University of Leeds
School of Education
Hilary Place
Woodhouse Lane
Leeds
LS2 9JT
A further education teacher training
inspection report
2007/08
Managing inspector
Ted Cohn AI
© Crown copyright 2008. This report may be
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
website (www.ofsted.gov.uk).
The inspection
1.
This inspection was carried out in accordance with the Framework for the
inspection of initial training of further education teachers and the guidance in the
Handbook of the inspection of initial training of further education (FE) teachers, both
published in 2004.
2.
The inspection was conducted in two phases by one of Her Majesty's
Inspectors (HMI) and an Additional Inspector. Inspectors evaluated the part-time inservice provision at the university. They focused on the quality of the training and
management and quality assurance during the first phase of inspection, which took
place in November 2007. The second phase focused upon the standards of teaching
achieved by trainees through observing their teaching and gathering evidence of
their progress during the course. This phase was completed in June 2008.
Background
3.
The University of Leeds offers a two-year part-time in-service course based
at the university, on which about 30 trainees are enrolled. The second year of the
course is a legacy qualification in its final year, endorsed under the FE national
training organisation standards and includes Certificate of Education (Cert Ed) and
Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) qualifications. The new course is
endorsed by Standards Verification UK (SVUK) and leads to Qualified Teacher
Learning and Skills (QTLS) status. This course is currently only offered as a PGCE
qualification. Both courses satisfy the secretary of state's requirements for FE
teachers.
Effectiveness of provision
4.
The overall quality of the provision is adequate (grade 3). Centre-based
training at the university is good and makes a valuable contribution to the
improvement of trainees' pedagogical skills and their broader professional
development. The contribution of mentors is more variable and links between workbased and university-based training are underdeveloped. By the end of the course,
trainees teach well. They plan their lessons thoroughly and are sensitive to the
learning needs of their students, with whom they form excellent relationships.
Lessons are well organised, trainees have an easy command of their teaching
material and learning proceeds at a lively pace. Trainees reflect thoughtfully on their
teaching and benefit from the knowledgeable advice and guidance that they receive
from their tutors in particular. They do not pay as much attention to the
development of students' literacy, numeracy and information and communication
technology (ICT) skills as they do to their vocational and subject-based skills. The
course maps very carefully coverage of the relevant standards through its various
parts, but the tracking of the achievement of the standards by individual trainees is
not done effectively, particularly for second-year trainees. Arrangements for the
moderation of trainees' assignments are good. Arrangements for the moderation of
practical teaching are adequate. The course is generally managed well. It provides a
good central training programme, which is kept under constant review, responding
positively to criticisms, and is carefully planned to ensure coverage of the relevant
standards criteria.
Key strengths
Inspectors identified the following strengths:

the good progress that trainees make in developing their teaching skills
during the course

the thoughtful and effective manner in which trainees reflect upon their
teaching in order to improve it

the good quality of the trainees' teaching

the high quality of training on the university programme

the clear guidance and support provided by university tutors.
Areas for attention
The partnership should address:

the underdeveloped links between university and work-based training

the wide variation in the quality of mentoring in the workplace

the insufficient opportunities for a minority of trainees to extend their
teaching practice

the insufficient attention to helping trainees develop strategies to support
their students’ literacy, numeracy and ICT needs

