The Robert Owen Foundation

Transcription

1 The Robert Owen Foundation Initial Teacher Education inspection report May 2013 This inspection was carried out by five of Her Majesty s Inspectors, one seconded inspector and one additional inspector in accordance with the ITE Inspection Handbook. This handbook sets out the statutory basis and framework for initial teacher education (ITE) inspections in England from January The inspection draws upon evidence from each phase and separate programme within the ITE partnership to make judgements against all parts of the evaluation schedule. Inspectors focused on the overall effectiveness of the ITE partnership in securing high-quality outcomes for trainees. Inspection judgements Key to judgements: Grade 1 is outstanding; grade 2 is good; grade 3 is requires improvement; grade 4 is inadequate Primary QTS Secondary QTS Employment -based routes Overall effectiveness How well does the partnership secure consistently high quality outcomes for trainees? The outcomes for trainees The quality of training across the partnership The quality of leadership and management across the partnership

2 The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone , or enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Reference no Crown Copyright

3 Key findings Trainees are self-motivated and committed to teaching; they develop excellent relationships with the pupils they teach. Well-qualified trainees are recruited to meet the employment needs of local schools. Training emphasises the development of trainees practical teaching skills and is leading to improving satisfaction rates from trainees. To improve the ITE partnership must: Improve the proportion of trainees completing the programmes successfully and exceeding the minimum level of practice as defined in the Teachers Standards. Strengthen the rigour of monitoring and evaluation processes to identify best practice and ensure greater consistency in mentoring. Ensure partner schools are fully engaged in the design of the training and the strategic leadership and management of the partnership. Information about this ITE partnership The Robert Owen Foundation trains teachers for primary (3-7) and (5-11) and secondary (11-16) teaching across a range of subjects. It also provides Business Studies training (14-19) through the graduate training programme (GTP). Separate phase training routes are also provided through two school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) programmes, one for primary and one for secondary. There are very strong links between the graduate training programme and the main primary and secondary SCITT programmes; a number of the schools in the partnership offer placements for both SCITT and GTP trainees. Trainees receive the same centre-based training and leaders and managers work across the different phases of the programmes. On successful completion of their one-year programme, trainees are awarded qualified teacher status (QTS). Some trainees also gain academic credit towards a Masters degree from the College of Teachers. The partnership is organised into three learning area hubs. The Central hub covers Herefordshire, the North hub covers Shropshire and the East hub covers Worcestershire and the Midlands. At the time of the inspection there were 24 primary and 36 secondary trainees on the employment-based route. There were 42 trainees on the primary and 22 trainees on the secondary SCITT programmes. 3

4 The primary phase Information about the primary partnership The Robert Owen Foundation offers a primary SCITT programme in partnership with 60 primary schools located in seven local authorities. Thirty six trainees, specialising in early years (3-7) and 12 trainees, specialising in primary (5-11) were enrolled on the programme this academic year. The programme provides trainees with the same centre-based training as that provided to primary trainees on the employment-based initial teacher training (EBITT) programme. Information about the primary ITE inspection Inspectors observed eight lessons taught by trainees in five primary schools. All of these were observed jointly with a school-based mentor. Inspectors also observed four lessons taught by newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in their first year of teaching in three of these schools. In addition, inspectors observed mentors giving feedback to trainees and scrutinised trainers lesson observation records and reports, trainees teaching files, evidence for the Teachers Standards, and documents relating to trainees professional and subject knowledge enhancement. Inspectors held discussions with: trainees, NQTs, mentors, headteachers, leaders and managers. Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentary evidence, including evidence relating to recruitment and selection; documents on statutory safeguarding and compliance with initial teacher training criteria; assessments and analyses of outcomes for trainees and evaluations and improvement plans. Inspectors scrutinised external examiner reports and evaluations from trainees and NQTs. Inspectors also took account of the responses to the trainee online questionnaire, which 37 trainees completed. Inspection team Steven Popper SI: Lead inspector Joy Frost HMI: Assistant lead inspector 4

5 Overall Effectiveness Grade: 3 The key strengths of the primary partnership are: The commitment, professionalism and reflectiveness of trainees, who aspire to become good or better teachers. Committed school-based mentors and area professional tutors who offer substantial personal support and guidance that promotes the development of trainees confidence and practical teaching skills well. The partnership schools which provide appropriate training placements. The high quality of centre-based training in science, that results in high levels of satisfaction from trainees. Increasingly effective selection procedures that lead to the recruitment of trainees with the potential to become good teachers and meet the needs of local schools. What does the primary partnership need to do to improve further? The partnership must: Make more effective use of monitoring information and trainee tracking data to provide effective and timely interventions to ensure that a greater proportion of trainees complete their training and reach the highest levels of attainment. Enhance training to ensure it has a greater focus on: - up-to-date subject knowledge for teaching, especially with regard to the teaching of phonics and mathematics - up-to-date publications, Ofsted survey reports and national developments in education - teaching, learning and assessment in the Early Years Foundation Stage - trainees progress from their starting points. Provide systematic mentor training and utilise the strengths and expertise of partnership mentors and schools to share best practice. 5

