OFSTED recognition for York’s ‘outstanding’ teacher training
Posted on 17 January 2007
The teacher training course at the University of York has been recognised as one of the best in the country by Government inspectors.
OFSTED inspectors awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course a Grade 1 ‘Outstanding’ designation. It is run by the University’s Department of Educational Studies in partnership with more than 40 secondary schools.
The three-yearly OFSTED inspection of the course took place in December and focused on management and quality assurance, as well as English and Modern Foreign Languages.
The OFSTED report will strengthen even further our reputation in teacher training
Dr Judith Bennett
The Department’s Director of Initial Teacher Training, David Crossland said: "I am thrilled with this report. It is a credit to all members of the PGCE team who have worked so hard together, and to our colleagues in schools who work with us in training future teachers."
Her Majesty’s Inspector, Alan Brine, highlighted the effectiveness of partnerships with schools who are fully involved in the evaluation and development of training. He also praised the innovative features of university-based training and the consistently high quality school-based training
Mr Brine was impressed both by the way trainees were encouraged to evaluate their practice and to think critically, and the course’s effective management and quality assurance procedures.
Head of department Dr Judith Bennett said: "The OFSTED report will strengthen even further our reputation in teacher training. The OFSTED success comes at an opportune moment as the PGCE course will, from this year, be assessed at Masters’s level, and will increase in size."
From September 2007, another 30 science and mathematics trainees are expected to be recruited, bringing the total number of trainees at York across five subject areas to 160.
Notes to editors:
- The University of York’s Department of Educational Studies scores highly in rankings for excellence in research and teaching and provides education courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including Masters and doctoral programmes. In research terms, the department focuses on science and mathematics education; equity and impact in education; language learning; primary education; and methodological studies in education research. Although its research focus is largely on the school curriculum, it also has interests in initial and continuing professional development of teachers, international and comparative education, gender issues and ICT in education.