the underdeveloped system for tracking the progress of trainees towards
achieving the relevant standards.
Further information on strengths and areas for attention is contained in the
substantial sections of the report that follow.
Achievements of trainees
5.
Trainees are very professional about their teaching responsibilities and make
a valuable contribution in their workplaces. They want their students to succeed,
often form excellent relationships with them and encourage them to achieve. In
reviewing their teaching, trainees reflect upon it thoughtfully and productively,
identifying ways in which they can improve. This results in demonstrable progress,
for example, using a broader range of teaching strategies that focus on students’
individual needs. In doing this, trainees draw effectively on the detailed and helpful
comments of their tutors, informal advice of mentors and others in the workplace, as
well as what they have learnt during the course.
6.
Specialist expertise in the areas that they teach gives trainees an easy
command of their teaching material and confidence in the classroom. Similarly, they
develop their pedagogical expertise in a manner which allows them to plan and
organise their teaching effectively. A minority of trainees teach a relatively narrow
range of courses, which limits their practical teaching experience, although
observation of other trainees and discussion during the course provides valuable
experience that extends their understanding.
7.
Trainees plan their lessons thoroughly, identifying clear teaching objectives
and learning outcomes, which reflect high general expectations of their students.
Nevertheless, learning outcomes are not always differentiated sufficiently to take
account of the varied learning needs of those in their lessons. In the main, trainees
use a range of strategies effectively in their teaching, including whole class teaching,
small-group work and individual tasks.
8.
The good quality of trainees’ teaching ensures that students make
appropriate progress in their learning. Classes are well organised and managed, so
that students are interested and engaged in their work. The resources trainees use
to support teaching are fit for purpose, but in several instances trainees do not have
sufficient access to ICT in the work place in order to incorporate it as a regular
feature of their lessons.
9.
Trainees use a range of strategies well to monitor and assess the progress
of their students. In this regard, questioning is used very effectively to test and
consolidate understanding and address problems that students encounter, both
through group and individual discussions. The excellent relationships between
trainees and their students aid this process. Trainees mark students’ work
thoroughly and comments are always personally encouraging and often diagnostic.
However, it is much less common to find clear learning targets being identified for
students.
10.
Trainees are eager to gain their students’ full participation in learning. The
support and guidance that they provide to ensure this is one of the strengths of their
teaching. Awareness and understanding of further progression routes for their
students is more varied and support is not as consistently good.
Quality of training
11.
The first and second year programmes are well-designed and professionally
delivered, so that they meet the relevant national requirements.
12.
The content of the programmes, the way in which they are taught and the
assignments set, require trainees to relate generic theories and issues to their own
teaching and institutional settings. Very experienced teacher trainers, with a deep
understanding of adult and further education, teach lively and well-organised
sessions. They draw skilfully on a range of teaching strategies and provide models of
good practice for trainees to emulate, including the effective use of interactive
whiteboards. Supplementary reading is promoted to prepare trainees for training
sessions and to further develop their knowledge and understanding afterwards. They
are strongly encouraged to share their own experiences and understanding in a
manner that broadens their knowledge of teaching and learning and institutional
settings across the post compulsory education and training sector. Tutors provide
good guidance and support, particularly through their detailed and perceptive lesson
observations, and discussions that they have with trainees about their teaching.
13.
Training in the workplace is less effective. Some mentors provide excellent
support and guidance, including on occasion discussion about what trainees are
learning in the university programme and how this relates to the workplace. Others
take a more limited role in work-based support. Currently, few mentors have had
formal training for their role and there are no arrangements for them to liaise with
tutors or other teacher trainers about the progress that trainees are making. During
the year, the partnership has been working to improve links with mentors and the
consistency of mentoring, in order to address these issues.
14.
All trainees have achieved level 2 or equivalent qualifications in literacy and
numeracy by the time they begin the course, and receive ICT training as part of the
provision. Trainees are given opportunities to develop further their literacy and
numeracy skills and good support is available within the university. However,
trainees are not sufficiently confident in identifying ways in which they can use their
teaching to support their own students’ literacy, numeracy and ICT needs.
15.
The tracking of individual trainees' progress against the standards is weak in
year two, although there is a detailed mapping of the way in which course provision
covers these. In year one, procedures for the systematic tracking of trainees’
progress have been introduced during the year, but the evidence cited so far by
trainees is too general in nature to provide substantive justification for the progress
made. In contrast, lesson observations provide well substantiated evidence of the
achievement of various standards linked to practical teaching and clear targets for
trainees to work on in order to improve their teaching, although these are not
always followed up systematically at the time of the next observation.
Management and quality assurance of provision
16.
The central training is well managed to ensure that an effective contribution
is made to the development of trainees' pedagogical skills and wider contextual
knowledge. The role of university teacher trainers is clearly defined and carried out
very diligently. The university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is a rich, easily
accessible learning resource for trainees, which they find helpful.
17.
Mentor roles are clearly defined in the training manual but mentors are only
just becoming aware of this guide. Most mentors have had to draw on other
experiences, such as mentoring in other contexts, in order to determine how they
should carry out their roles. University links with workplace training have been
tenuous and are only now being developed, so that university and workplace support
can be systematically integrated.
18.
The programme provides comprehensive coverage of equal opportunities
and promotes good race relations, drawing on the expertise of teacher trainers. The
course director monitors the full implementation of the relevant policies closely.
19.
Procedures to recruit and select suitable trainees are generally good. The
partnership has close links with local minority ethnic groups and is successful in
attracting trainees from various cultural heritage backgrounds. Selection procedures
have always identified carefully trainees' qualification requirements. This year,
recently introduced procedures identify their individual needs, but still do not
systematically identify and communicate to trainees any developmental activities
that they need to carry out in preparation for their training. Trainees record in their
professional development profile details of training that they have been involved in
their workplace that is relevant to their teacher training course.
20.
Quality assurance arrangements are adequate. The internal and external
moderation of trainees' assignments is comprehensive and rigorous. Course
provision is monitored closely through the regular evaluations of trainees and tutors,
as well as that of the external examiner. The teaching of university teacher trainers
and their observations of trainees’ teaching are monitored carefully by the course
director. The effectiveness of mentors is monitored informally through discussions
between tutors and trainees, but there are no formal arrangements to do this. The
judgements about the quality of trainees’ teaching practice are not externally
moderated.