College fails to get top marks
OFSTED inspectors have told Middlesbrough College it must improve its teacher training courses as some “trainees make slower than expected progress.”
The college has 41 students training to become teachers on its Initial Teacher Education programmes - 35 part-time and six full-time.
However, education bosses have been told the facility ‘requires improvement’ as further steps must be taken to address issues around communication, mentorships and basic mathematics.
Inspectors found most of the 41 trainees were able to “develop their subject-specific knowledge well through effective placements with high quality providers”.
However, in a few cases, feedback from tutors and mentors on assessments has not been “developmental enough” and trainees have not reflected on their teaching well enough.
Inspectors found as a result “trainees make slower than expected progress in, for example, their management of group work and behaviour.”
While tutors have recently implemented actions to improve communication, it is too soon to see the full impact of this on trainees’ practice.
The programmes, run in conjunction with the Open University, were assessed by inspectors from Ofsted in early May 2022 and praised for allying trainee teacher recruitment with local needs.
Inspectors said: “Managers recruit trainees effectively to meet demand for teachers, particularly in subjects relating to local and regional priorities such as in health and care and in engineering.”
Since Ofsted last inspected the programmes in 2021, the ITE team has been strengthened to minimise periods of staff disruption, the curriculum for ITE has been revalidated and redesigned and improvements made to mentor induction, training and support.
However inspectors were concerned that tutors are “slow to put in place support for trainees who have less prior experience of higher-level study or academic writing.”
As a result a few trainees produce work not written well enough or ineffectively referenced.
In addition, a very small number of trainees lack qualifications at level two mathematics.
While managers do direct trainees to appropriate mathematics courses, take up of these is low.
Middlesbrough College has more than 12,000 students and has an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good.’
Gary Cumiskey, deputy principal and head of curriculum at Middlesbrough College, said the college was putting in place an investment and improvement programme in its teacher training provision, including the appointment of a new associate director of ITE and the establishment of an action plan to bring about further positive change.
He said: “We are pleased with the positive changes and developments the team have made since the last inspection and that Ofsted has recognised many of these improvements in the latest inspection report.
“We are continuing to invest in further professional development and training for all staff who teach and mentor on the two ITE programmes the college delivers.”
TEACHER TRAINING COURSES NOT TOP OF CLASS - OFSTED