6 Inspection Judgements The outcomes for trainees requires improvement 1. The outcomes for trainees requires improvement because not all trainees exceed the minimum level of practice as defined in the Teachers Standards by the end of their training and completion rates are low. The quality of most trainees teaching at this stage of their training is good. However, a significant proportion of trainees teaching is not good or outstanding and trainees are not realising their full potential. There is no significant variation in the attainment of different groups of trainees. 2. Employment rates show improvement on previous years and are now in line with sector norms. 3. Trainees demonstrate professionalism, commitment and a high level of reflectiveness. Most lessons are differentiated to meet the needs of pupils of different abilities and with disabilities or special educational needs well. Weaker trainees support for more able pupils, however, lacks appropriate challenge. Trainees lessons are well-structured and make effective use of a range of resources, including information and communication technology (ICT). All trainees demonstrate good relationships with their pupils and use effective behaviour management strategies. They know how to improve the literacy skills of the pupils they teach but are less secure in their understanding of how to develop pupils mathematical and numeracy skills across the curriculum. Trainees use questioning well, and the best trainees engage pupils in highly stimulating dialogue that promotes deep thinking and leads to good progress being made. For example, in one English lesson, a trainee used rich dialogue to inspire and guide pupils detailed and acute exploration of the nature of a fictional character. 4. Trainees subject knowledge in phonics and early reading is not as strong as it should be. This is because they lack awareness of some key theoretical ideas related to the Simple View of Reading. Weaknesses in trainees subject knowledge in mathematics were observed in occasional errors made by a few trainees in their teaching. Early years trainees have taught mathematics in both the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, but primary trainees have little practical experience of teaching mathematics in the Early Years Foundation Stage, so their understanding of early mathematical learning is limited. 5. Early years trainees knowledge and understanding of good early years practice is dependent on the opportunities offered by their school placements and their own prior experience. This is because greater 6

7 emphasis is given to primary rather than early years in the training and assignment briefs. The quality of training across the partnership requires improvement 6. The quality of school and centre-based training requires improvement. Trainees teach for four days in school each week and spend one day on centre-based training. This ensures trainees receive ample training in the three core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Non-core subjects are taught in hub sessions, held after school, fortnightly and during the half-term breaks. Effective professional studies sessions are also taught through these regular hub sessions. In addition, trainees receive supportive one-to-one training, with area professional tutors, which help to prepare them for assignments and to demonstrate that they are meeting the Teachers Standards. 7. Trainees and newly qualified teachers speak very highly of the personal support that they receive from their area professional tutors and schoolbased mentors and inspectors judged this to be a strength of the programme. Many testify how this support has increased their confidence and resilience and helped them to make progress as developing teachers. 8. School experience documentation identifies weekly expectations of trainees, but many of these lack challenge and are repetitive. As a result trainees long-term progression is not targeted or identified precisely enough to ensure that sufficient progress is made. 9. Some mentors give trainees an over-generous impression of the strength of their teaching. The areas for development that mentors identify often take the form of activities to complete rather than specific targets to improve the quality of the trainees teaching. The format of the lesson observation proforma is confusing for mentors and means the grading of individual lessons is not always clearly related to trainees assessment in relation to the Teachers Standards. The pass/ fail boundary is, however, secure. School-based mentors give trainees regular, detailed and constructive feedback. Verbal feedback is accurate and appropriate, highlighting the strong points of trainees teaching and areas for development, and most trainees make progress as a result. Mentors ensure that trainees reflect upon the learning and progress of their pupils and understand what they could do to improve or build upon their teaching in subsequent lessons. 10. Phonics training is neither up-to-date nor extensive enough to prepare trainees well. Insufficient time is devoted to systematic synthetic phonics and early reading and the training is too reliant on two published phonic schemes. Links between phonics and the development of pupils writing 7

