Exchange Teacher Training

Exchange Teacher Training

Address: Education House, Spawd Bone Lane, KNOTTINGLEY, WF11 0EP Unique reference number (URN): 2783599

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Inclusion Strong standard

Primary trainees benefit from a highly inclusive environment where leaders identify barriers to learning and/or wellbeing early and address them with care and precision. Leaders get to know trainees as individuals. They use information from recruitment, initial needs analysis and ongoing review to understand trainees’ prior experiences, learning needs and personal circumstances. This means that support is planned deliberately from the outset. Primary trainees, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, feel valued and able to contribute fully to the professional community.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders’ support for primary trainees is responsive and highly effective. They put practical adaptations in place so that trainees can access the curriculum and succeed in school placements. These include strategies such as pre-teaching, assignment support, careful placement planning and adjustment plans which are shared with relevant staff and partner

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Expected standard

schools. Leaders ensure that these adaptations do not lower expectations. Instead, they help trainees to meet the demands of the programme and develop as confident beginning teachers.

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Expected standard

Leaders review the impact of support closely. When trainees’ needs change, or when placements present new challenges, leaders respond quickly and thoughtfully. This ensures that primary trainees, including those with complex needs or significant barriers, receive consistent support across centre-based training and partner schools. As a result, trainees continue to learn, make progress and succeed.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders have established a clear and purposeful approach to the development of professional behaviours. They set high expectations for trainees’ conduct from the start of the programme. Trainees understand the importance of acting with integrity, communicating professionally and building positive relationships with pupils, colleagues and families. These expectations are reinforced through training sessions, mentoring and regular review points. As a result, trainees develop the professional habits and confidence they need to move successfully into the teaching profession.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders provide a coherent programme that helps trainees to understand their wider responsibilities. Trainees learn about safeguarding, equality, inclusion and the importance of maintaining appropriate boundaries. They value opportunities to reflect on the kind of teacher they want to become. School-based mentors and lead mentor contact help trainees to connect learning to their placement experience and to the realities of working in schools.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pastoral support is highly effective. Leaders know trainees well and respond quickly when concerns arise. Trainees benefit from clear routes for advice and guidance. Leaders take sensible steps to support workload, including adapting aspects of the programme to provide more time for independent study. This helps trainees to manage the demands of training while continuing to develop professionally.

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Achievement Expected standard

Primary trainees achieve well. The programme prepares them securely for the demands of teaching across the primary age range. Trainees develop a sound understanding of effective pedagogy, including behaviour management, adaptive teaching and how to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Trainees learn how to create calm routines and build positive relationships with pupils.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees develop important subject knowledge for primary teaching. They are particularly well prepared in core aspects of the curriculum, including early reading, mathematics and safeguarding. Through centre-based training, school placements and mentoring, trainees increasingly apply what they have learned with confidence in classrooms. They understand the professional responsibilities of teachers and become more reflective and resilient as the programme progresses.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders have improved trainees’ outcomes. The proportion of trainees gaining qualified teacher status has increased and is broadly in line with national figures. Trainees are prepared well to enter the teaching profession.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders have developed the primary initial teacher education curriculum carefully, drawing on the expertise of national partners, regional colleagues and primary specialists. Leaders keep the curriculum under review and make appropriate refinements where trainees’ needs or programme evaluation indicate that change is needed.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

The primary curriculum is coherent, well-ordered and informed well by relevant research. It builds trainees’ knowledge and skills progressively across the programme. Trainees revisit important concepts through the different stages of their training. This helps them to secure and deepen their understanding and to apply this in their teaching practice. Early training focuses on safeguarding, professional expectations, behaviour management and how pupils learn. The concepts are revisited to help trainees to develop their knowledge of how to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other vulnerabilities.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders integrate teaching practice with the curriculum well so that trainees can build their preparedness to teach a range of primary age pupils. This enables trainees to practice, get meaningful feedback on and refine their teaching in a timely way. Trainees also benefit from regular and helpful feedback from mentors following observations. As a result, trainees know what they do well and what they need to do to improve.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Trainees generally benefit from well-taught core sessions and from subject-specific training that helps them understand how pupils learn across the national curriculum subjects. Training in early reading, mathematics and the wider curriculum gives trainees a vital foundation for classroom practice. However, some aspects of the curriculum content are not yet developed with the same level of precision. This means that trainees do not gain the same depth of understanding in all areas of teaching, such as assessment. Leaders recognise that strengthening this aspect of the curriculum would help trainees apply their learning with greater confidence in their age-range of choice.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders have a clear and ambitious vision to provide high-quality teachers for the regions they serve. They work effectively with a wide range of national and regional partners that bring considerable expertise in education and initial teacher education. Regional delivery partners provide valuable insight into the educational contexts of their areas. This helps leaders to shape provision that is responsive to local need. Leaders are successful in recruiting trainees who are committed to entering the teaching profession across all regions they serve, including in areas where teacher recruitment is a significant challenge.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to review the primary initial teacher education curriculum to ensure trainees are fully equipped with a well-rounded knowledge and understanding of teaching that they can apply in the classroom.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that quality assurance and self-evaluation is sufficiently deep and focused to inform precise priorities for improvement which have a positive impact on the trainee experience. Leaders have established a systematic and well-considered model of oversight and governance. A strategic board and subcommittee of the board of trustees work coherently to check the quality of the programme and to hold leaders to account. These arrangements provide leaders with appropriate challenge and support. Leaders are reflective and use this oversight to continue their work to develop the provision.

