Setting

Derek Neil HMI

reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date are stated. Inspection reports are available on the Ofsted web site (www.ofsted.gov.uk).

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Introduction

Leeds SCITT works in partnership with 11 schools to provide secondary initial teacher training (ITT) courses. It offers design and technology, information and communication technology (ICT), music and science. At the time of the Standards visit of the inspection there were 23 trainees.

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Context

The inspection was carried out by a team of inspectors in accordance with the Ofsted Handbook for the Inspection of Initial Teacher Training (2005-2011).

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Context

This report draws on evidence from a full inspection of the provision and an inspection of the management and quality assurance arrangements.

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Grades are awarded in accordance with the following scale

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate

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Management and quality assurance: Grade 3

The provider will receive a full inspection in three years.

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Key strengths

 the well designed selection procedures, which lead to the recruitment of well qualified and experienced trainees

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Key strengths

 the commitment shown by all of the partners to establish and develop this new course

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Key strengths

 the consortium’s access to the expertise of staff at Trinity and All Saints College

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Key strengths

 the trainees’ high level of commitment to their schools and the contribution they make to school life.

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Points for action

 revising the music course so that it has a suitable emphasis on music pedagogy

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Points for action

 improving trainees’ skills in evaluating teaching and learning

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Points for action

 ensuring that the course equips trainees to manage their classes effectively

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Points for action

 helping trainees to engage and hold pupils’ interest with more stimulating lessons.

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Points for consideration

 evaluating the impact of the assessment procedures on the quality of training and on the progress trainees make

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Points for consideration

 developing the role of the lead subject tutors and providing relevant specialist support for them

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Points for consideration

 making clear in the evaluation report the course’s main priorities for development.

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Standards achieved by trainees

1. The trainees show a high level of commitment to the schools and the departments in which they teach. They form good relationships with staff and pupils and make valuable contributions to school life, for example by organising visits to places of educational interest or providing additional support for pupils at lunch time. They demonstrate appropriate attitudes through their conduct in school. The great majority have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and standards of work, although two of the seven trainees visited by inspectors tolerated unacceptable behaviour and praised work of poor quality.

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Standards achieved by trainees

2. Trainees are keen to improve and respond well to advice, except for a minority who have made little progress with some long-standing areas for development. Trainees can evaluate their teaching satisfactorily but few confidently analyse their lessons in a way that enables them to improve teaching and learning. Some of the trainees observed by inspectors did not know how to correct shortcomings in the observed lessons.

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Standards achieved by trainees

3. Trainees have a good knowledge of their subject, but in music their knowledge of subject pedagogy is weak. They have a satisfactory knowledge of the National Curriculum, the Secondary National Strategy and of examination requirements. They bring a high level of ICT competence to their lessons and use this well in ways that are relevant to their subject. They have a secure understanding of how to support pupils with special educational needs and those who are gifted and talented, but do not apply it regularly in the classroom.

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Standards achieved by trainees

4. The trainees’ lesson planning is satisfactory, and in design and technology, where trainees consistently use a well designed template, it is good. They all plan clear and suitable learning objectives, expressed in terms of the intended gains in pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills, often differentiated to reflect a range of abilities in the class. Resources are well prepared and the materials produced by the trainees are of high quality. They can plan a unit of work which develops pupils’ skills over a series of lessons, and devise a suitable way to assess pupils’ progress at the end of it. There is scope for improving the planning of a significant number of trainees. These trainees sometimes choose activities that are not well matched to the lesson’s objectives, or not sequenced well. They do not always plan appropriate assessment opportunities or different tasks to match pupils’ ability.

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Standards achieved by trainees

5. The trainees have a sound knowledge of behaviour management strategies, but many fail to apply them effectively. Consequently, four trainees visited by inspectors had difficulties in managing pupils’ behaviour. One, for example, recognised the importance of praising good behaviour and of timely use of sanctions, but gave no praise in the lesson and used sanctions only when it was too late. These trainees’ difficulties were also partly due to poor organisation. Two of them, for example, lost pupils’ attention by giving out equipment before it was needed, and another had difficulties gaining the group’s attention because of ill considered seating arrangements.

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Standards achieved by trainees

6. The trainees use a satisfactory range of teaching activities. They exploit ICT to support learning and to produce materials, and have a good understanding of when and when not to use it. Lessons have a clear three-part structure and include whole class discussion and group or individual work. Most of the lessons observed by inspectors, however, suffered from a lack of pace and did not motivate the pupils or engage their interest. These trainees spent too long addressing the whole class and their explanations were unclear.