8 are not made effectively. Expertise in partnership schools is not utilised well enough to ensure that all trainees observe and learn from best practice in the teaching of systematic, synthetic phonics. 11. Early years and primary trainees receive the same centre-based training. This training is pitched more at the needs of the primary trainees than those specialising in Early Years. There is insufficient phase-specific training about the nature of young children s learning, good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage, and transition and progression between this stage and Key Stage One. As a result early years trainees are too reliant on their prior experience and opportunities offered in their school placements for the development of their understanding of early years teaching and learning. 12. The quality of training in mathematics requires improvement. The centre-based training covers all areas of mathematics, but again, the progression from the Early Years Foundation Stage into Key Stage 1 is not given sufficient emphasis. Although trainees complete helpful school-based activities in preparation for the mathematics training sessions, there is not enough emphasis on the development of trainees subject knowledge. This means that weaknesses in trainees subject knowledge is not always identified or acted upon in a timely enough fashion. Trainees are given much practical advice and help in how to teach mathematics in the classroom, but some of the training materials, published reports and teaching ideas used are dated. 13. Centre-based training in science is of a high quality. The content is extensive and there is a strong emphasis on practical learning. Trainees are given a wealth of resources and practical ideas that are applicable to the continuum across the Early Years Foundation Stage and both primary key stages. Trainees express very high levels of satisfaction with this component of their training. 14. Training prepares trainees to recognise signs indicating the possible presence of disabilities or special educational needs and to meet the needs of pupils to whom this applies. Trainees are well prepared to teach pupils for whom English is an additional language and reported how helpful a recent visit to an urban school was in raising their awareness of cultural and linguistic diversity. Trainees have good opportunities to work with pupils for whom English is an additional language. 15. Trainees receive training that provides them with good strategies to manage behaviour and combat all forms of prejudice-based bullying. The effectiveness of this training was seen in the strong behaviour management witnessed in lessons observed by the inspection team. 8

9 16. Subject knowledge audits are carried out, but these are simplistic and reflect trainees levels of confidence rather than their levels of competence. The results of these audits are not used well enough to trigger appropriate interventions or additional training. This means that those with low scores in subject knowledge audits are not given the depth of support they need and fail to make as much progress as they should. 17. Partnership schools offer appropriate training placements and a wealth of training opportunities. Most trainees and NQTs receive invaluable support and advice on how to improve their practical teaching skills from their mentors and other colleagues in school. The quality of leadership and management across the partnership requires improvement 18. The quality of leadership and management requires improvement as the impact of leaders and managers on the quality of training and outcomes for trainees is not yet good. The partnership leadership has a vision for future excellence and is committed to improving the quality of provision. Self-evaluation documents demonstrate that the provider is aware of the strengths of the programme and where key improvements need to be made. 19. The selection and recruitment process is now much more rigorous than at the time of the previous inspection. It tests applicants suitability for teaching through observations of teaching in partnership schools and takes more account of applicants levels of prior experience. These improvements to the recruitment and selection process put the provider in a stronger position than previously to ensure that higher numbers of trainees complete their training successfully. 20. Monitoring data is regularly uploaded to the partnership s VLE. This includes lesson observations, reports, assignments, feedback, completed subject knowledge audits and records of trainees one-to-one meetings with tutors and mentors. However, insufficient use is currently made of this to provide effective and timely interventions to ensure that trainees make long-term progress and reach the highest levels of attainment. 21. School-based mentors do not receive any systematic training about their roles and responsibilities, so are reliant on the individual support they receive from their area professional tutor. As a result school-based trainers do not share a secure, common understanding of the expectations or assessment of trainees during school experience, nor are they sufficiently informed about the content or development of centrebased training or the long-term progression needs of trainees. This lack 9

10 of systematic training also prevents the sharing of best practice in mentoring, assessment and target-setting. 22. The partnership with most schools is well-established and some schools are used to provide hub training and support selection and recruitment activities well. Leaders and managers knowledge of locally-based expertise is not used as effectively as it could be to match training to individual trainees needs on second school placements. There are too few opportunities for headteachers and other school staff to be involved in the strategic management of the partnership or the design of the primary SCITT training programme. 23. The programme is fully compliant with statutory criteria and requirements. 24. The improvements made to important elements of the programme since the last inspection and to recruitment and selection procedures show that leaders have the capacity to bring about the further improvements needed. Annex: Partnership schools The following schools were visited to observe teaching: Birmingham Muslim School Bridstow Church of England Primary School Minsterley Primary School Oakmeadow Church of England Primary and Nursery School Longtown Community Primary School 10