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Next steps

Leaders have developed a systematic model of quality assurance and self-evaluation. A steering group, made up of a representative of stakeholder groups, contributes to the evaluation and development of the provision. Leaders use evidence from this group, regional partners, mentors and trainees to identify what is working well and what needs further refinement. However, leaders’ evaluation is not always deep enough or specific enough to the primary phase. As a result, some improvement priorities are not well enough developed to bring about what leaders intend from them.

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Next steps

Staff benefit from a high-quality professional learning programme and a positive culture at work. Leaders provide well-considered support for staff workload and wellbeing.

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Next steps

Leaders ensure that school-based mentors receive appropriate training. Lead mentors work collaboratively with school mentors so that they understand the curriculum and know what is required of them in order to meet the expectations of leaders.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders promote diversity very effectively. They provide a highly inclusive environment for trainees. Leaders create a culture in which trainees feel welcome and valued. Leaders have established rigorous systems and processes to identify and meet trainees’ needs. This includes for trainees with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders take deliberate actions to identify trainees’ needs early. They work with trainees to put appropriate programme adaptations and adjustments in place. Trainees with additional needs have adjustment plans that detail the support they require. Leaders share this information with staff and partner schools. Trainees enjoy provision at training and in partner schools that consistently and effectively meets their individual needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders understand well the demographic contexts of the regions they serve and of the teaching profession in those regions. Leaders use this knowledge very effectively to inform the promotion of the programme. This has led to the recruitment of an increasingly diverse group of secondary trainees.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders systematically review the support they provide for trainees. They quickly adapt that support to ensure that it has the required impact. The views of trainees are at the centre of determining changes to meet their evolving needs. Leaders are highly effective in meeting trainees’ needs, including trainees with SEND.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders take highly effective approaches to developing trainees’ professional behaviours and personal attributes. Leaders have high expectations of trainees’ conduct and commitment to learning. Leaders make these high expectations clear to trainees from the outset. Leaders and staff actively encourage trainees to reflect on the type of teacher they want to be. This gives trainees the confidence to develop their own teacher persona.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

At the start of the programme, trainees study professional behaviours. Trainees learn about the fundamental importance of these behaviours to the teaching profession. Trainees revisit this learning, informed very well by the experience of their first school placement. Throughout the programme, trainees demonstrate a high level of professional behaviour and conduct.

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Professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders provide a comprehensive range of support for trainees' wellbeing. Many trainees take up this support, including mental health support from external agencies. Leaders respond to trainees' views about workload and ensure that trainees' workload is manageable. All trainees receive individual and meaningful pastoral support from regional leads for wellbeing. Regional leads provide more regular and tailored pastoral support for

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Expected standard

trainees who need it. This pastoral support is highly effective. It helps trainees to manage their workload and to develop strategies to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

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Achievement Expected standard

The programme prepares trainees well to teach their subject in the secondary phase. Trainees gain a secure knowledge and understanding of effective pedagogy, including how to adapt their teaching. Trainees know the subject knowledge and skills that pupils should learn in their relevant subjects at key stages 3 and 4. They also gain the understanding and skills they require to meet pupils' needs effectively. This includes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Trainees secure a clear understanding of the principles of effective behaviour management. They are confident in applying those principles to their own teaching. Trainees also understand well a teacher's safeguarding responsibilities. Trainees develop the character, confidence and resilience they need for the teaching profession.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders have improved the achievement rates of trainees. The percentage of trainees gaining qualified teacher status is now similar to that in other providers.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders have designed a secondary initial teacher education (ITE) curriculum that is informed well by the knowledge and expertise of national partners. They have introduced a steering group which provides helpful advice to leaders on the content of the curriculum. Leaders also ensure that the curriculum is underpinned by relevant research.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders consider carefully the structure and sequencing of the curriculum so that trainees can build their knowledge progressively over time. The curriculum is designed around four ‘phases’ which are revisited throughout the curriculum so that trainees can deepen and secure their knowledge. They learn in depth about safeguarding, behaviour management, professional behaviours and pedagogy.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

In completing the postgraduate certificate of education, trainees explore pertinent educational research. Trainees apply this research well to their teaching. They also progress on to learning about adaptive teaching and meeting the needs of vulnerable pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Mentors understand the ITE curriculum well. They are supported effectively by lead mentors who ensure that school-based mentors have the knowledge and information they need to support trainees to develop their teaching skills. As a result, school mentors are instrumental in developing trainees' knowledge and skills. They benefit from high-quality feedback on their teaching which helps them to develop their pedagogical skills. Trainees enjoy the well-taught core curriculum and subject-specific sessions. Subject- specific training sessions enable trainees to apply their learning about pedagogy to the teaching of their subject. Trainees typically have meaningful opportunities to practise what they learn about in their centre-based training.

