London Metropolitan University

London Metropolitan University 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB Inspection dates 4 to 7 March 2024

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Inspection judgements

The quality of education and training Good 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 on all routes and in both phases achieve well at the end of their courses.

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

Trainees are taught to become experts in their subject and phase. In both primary and secondary phases, trainees access a carefully planned and sequenced ITE curriculum that prepares them for working in schools. For primary-phase trainees, teaching early reading and phonics are rightly prioritised. In secondary, trainees learn to become effective teachers of their subjects. Trainees learn to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Trainees spoke highly of intensive training towards the start of the course on dealing with issues of behaviour.

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

The university is successful in its ambition to recruit and train future teachers from diverse backgrounds who reflect the different backgrounds and perspectives of school communities. Trainees are proud to study here and feel well supported by university and school staff.

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

University centre-based tutors work closely with school-based mentors to ensure that trainees receive the support they need in their placement schools. Trainees know who to speak to if they have any worries, and they have confidence in their tutors to resolve any issues they may have. Sometimes, leaders’ quality assurance procedures are not equally effective in identifying and addressing variability in the quality of mentoring across partnership schools.

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Information about this ITE provider

◼ The provider currently has 60 primary trainees and 67 secondary trainees. ◼ The primary phase has trainees on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) route and the apprenticeship route. ◼ The secondary phase has trainees on the PGCE route only. ◼ The provider offers the assessment-only route to candidates in the primary and secondary phases. Typically, the number of candidates on this route is low, and currently, there are no candidates on this route. ◼ The provider has 115 primary and secondary partnership schools. At the time of the inspection, primary-phase trainees were placed in 49 partnership schools and secondary-phase trainees were placed in 47 partnership schools. The majority of schools are graded as good or outstanding by Ofsted and there are a small number graded as requires improvement. ◼ There are 41 level 6 teacher apprentices in the primary phase based in London and Northamptonshire. These apprentices are studying the standard: Educating young

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Information about this ITE provider

people to achieve the highest possible standards.

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Information about this inspection

◼ This inspection was carried out by five of His Majesty’s Inspectors and two Ofsted Inspectors. ◼ Inspectors met with partnership leaders, including the dean of the school of social sciences and social professions, the head of initial teacher education, the deputy head of initial teacher education and the head of education. Inspectors met the primary apprenticeship leaders from London and Northamptonshire. Inspectors also met the vice-chancellor of the university and representatives from the partnership steering group. ◼ Inspectors held meetings with trainees, school-based mentors, university tutors, early career teachers and teacher apprentices. ◼ Inspectors spoke to 30 primary-phase trainees across the PGCE and teacher apprenticeship routes, 38 secondary-phase trainees and 13 early career teachers. Some of these discussions took place remotely. ◼ In the primary phase, focused reviews were conducted in early reading, mathematics, art and

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Information about this inspection

design, history and physical education. ◼ In the secondary phase, inspectors carried out focused reviews in English, modern foreign languages, science, mathematics and computing. ◼ Inspectors visited eight primary-placement schools and seven secondary-placement schools. Primary phase report

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better?

The primary ITE course curriculum is ambitious and demanding. Trainees are appreciative of this. They spoke positively about the learning and support they receive from expert tutors at university. This is because leaders have recruited staff with the relevant phase expertise. The core content framework has been carefully interwoven throughout the curriculum and the duration of the course. Recent research and pedagogy are also communicated through the taught course, enabling trainees to gain and practise the most up-to-date knowledge. The partnership’s fortnightly bulletin provides trainees and mentors with small chunks of further relevant and up-to-date learning which informs lesson planning and observations in school.

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better?

The curriculum is coherent and well sequenced, particularly in English, mathematics and science, and typically so in the wider foundation subject curriculum. The teaching of early reading and phonics are given high priority. All trainees who predominantly experience teaching a class in Years 3 to 6 during their teaching practice placement undertake an alternative placement giving them exposure to a class of younger pupils in Years 1 or 2. Every primary trainee observes, plans and teaches a sequence of phonics lessons. All this ensures that all primary trainees understand how children learn to read.

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better?

On occasion in some foundation subjects in the wider curriculum, the key knowledge that trainees need to know about the subject has not been identified as clearly as in other subjects. Where this is the case, the taught course is sometimes too broad and does not provide trainees as routinely with the most important subject-specific knowledge they need to plan a sequence of lessons effectively. Trainees said that sometimes they learn this during their partnership-school placements rather than at the central university.

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better?

School-based mentors receive training for their roles at the start of the school year. This generally covers course content, record-keeping and expectations. It does not set out as clearly what is required regarding observations, coaching or target setting. This means that aspects of school-based mentoring are sometimes uneven because they are dependent on mentors’ own knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, sometimes this leads to mentors setting targets for trainees that are too broad and not carefully aligned to the course curriculum. Where the need is identified, central tutors provide school-based mentors with support during visits to school. However, subsequent follow up is not sufficiently systematic to secure rapid and lasting improvements to overall mentoring quality.

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better?