11 The secondary phase Information about the secondary partnership The secondary SCITT works in partnership with 27 schools attached to one of three area learning hubs in Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. At the time of the inspection there were 22 trainees training to teach the 11 to 16 age range. In the current cohort trainees are enrolled in the following subject areas: citizenship, design and technology, geography, history, ICT, mathematics, modern languages, science, physical education and religious education. Information about the secondary ITE inspection Inspectors observed lessons taught by seven trainees. They also observed professional studies training in schools in two of the three designated area hubs. They held meetings with individuals and groups of trainees and NQTs in five schools. Inspectors also held meetings with programme managers and school-based mentors. Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the partnership s self-evaluation, internal and external data on trainees views, improvement planning, and the guidance offered to schools. Inspectors also took account of the responses to the trainee online questionnaire, which 12 trainees completed. Inspection Team Peter Gale HMI: Lead inspector Daniel Burton HMI: Assistant lead inspector Overall Effectiveness Grade: 3 The key strengths of the secondary partnership are: High-quality subject-specific training which leads to trainees having secure subject knowledge. A strong focus on the national priority areas in the central training which leads to: - good awareness by trainees of their responsibilities for literacy and numeracy development - trainees planning well for the needs of students with disabilities and/or special educational needs 11

12 - trainees good understanding of a range of behaviour management strategies and good levels of confidence in tackling all types of bullying. Mentors support which results in good quality verbal feedback to identify trainees strengths and areas for development. The comprehensive professional studies programme that leads to trainees good awareness of their wider responsibilities and roles as secondary teachers. What does the secondary partnership need to do to improve further? The partnership must: Leaders and managers should strengthen the effectiveness of the partnership by working with schools to: - improve the coherence between school-based and central training - fully train all mentors - ensure all mentors receive high-quality placement reports, in a timely manner, to enable them to plan and personalise trainees school-based training - improve completion rates, particularly in mathematics, and raise attainment so all trainees exceed the minimum level of practice as defined in the Teachers Standards. Strengthen the impact of mentoring over time to ensure trainees make rapid progress in improving their teaching, by: - ensuring lesson observation feedback focuses sharply on the impact of trainees teaching on students learning and progress, particularly for more able students - ensuring targets are precise, regularly reviewed and focused on trainees individual development needs - ensuring mentors play an enhanced role in directing trainees daily evaluations to ensure these are focused on areas identified for improvement - clarifying the role of mentors in supporting trainees in tackling identified weaknesses in trainees subject knowledge audits. 12

13 Inspection Judgements The outcomes for trainees require improvement 25. The outcomes for trainees require improvement because not all trainees exceed the minimum level of practice as defined in the Teachers Standards by the end of their training, completion rates are low and employment rates are variable. Inspectors agree with most of the partnership s assessments of current trainees. Inspectors found a small number of trainees were assessed slightly generously. Assessment is secure at the pass/fail boundary. 26. Completion rates have been low over the last three years. The partnership has recognised this and worked to improve retention. Tracking data suggests that overall completion rates may be higher this year, although remaining below average for mathematics. The figures show no pattern of varying completion rates for different gender groups or groups based on age or ethnicity. Employment rates are variable across the subjects. 27. Most trainees show good personal qualities, such as commitment and readiness to contribute to the schools departmental team. Trainees clearly enjoy working with young people, have a calm, pleasant manner and can cultivate good relationships with students. Trainees also contribute well to the wider work of the schools they are placed in, for example through sports coaching and participating in curricular and extra-curricular visits. 28. Trainees have a good awareness of meeting the needs of pupils with a disability and/or special educational needs. Their teaching is usually differentiated to support pupils who need extra help, either generally, or specifically with their literacy. Trainees understand their role in safeguarding pupils: they know about different forms of bullying and how to keep pupils safe. Trainees know how to challenge homophobic bullying and feel confident about doing so. Good subject knowledge training has resulted in trainees secure subject knowledge and usually a good understanding of how to teach a range of subject-specific topics. All trainees show an understanding of techniques to manage pupils behaviour. 29. The quality of trainees self-evaluation is variable. Weaker trainees do not evaluate the impact of their teaching on pupils learning enough. When they try to identify reasons for pupils off-task behaviour, they focus too much on their use of sanctions and strategies, rather than the impact of their teaching strategies on learning and engaging pupils. 13