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Curriculum, teaching and training Expected standard

Leaders ensure that intensive training and practice (ITAP) meets the Department for Education’s compliance criteria. They have selected focus areas of behaviour routines, adaptive teaching and disciplinary literacy. However, the structure and content of some ITAP does not provide trainees with a deep enough learning experience. This is because trainees do not get sufficient opportunities to practise their learning from these components of the curriculum.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders are committed to providing high-quality teachers for the regions they serve. The decisions they take are in the best interest of trainees. Leaders engage very effectively with a range of regional and national partners who bring with them considerable initial teacher education (ITE) expertise to inform the provision as a whole and the secondary curriculum. At a regional level, partner leaders share helpful insights into the educational context of the areas they cover.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders benefit from rigorous challenge and high levels of support from those responsible for oversight of the ITE provision. Leaders have established a strategic board and subcommittee of the board of trustees who work in a coherent way to ensure that the provision meets statutory duties.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders are generally systematic in their quality assurance and self-evaluation of the provision. They listen carefully to feedback, including from the stakeholder steering group. This contributes well to the leaders’ understanding of what is working well and what could be improved. However, sometimes leaders’ evaluation of the provision does not consider areas for improvement in enough depth or specifically in relation to the secondary phase. As a result, improvement priorities sometimes lack precision.

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Leadership Expected standard

Staff enjoy a positive workplace culture. Leaders provide well-considered support to support staff with their workload and wellbeing. Leaders create an environment that enables staff to perform their roles effectively.

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Leadership Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff and mentors receive the professional learning that they need to carry out their roles effectively. School-based mentors benefit from an appropriate training programme that helps them to understand their role. Lead mentors work collaboratively with the school-based mentors to ensure they know what is expected of them and to support the mentors to meet these expectations.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that all the different components of the secondary curriculum are more purposefully integrated so that trainees can apply more of their learning from intensive teaching and practice and acquire a deep and rich body of knowledge.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that quality assurance and self-evaluation are sufficiently deep and focused so that they inform precise priorities for improvement, including priorities that are specific to the experience of secondary phase trainees.

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What it's like to be a trainee at this provider

Trainees experience a carefully structured programme that is closely connected to the realities of teaching. From the outset, they understand what is expected of them as developing professionals and how their responsibilities for safeguarding, conduct and pupils’ well-being sit at the heart of their role. By the end of the programme, trainees are increasingly prepared to keep pupils safe, meet diverse needs and help learners flourish.

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What it's like to be a trainee at this provider

The curriculum introduces trainees to important knowledge early and returns to it over time, helping trainees to build confidence and apply what they learn in school. Training in areas such as behaviour management, phonics, inclusion and how to adapt their teaching is strengthened through phase-specific input, immersion experiences and deliberate practice. Trainees value the expertise of leaders and staff from across the partnership. As a result, trainees in both the primary and secondary phases are prepared well to teach their subjects to a range of pupils and learners, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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What it's like to be a trainee at this provider

Trainees are welcomed into a supportive professional community where they feel known, included and able to ask for help. Staff take time to understand the circumstances of individual trainees. This includes trainees with SEND or other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, such as health issues or caring responsibilities. Where needed, adjustment plans, occupational health advice and sensitive mentoring help trainees settle into placements and sustain progress through the curriculum.

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What it's like to be a trainee at this provider

Staff, including regional leads, mentors and lead mentors provide accessible guidance for trainees. Weekly mentor meetings help trainees reflect on their progress as well as their workload and well-being. Clear communication across the partnership and consistent expectations from staff help trainees feel welcome and to understand their responsibilities as a teacher.

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About this inspection

Trainees follow one of 2 routes into teaching. Trainees either undertake a postgraduate teacher training route or an apprenticeship training route.

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Team inspectors:

Mary Cook, His Majesty's Inspector Chris Carr, His Majesty's Inspector Duncan Martin, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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Number of partners and trainees

There are 3 full-time pathways offered by this provider. Primary trainees follow either a 3 to 7 programme or a 5 to 11 programme. Secondary trainees follow an 11 to 16 programme. Trainees in both the primary and secondary phases study one of 2 routes. They are either undertaking a graduate entry or graduate employment-based route leading to qualified teacher status.

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Number of partners and trainees

There are currently 4 apprentices studying the primary level 6 teacher apprenticeship route, and 8 apprentices studying the secondary level 6 teacher apprenticeship route.

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Number of partners and trainees

The postgraduate routes are offered in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University.

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Number of partners and trainees

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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Number of partners and trainees

Inspectors spoke with leaders and those with responsibility for oversight of the provision. Inspectors met with trainees and reviewed portfolios of their work. Inspectors also held conversations with teacher educators, lead mentors, mentors, headteachers in partnership schools and early career teachers.

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Number of partners and trainees

Inspectors reviewed curriculum documentation and considered the provider's work in safeguarding.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of training. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of training.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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 .

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Urgent improvement

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-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

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

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