Assessment of trainees at the central university is robust and rigorous. Assessment information is used to ensure that most trainees learn the intended curriculum and successfully complete their course. Typically, the courses offered prepare each trainee for a successful career in primary-phase teaching. From the recruitment stage all the way through to course completion, trainees are supported to balance both employment and training successfully. Trainees on the primary-phase route and those on the apprenticeship route feel fully prepared for the demands of their teaching roles.

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(Information for the provider and appropriate authority)

◼ Sometimes, the quality of support through the school-based mentoring programme is uneven. As a result, some trainees’ targets are sometimes too broad or not closely aligned to the course curriculum, and this sometimes slows the development of trainees’ practice. Leaders should take steps to ensure that all mentors receive clear guidance for all aspects of their roles, check the consistency of mentoring and follow up on any variability effectively and swiftly. ◼ Sometimes, the curriculum content in some foundation subjects does not provide trainees with all the knowledge, and in particular, all the important subject disciplinary knowledge, that they need. Consequently, trainees are not equally confident across all subjects to plan and deliver series of lessons. Leaders must make sure that the curriculum content, including subject disciplinary knowledge, for all foundation subjects is as carefully thought through as for the core subjects so that trainees gain

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(Information for the provider and appropriate authority)

the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to plan and deliver a series of lessons in all subjects.

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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 are assessed at the start of the programme and then at regular points up to the end-point assessment. All apprentices also complete the PGCE in primary education and are assessed in the same way as trainees on the PGCE route. Training is reviewed and adapted to meet the apprentices’ needs. Apprentices receive support to practise and gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers need and are ready for their future careers in teaching.

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principles and requirements of apprenticeship provision?

Apprentices receive off-the-job training away from the workplace to develop into confident teachers. As this training is designed around the PGCE programme, apprentices receive training from staff with up-to-date subject and phase knowledge. Secondary phase report

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better?

The ambitious secondary ITE programme is coherently sequenced. Through it, trainees gain a strong understanding of established pedagogical theories and practice. The curriculum covers the full requirements of the core content framework. Trainees revisit knowledge in more depth as the course progresses and their experience in the classroom increases. Over time, they develop a detailed appreciation of how different aspects of the framework connect.

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better?

Expert subject trainers support trainees to apply general principles in their chosen subjects. The curriculum gives trainees frequent opportunities to engage with up-to-date educational research. Trainees gain a strong understanding of how pupils learn. They explore how this applies to their subject specialisms. For example, they are introduced to common misconceptions that pupils might have. They are given the tools they need to identify and correct these explicitly through planning, teaching or feedback.

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better?

Relationships between the university and its partnership schools are strong. Subject leaders communicate with mentors through weekly bulletins. Mentors find these exceedingly helpful and they use them to guide discussions in meetings with trainees. Mentors are well informed about the curriculum that trainees are studying.

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better?

The expectations of trainee assessment, including deadlines, are well understood. Leaders use regular formative assessment to check the developing knowledge and skills of trainees and how well they are applying this in their classrooms. However, the targets set by mentors sometimes lack precision which is not picked up as routinely by leaders’ checks. As a result, sometimes some trainees are not as clear about the specific steps they should take to improve their practice.

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better?

School-based mentors take on the role of expert colleagues. Generally, this provides a clear bridge between what trainees learn at the central university and what is happening in their own classrooms. Typically, mentors discuss aspects of the curriculum with trainees and these vital discussions help trainees to apply what they have learned to their chosen subject and the context of the placement school. On occasion, the impact of these discussions between mentors and trainees is reduced when they are not as sharply focused on aspects of curriculum within the context of their placement school.

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phase?

[Information for the provider and appropriate authority ]

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phase?

◼ Sometimes, quality assurance of mentoring does not identify where opportunities are missed to engage trainees in focused curriculum discussion and consider what they have learned in their subject and placement context, and identify clear and specific next-step targets. As a result, the impact of some mentor-trainee discussions is reduced, and sometimes trainees are not sharply aware of what they need to do to improve. Leaders should ensure that target setting is effective and strengthen quality assurance processes to ensure consistent practice.

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compliance criteria?

The provider meets the DfE statutory compliance criteria.

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ITE provider details

Unique reference number 70052 Inspection number 10254536

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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 Secondary Date of previous inspection 18 May and 5 October 2015

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Inspection team

Mark Smith, Overall lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Samantha Ingram, Phase lead inspector primary His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Annabel Davies, Phase lead inspector secondary 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

Loxford Primary 140475 Primary Risley Avenue Primary 131879 Primary The Grange 121897 Primary Hunsbury Park 121952 Primary Rotherfield Primary 131740 Primary Mossbourne Riverside Academy 140426 Primary Gainsborough Primary 100225 Primary Gayhurst Community School 130303 Primary Cardinal Pole 138449 Secondary Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School 100457 Secondary Heartlands High School 139616 Secondary Rokeby School 148901 Secondary Trinity Park Catholic School 102860 Secondary Winchmore Hill School 102045 Secondary The Warren School 141178 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

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

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