14 30. All trainees draw up detailed lesson plans and prepare a range of resources to support planning. The best trainees ensure resources are not only well presented but also make a strong contribution to pupils learning. In an excellent history revision session, students made strong progress in preparing for their GCSE exam because the resources encouraged them to quickly absorb information about the start of the Cold War and then analyse and evaluate whether the United States of America or the Soviet Union was most responsible for rising tensions. 31. Some trainees fail to make enough use of the range of prior attainment information available to them to plan lessons. Teaching then fails to stretch and challenge all groups of pupils, especially but not exclusively, the most able. This is especially true of weaker trainees who do not challenge pupils enough, either in terms of academic stretch or in terms of work-rate. This limits pupils progress. The quality of training across the partnership requires improvement 32. The quality of training requires improvement because changes made to the organisation and delivery of training are relatively recent and have yet to lead to good outcomes for trainees. The overall design of the programme covers the necessary elements that enable trainees to meet the Teachers Standards effectively. Trainees responding to questionnaires from both the partnership and the inspection team indicate that the quality of training has improved since the last inspection. 33. Mentoring over time does not have enough impact in securing good outcomes for all trainees. Written targets are not detailed enough to ensure that trainees fully understand the link between their teaching and pupils progress. This results in the weaker trainees being over-optimistic about the quality of their teaching. The impact of target setting is also limited because mentors are not fully involved in directing and quality assuring the trainees daily reviews of their practice. This represents a missed opportunity to sharply focus trainees reflections and developing practice on the areas in which they need to improve. Trainees progress slows as a result. Trainees do, however, benefit from good quality oral feedback from their mentors. In most of the lesson feedback observed, mentors identified the strengths and weaknesses of the trainees teaching and skilfully drew out the trainees own reflections on the quality of their teaching. 34. The variable impact of mentoring over time results from very limited provision for mentor training, other than that provided by the host schools themselves. Area professional tutors and faculty co-ordinators carry out joint observations with mentors to moderate judgements but written records indicate that these, too, sometimes fail to have an 14

15 incisive assessment of the impact of trainees teaching on pupils learning. Limited formal mentor training also results in mentors not always understanding clearly enough their roles and responsibilities. For example, neither mentors nor trainees fully understand where responsibility lies for trainees to address any gaps in their subject knowledge. 35. Judgements by mentors about the quality of teaching are usually accurate. However, too much focus on trainees teaching rather than its impact on learning, can mean judgements are occasionally generous. A detailed Teachers Standards related document is completed at the end of each placement. Some of these are exceptionally helpful to receiving mentors with detail about trainees current attainment. However, limited training in completion of the document means they are very variable in both content and detail. As placement reports are completed at the end of each placement, new mentors often receive the document after their trainee has started their next placement. This means they are unable to personalise the training sharply enough to meet trainees needs from the beginning of the next placement. 36. Trainees consistently report that the quality of subject-specific training is good. These sessions are well prepared and delivered and provide a wide range of teaching ideas and resources. This results in trainees willingness to use different strategies in the classroom to promote pupils enjoyment, engagement and achievement. The professional studies sessions prepare trainees well for their wider responsibilities as NQTs in secondary schools. In the sessions seen by inspectors, tutors modelled good teaching. They delivered well organised sessions with plentiful opportunities for discussion and reflection which ensured all trainees were fully involved. Trainees report that the training sessions provided by their school training managers are of good quality and are flexible in meeting their emerging needs. However, due to schools working with several ITE providers, school-based training rarely aligns well with the professional studies sessions. 37. Trainees knowledge and understanding of the national priority areas, meeting the needs of all learners including those with special educational needs and behaviour management are secured through a combination of written assignments, lectures and seminars. However, not all mentors are aware of the importance of these national priority areas. This means that trainees do not always get sufficient feedback on how well their teaching is addressing each area. Nevertheless, trainees are fully aware of their key role in developing the literacy and mathematical skills of students in schools. They understand the need for all teachers to develop students language and communication skills. For example, trainees could explain to inspectors the importance of students ability to extract key information from written texts. Trainees understand the need to emphasise key words, although not all give 15

16 sufficient attention to correct spelling, either in their own resources or in marking pupils work. 38. Whilst trainees receive training in teaching pupils who speak English as an additional language, not all benefit from sufficient opportunities to implement this learning in their placement schools. Strategies to ensure all trainees have at least some first-hand experience of teaching students who speak English as an additional language and those from minority ethnic groups are not well developed. The quality of leadership and management across the partnership is requires improvement 39. The quality of leadership and management requires improvement as the impact of leaders and managers on the quality of training and outcomes for trainees is not yet good. Leaders and managers have responded constructively to the findings of the last inspection. A comprehensive action plan has been written and thoroughly evaluated during this year. Leaders know that the work they have done so far has made significant improvements to certain aspects of provision, for example the professional studies training. Leaders are also very aware that there is much still to be done and that there has been slower progress in other areas requiring improvement, for example raising trainees attainment. Nevertheless, schools consistently report that the quality of trainees and the support they receive from leaders and managers of the partnership has improved. 40. Most school staff report that communication between centre-based staff and schools is good. Others were less positive about communication and organisation, particularly with regard to the timely provision of information. This related to concerns about the clarity of assignments, expectations for trainees files and the late arrival of the log-in passwords to access the virtual learning environment. 41. The partnership demonstrates an adequate capacity to improve. The improvements to centre-based training and some improvements to completion rates demonstrate that the partnership is more effective than it was. However, there is still work to be done to make completion rates good and there is no clear trend of rising attainment. There is a lack of coherence between centre-based training and that provided by schools. Most trainees now report satisfaction with most areas of the partnership; this is a significant improvement. However, there are still concerns raised by trainees about their employability, the timeliness with which school placements are arranged and the leadership and management of the ITE partnership. 42. Self-evaluation takes account of a range of sources of information including external surveys and national benchmarks. These processes 16

