically explained, ‘We work in genuine partnership with the sole purpose of creating the next tranche of really good teachers.’ Another simply stated, ‘I am proud to be associated with a provider who works tirelessly to meet the needs of local schools and of the pupils in those settings.’

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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 70400 Inspection number 10309351

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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 Primary and secondary combined Date of previous inspection 10 June and 7 October 2015

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, Lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Matthew Fearns-Davies His Majesty’s Inspector Hazel Henson 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 phases

Hazel Community Primary School 120071 Primary Medway Community Primary School 120108 Primary Ridgeway Primary Academy 138347 Primary Scraptoft Valley Primary School 120086 Primary Sparkenhoe Community Primary School 146857 Primary English Martyrs’ Catholic School 146196 Secondary Leicester High School for Girls 120324 Secondary Loughborough Grammar School 120332 Secondary Moat Community College 120292 Secondary Sir Christopher Hatton Academy 137912 Secondary St Paul’s Catholic School 136470 Secondary The Winstanley School 143844 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

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 looked after children, 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 phases

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 phases

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 phases

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

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