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Standards achieved by trainees

7. The trainees assess pupils’ work regularly and provide constructive comments about how pupils might improve, though the weaker trainees tend to give advice about matters such as presentation rather than achievement in the subject. They use their school’s assessment information to identify pupils working above and below expectations but rarely use this or their own assessment information in their planning. They have demonstrated an ability to mark GCSE course work to examination criteria and can use assessment tasks to award National Curriculum levels accurately in Key Stage 3. They all have experience of writing reports to parents using their school’s procedures.

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The quality of training

8. The training programme has a clear structure, based on a well thought out rationale and planned with meticulous attention to detail to prepare trainees to achieve the Standards.

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The quality of training

9. Although the training is based on a generic framework for the four subjects, its quality varies. It is good, for example, in design and technology and satisfactory in music. There is scope for greater use of subject-specific material within the common framework, but, more significantly, there are gaps in the coverage of subject knowledge in music and insufficient emphasis on music pedagogy. In all courses, the subject training provides sound coverage of the curriculum and examination requirements and gives most trainees a satisfactory preparation for developing their subject knowledge and for planning and teaching lessons.

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The quality of training

10. A wide-ranging professional studies programme, taught centrally in the first term, provides trainees with knowledge and understanding of whole-school issues, with the intention that they apply this knowledge in their school placements. Much of the first stage of the course, when the bulk of the subject and professional studies training takes place, is set in consortium schools. This stage of the training does not take full advantage of the school context.

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The quality of training

11. Despite careful planning, and some well taught training sessions, the course does not ensure that trainees can use what they learn in the first stage to improve their teaching throughout the year. It does not, for example, secure trainees’ effective application of the behaviour management strategies they have learned.

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The quality of training

12. All those involved in the training understand their roles and responsibilities well. School-based trainers provide a suitable range of experiences for trainees. These include good opportunities to observe, teach and assess pupils in a range of classes and across the full age and ability range. The school experiences enable trainees to develop their skills in teaching and assessment to a satisfactory level. Trainees are taught to assess GCSE work and have opportunities to report to parents. They receive their entitlement of regular lesson observations and subject tutorials. They feel well supported by the school staff.

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The quality of training

13. The course is coherent and by the end of the training, the trainees can understand the connections between the professional studies course, their subject training and the school-based experience.

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The quality of training

14. Target setting is satisfactory overall but it has shortcomings. Weekly targets set during tutorials are often tasks rather than objectives designed to improve the quality of trainees’ teaching. Assessment records at the end of the first two stages of the course identify targets for development, but trainees do not always receive sufficient guidance on how these targets can be met. Targets generated by assessment at the end of the second school placement do not always take sufficient account of the new challenges posed by a different school context; for example, no consideration was given to the needs of a trainee who was moving to a school whose pupils presented more challenging behaviour than in the first school.

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The quality of training

15. The assessment system enables trainees and trainers to make consistent and reliable judgements about what trainees can do, and ensures that the pass/fail borderline is secure. However, the approach to gathering evidence and recording progress does not enable them to make accurate judgements about how well the trainees are meeting the Standards. As a result, some trainees have an inflated impression of their teaching ability, and do not make as much progress as they might. Weaker trainees spend too much time collecting unnecessary amounts of evidence instead of improving their teaching.

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The quality of training

16. Assignments make a useful contribution to training and to helping the trainees to achieve the Standards. They make appropriate demands and are marked thoroughly. However, the multiple-choice tests used in the professional studies course include unsuitable questions: some test knowledge that does not need to be memorised, and some are written in a way that leads trainees to think that several of the options could be correct. The lack of prompt feedback from the tests limits trainees’ opportunities to learn from their mistakes.

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Management and quality assurance

17. Recruitment and selection procedures are robust and result in the recruitment of mostly well qualified and suitably experienced trainees. The great majority pass the course and secure suitable employment. The consortium benefits from the Trinity and All Saints College admissions and registry service, which ensures all applicants are thoroughly checked against requirements. A dedicated web site provides useful information about the course, assessment details, entry requirements and contact details. The consortium is committed to the recruitment of trainees from under-represented groups and has exceeded its own ambitious targets for the recruitment of minority ethnic trainees. Lead tutors and ITT co- ordinators play a major role in interviews and the attendance of the consortium manager ensures judgements are standardised. The process is evaluated by trainees early in the course and improvements are made for the following year. The

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Management and quality assurance

provider sets pre-course tasks to help trainees prepare for their training, but the subject-specific pre-course tasks are not compulsory or differentiated according to individual needs identified through the selection process.