17 are improving leaders understanding of the strengths of the partnership and the challenges they still face. However, evaluation systems are not as effective as they could be. For example, the external examiner reports confirm the quality of training in schools and the rigour of the pass/fail boundary but offer little about how trainees teaching can be improved or the quality of the partnership strengthened. 43. The partnership normally recruits to target. Interviews include appropriate opportunities to assess candidates written and spoken English and their subject knowledge. However, the partnership has suffered from some late recruitment. This has meant that some trainees have been admitted with limited recent school experience and this lack of experience has limited their ability to achieve the highest levels of attainment. 44. The programme is fully compliant with statutory criteria and requirements. Annex: Partnership schools The following schools were visited to observe teaching: The Bishop of Hereford Blue Coat School Lady Hawkins School Belvidere School Baxter College Hereford Academy 17

18 The employment-based route Information about the employment-based partnership 45. The Robert Owen Foundation provides employment-based initial teacher training for graduates. The Foundation consists of a partnership of primary and secondary schools in seven local authorities across three, learning area hubs. The partnership aims to recruit trainees who will be employed in schools in the locality. 46. At the time of the inspection, 24 trainees were training to teach in the primary age range. The 36 secondary trainees were training to be business studies, citizenship, dance and drama, design and technology, English, history, ICT, mathematics, modern languages, music, physical education and religious education teachers. Information about the employment-based ITE inspection 47. Inspectors observed 11 lessons taught by trainees and 3 by NQTs in eight of the partnership schools. All of these observations were undertaken jointly with mentors or area professional tutors. 48. Inspectors observed centre-based training for primary trainees held in a school designated as one of the area learning hubs. This focused on preparation for assessed presentations and the final assignment. 49. Inspectors also held discussions with individuals and groups of trainees, newly qualified teachers working in partnership schools; trainers, leaders and managers; mentors, induction tutors and head teachers and members of the Foundation s ITE Management Committee. 50. Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentary evidence including information related to recruitment and selection, statutory safeguarding and compliance with the initial teacher training criteria, tracking and assessment, trainees teaching evidence, analysis of outcomes for trainees, evaluations and improvement plans, external examiner and moderator reports and the Foundation s website and virtual learning environment. 51. Inspectors also took account of the responses to the trainee online questionnaire, which 38 trainees completed before and during the inspection. 18

19 Inspection Team Angela Milner HMI: Lead inspector Joanne Olsson HMI: Assistant lead inspector Terry Russell AI: Team inspector Overall Effectiveness Grade: 3 The key strengths of the employment-based partnership are: The commitment, professionalism and high level of reflection exhibited by trainees who aspire to become good or better teachers. Effective selection procedures that lead to the recruitment of trainees with the potential to become good teachers and help meet the needs of local schools. The good quality training in secondary subjects and in primary science that results in improving levels of satisfaction from trainees. The partnership schools which provide good quality training experiences. Committed mentors, faculty co-ordinators and area professional tutors who provide detailed advice and guidance that supports the development of trainees practical teaching skills well. What does the employment-based partnership need to do to improve further? The partnership must: Make more effective use of monitoring information and trainee tracking data to provide appropriate interventions to ensure all trainees reach the highest levels of attainment. Ensure the second school experience is tailored more precisely to meet trainees individual development needs and maximise the progress they make on the programme. Review and update training documentation to ensure it has a greater focus on: - the development of trainees subject knowledge for teaching - recent publications, Ofsted surveys and reports 19

