University of Gloucestershire’s Primary and Secondary Teacher Education rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted

Primary and Secondary teacher education programmes at the University of Gloucestershire have been judged “Outstanding” by Ofsted inspectors. Early Years and Further Education programmes have both been rated “Good”.

The Ofsted report states that these excellent results reflect the fact that the University has “formed extremely strong and productive partnerships with schools, teaching school alliances and other groups, colleges, local authorities and other agencies in the region to raise educational achievement.”

The report lists some of the key strengths of the University’s teacher education programmes. It says the University “plays a strong part in long-term school improvement for partnership schools”, and describes the University as having “an energy, an enthusiasm, an excitement about it…a dynamic place for those who work and learn here.”

Vice-Chancellor, Stephen Marston, said: “As a University, teacher education is part of our heritage. We have been educating teachers since 1847. So we are delighted that Ofsted have re-affirmed the exceptional quality of our staff, our students and our work with nearly 500 partnership schools, colleges and early years settings.

“This is a wonderful recognition of the professionalism, skill and dedication of our staff in the School of Education. Over many years, we have built strong partnerships with the schools in our area, working closely with them to ensure that our students receive a rigorous professional grounding that enables them to develop into great teachers. We are very proud to have achieved these excellent results.”

The report particularly praised both the University’s primary and secondary teaching training programmes for achieving “successful completion and high employment rates”.

Within the primary teaching programmes, inspectors highlighted the “impressive range of teaching methods, strategies and approaches”, and “the carefully constructed approach which gets trainees to the heart of gaining the curriculum subject knowledge they need in order to teach well, as well as enhancing their deeper understanding about how children learn, behave and develop”.

There was further praise for the way “forensic use of data by University leaders, combined with detailed feedback from partnership boards and schools, is used exceptionally well to raise the proportion of trainees attaining the highest level”.

The Ofsted report recognised the University’s secondary teaching programmes make a “highly significant contribution to the quality, supply and retention of teachers in the area” and has a “strong commitment to working with schools and other settings in challenging circumstances to help raise educational achievement.”