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Management and quality assurance

18. The strategic management of the consortium is satisfactory. The partners are fully committed and have successfully established a new ITT programme that meets the needs of local schools. In a short time, the consortium has extended the number of partner schools and trainers, and its long term plan sets out a clear and ambitious vision. The consortium is greatly assisted by its partnership with Trinity and All Saints College. The benefits include access to a range of resources, the opportunity to use the expertise of college staff, and the quality assurance procedures. Although the consortium relies heavily on support from the college, school-based staff do not view the relationship as a straitjacket. The structure of management committees is appropriate, though there is little opportunity for trainees to be represented.

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Management and quality assurance

19. The partnership schools are suitable venues for training. Lead schools are well equipped for the central subject training. The associate schools provide an appropriate range of opportunities for the school-based experience. School-based staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. School-based tutors are well supported on the whole by their ITT coordinator. Communications between school staff, other trainers and relevant staff at the college are good. School staff are also well supported by comprehensive, clear and detailed documentation. Training for mentors is well attended and covers relevant topics such as lesson observation and feedback. It has not yet led to better target setting for trainees in schools. Link tutors make regular visits throughout both placements and provide valuable advice on trainees and on training. Sometimes this advice is usefully recorded in writing and shared with managers. The design and technology

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Management and quality assurance

lead tutor visits schools before each placement and helps mentors to structure the school-based training. Early in the year new mentors expressed a need for training specifically for them as at the time they lacked confidence about their responsibilities. This was addressed during the year by individual visits to their schools.

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Management and quality assurance

20. The role of the subject lead tutor is under-developed. Some lead tutors have limited experience of ITT. Although they have evident strengths as trainers, course managers do not provide sufficient subject-specific guidance on current research and good practice. Managers are aware of this and are taking steps to deal with it, but progress has been slow. A perceptive report from an independent music specialist provides a clear steer for improving stage 1 of the course, but this was prepared very late and has not been shared yet with the lead tutor. Other subjects have not had the benefit of such insights. The lead tutors did not lead the assessment of trainees for the inspection.

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Management and quality assurance

21. ITT coordinators have a good understanding of how to monitor the training in their schools, but in practice their approach is still informal. The best carry out joint observations with mentors, and on occasion observe one-to-one mentoring sessions. During the year, the consortium began to trial procedures to establish a more consistent approach, but progress is limited.

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Management and quality assurance

22. Procedures for monitoring and moderating the assessment of trainees are extremely rigorous and fully understood by staff. Assignments are double-marked and a sample is triple-marked. Trainees’ progress is carefully considered by an examinations panel which determines whether they will progress to the next stage of training. Internal moderation is provided by a series of visits by consortium staff as link tutors or verifiers. This process ensures that the pass/fail borderline is secure, but does not ensure that assessments of how well the trainees are meeting the Standards are accurate.

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Management and quality assurance

23. An extensive range of evaluation information produces well triangulated evidence about the quality of the course. Sources include trainee questionnaires and reports on the provision in schools by link tutors. The process, however, did not identify some weaknesses in the training in time for this year’s trainees. There has been no formal evaluation of the assessment procedures and of their impact on trainees’ progress. Although school staff understand the process and their role within it, they have reservations about how well it profiles trainees’ strengths and areas for development. Procedures for dealing with trainees causing concern are appropriate, though one trainee at risk of failure received no warning to inform him.

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Management and quality assurance

24. The consortium’s comprehensive report on the first year of the course, based on a wide range of evidence, generates a large number of recommendations, some of which have already been implemented. It lacks a brief summary that makes clear the main priorities for development.

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Management and quality assurance

25. Managers respond to evaluation information to introduce improvements to the course. The design and technology lead tutor, for example, heeded inspection findings during the year and promptly made revisions to the course design for next year. Last year’s inspection report led to a thorough action plan which has produced satisfactory progress on a number of issues, such as the music trainees’ access to ICT resources. However, progress has not been rapid enough to secure improvements to all of the courses for this year. Some of the inspectors’ criticisms of the music course last year, for example, are still valid.

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