20 - the Early Years Foundation Stage, particularly in mathematics training - the impact of trainees teaching on the learning and progress of pupils - the challenge required for trainees who exceed the minimum level of practice as defined in the Teachers Standards. Utilise the strengths and expertise of schools and staff within the partnership to enhance the centre-based training and share best practice in mentoring and target setting. Ensure there are sufficient opportunities for all primary trainees to teach phonics regularly. Inspection Judgements The outcomes for trainees require improvement 52. The outcomes for trainees require improvement because not all trainees exceed the minimum level of practice defined in the Teachers Standards by the end of their training. Completion rates are improving and are now above average for secondary but not yet for primary and employment rates are improving rapidly. Many trainees attain well by the end of the course, but a minority do not complete the programme able to demonstrate consistently good teaching. Over the last three years, the partnership has improved the proportion of trainees demonstrating good levels of attainment by the end of their training, but the proportion of trainees reaching outstanding levels of attainment has declined. This is because the partnership fails to provide the challenge required for trainees who are capable of exceeding the minimum level of practice as defined in the Teachers Standards. There are, however, no major differences between the outcomes of different groups of trainees. 53. Trainees are committed, reflective and most demonstrate that they exceed the minimum level of practice expected of teachers as defined in the Teachers Standards Part two: personal and professional conduct. Trainees are fully involved in the life of their employing schools, for example through their engagement in musical productions, sports teams and clubs. They have a well-developed ability to reflect critically on their own practice, respond well to advice and take appropriate actions to improve as demonstrated in their reflective logs, directed learning activities and assignments. NQTs were teaching consistently good lessons. They reported they had been well prepared and that their training had provided them with the skills and subject knowledge required to become effective teachers. 54. Trainees draw on their extensive, recent experience as unqualified teachers or teaching assistants and aspire to become good or better teachers. As a result, they engage well with the training programme and 20

21 seek to gain the most from all of the opportunities they receive. Trainees are well organised, able to use excellent behaviour management strategies and understand their responsibility to tackle bullying. In one lesson observed a trainee firmly tackled a pupil who was acting inappropriately so that he settled quickly. In another, the trainee dealt exceptionally well with some very challenging behaviour. A calm manner and lack of reaction to the pupil s outburst was exactly the correct strategy to de-escalate a potentially difficult and disruptive incident. All trainees are very effective in promoting a positive climate for learning, where pupils and adults trust and respect each other and praise is used very well. 55. Most trainees teach well- planned lessons that interest, enthuse and engage pupils. They use a wide range of high quality resources, including ICT, to support pupils learning and ensure they make good progress. Trainees plan sessions that draw on their good subject and curriculum knowledge and their understanding of how pupils learn to cater for the needs of pupils of different abilities. This includes disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. In lessons observed, trainees always provided additional support for pupils who were struggling with their work, but they did this less often for more-able pupils. This is because trainees do not always make effective use of assessment information, to identify the pupils who would benefit from greater challenge. 56. Trainees lessons are well timed and provide an appropriate balance of teacher explanation and independent, paired and group activities. Trainees make good use of mini-plenaries within lessons to check on pupils understanding and refocus learning. They show a high level of awareness of how to promote the literacy skills of the pupils they teach. Inspection evidence, including responses to the trainee online questionnaire indicate they are less confident in promoting pupils numeracy skills. 57. Primary trainees are confident and competent in planning sequences of lessons for mathematics, English and science. Although trainees have experience of teaching phonics through their prior experience, they do not all have sufficient opportunity to plan, teach and assess phonics on a regular basis during the training programme. Secondary trainees build on pupils prior learning well. They sequence their subject teaching to enable pupils to build up skills and knowledge over time and prepare them well for public examinations. 58. The number of trainees failing to complete the programme has been reducing. Completion rates have been above sector norms for secondary for the past two years and only three trainees have withdrawn in Primary completions have been below sector norms for the last three 21

22 years but this is improving. All of the trainees recruited in remain on the programme and tracking data indicates that they are likely to complete. 59. Tracking former trainees into employment is not well developed and a partnership priority. Employment rates have been below sector norms, but current data held by the provider for last year s trainees and discussions with trainees during the inspection week indicate this is improving rapidly. The quality of training across the partnership requires improvement 60. The quality of school and centre-based training requires improvement. Monitoring information and trainee tracking data, including weekly lesson observation grades, is not used well enough to provide timely interventions and to ensure all trainees reach the highest levels of attainment. While there is an initial audit of trainees needs and subject knowledge at the beginning of the programme, the impact of training on trainees subject knowledge and teaching is not systematically tracked or analysed. This means that training is not sufficiently differentiated to meet all trainees individual needs and trainees do not always achieve their potential from their starting points. 61. Although trainees spend an appropriate amount of time in their second school context, this is not always tailored precisely enough to meet their development needs. The quality of written target setting, joint observations and assessment in the second school is variable and the failure to pass on detailed and accurate information between some schools, in a timely fashion, limits the progress trainees make. 62. Frequent hub meetings for professional studies and weekly subject training ensures primary trainees develop the subject knowledge and skills they need to teach English, mathematics and science well and that secondary trainees have regular opportunities to meet and share ideas with other specialists. Trainees and NQTs across a range of secondary subjects are very positive about the quality of the training provided by experienced subject leads from the partnership s schools. The quality of primary science training is good. One trainee commented that this was second to none because the trainer is an effective role model and provides good up-to-date, practical ideas to enhance teaching and learning. 63. The primary training programme for both mathematics and English covers all of the key aspects. Almost all trainees speak positively about the quality of mathematics training and the passion and enthusiasm of the trainer. The training focuses well on progression in pupils 22

23 mathematical development and has an appropriate focus on both mental and written calculations and future changes to the national curriculum requirements, including more formal calculations. However, there are also some weaknesses which limit the effectiveness of the training, particularly in relation to the lack of attention paid to the Early Years Foundation Stage. While there is an initial audit of trainees subject knowledge at the beginning of the programme, the impact of improving training on trainees own subject knowledge and teaching is not as effective as it could be. Trainees who struggle are given individual or small group support. 64. The training materials for English are comprehensive and cover the Early Years and Key Stage 1 and 2 well, but do not take enough account of recent and relevant research and publications, for example, recent Ofsted survey reports. Insufficient time is devoted to systematic synthetic phonics and early reading and the training is too reliant on two published phonic schemes. The phonics audit provides a useful check in relation to trainees confidence but there is no effective monitoring of trainees competence in teaching phonics and early reading. There are missed opportunities in both English and mathematics to exploit the links with strong primary schools within the partnership and to use their strengths and expertise to enhance and update the centre-based training and enable trainees to observe excellent practice. 65. School mentors identify accurately trainees strengths and areas for improvement and provide useful advice and guidance to enable trainees to develop their practical teaching skills well. This mentoring has a positive impact on improving trainees practice because meetings and lesson observations are regular and frequent. There are, however, some variations in the quality and usefulness of feedback from lesson observations. Some is excellent, providing high-quality, developmental, subject specific feedback but the rest is descriptive, rather than evaluative. Weekly targets for improvement are agreed, but they are often too imprecise to enable trainees to reach the highest levels of attainment. Feedback from some mentors and area professional tutors lacks sufficient focus on the impact trainees teaching has on the learning and progress of pupils. 66. Mentors in the employing schools use their accurate understanding of trainees needs to shape the school-based training programme, fill gaps or extend learning. Trainees benefit from the opportunities to observe good practice in these schools. This includes working with special educational needs coordinators, involvement in small group intervention work and observing teaching across a range of subjects in secondary schools. In primary schools trainees receive good support from English and mathematics subject leaders. 23

24 67. Joint lesson observations between mentors and area professional tutors, together with that from faculty co-ordinators who provide subject specific support for secondary trainees, secures consistency and accuracy in the quality of assessments of trainees teaching. These observations provide much needed support for new mentors, as well as guidance for experienced mentors, working with a Robert Owen Foundation trainee for the first time. Mentors refer closely to the partnership s documentation and the Teachers Standards. However, this documentation lacks the clarity required to determine the support trainees need to enhance their level of attainment. 68. Improvements made to the quality of training over time are resulting in improving levels of satisfaction from trainees. Almost all trainees who responded to the trainee online questionnaire were very positive about their training. This is in marked contrast to the most recent NQT survey. Trainees value particularly the contributions made by external speakers, the opportunities to visit other schools, weekly training which allows them to learn from each other and the work of the subject leaders in secondary schools. Trainees evaluate their general professional studies and subject training as good. Training has a good focus on assessing pupils achievement and planning lessons to support the learning of pupils, including those who are disabled and those who have special educational needs. Some trainees also gain invaluable experience of teaching in special schools. Good-quality training on cultural and linguistic diversity, English as an additional language and visits to schools in urban areas are useful recent additions to the programme. 69. Trainees are provided with good-quality training in behaviour management and how to tackle bullying. Reading and reflection on wellstructured tasks and assignments are used effectively to link centre and school-based training in behaviour management. Training on bullying has had a good impact on trainees. All are aware of the inappropriate use of some language and all are clear about how they would tackle offensive homophobic language. One trainee demonstrated a very good understanding of this issue. She explained the need to explicitly teach pupils about respecting differences and how she had used strategies to good effect to tackle homophobic name-calling aimed at one boy who was a gifted ballet dancer. The quality of leadership and management across the partnership requires improvement 70. The quality of leadership and management requires improvement as the impact of leaders and managers on the quality of training and outcomes for trainees is not yet good. Leaders have a clear vision for improvement and understand what is working well on the programme and what needs 24