Teacher training excellence at York: the evidence
In March, the House of Commons Select Committee on Education visited York to take evidence as part of its investigation into ‘attracting, training and retaining the best teachers’. Because of the excellence of its teacher training programme, the University of York was invited to give evidence to the Committee.
Here is a summary of the evidence given by Paula Mountford, the Director of Initial Teacher Training in our Department of Education.
“The University of York recruits very high quality candidates in a range of categories academically—we look at their ability and aptitude. That has been maintained over a number of years and is echoed by the gradings from two recent Ofsted inspections. We were graded as outstanding, and you cannot get that grade without the quality of your candidates, and then your trainees and the finished products at the end of that year.
When selecting candidates, we use five criteria. We are looking for professional knowledge and for organisation, communication, problem solving and reflection
“Once high-quality people begin training in a demanding professional arena, now at master’s level, the demands upon them are huge. I think it takes three to five years to develop a great teacher.
“For some subjects like English and history we select at York. For others such as modern foreign languages, sciences and maths we recruit, so there is a difference at secondary level.
“Part of what makes us an effective HEI in leading and facilitating teacher training is that partnership working is at the core of what we do. We work with all the York schools as well as with schools from Doncaster up to Middlesbrough, from the coast over to Harrogate. It is the quality of the experiences and opportunities to work with schools, together with the trust and relationships built up over time, with which we are particularly blessed.
“When selecting candidates, we use five criteria. We are looking for professional knowledge and for organisation, communication, problem solving and reflection. We have a low fail rate because we take these people on in September and work with them. It is very difficult if people fail on something and we have built up that relationship. We help people and counsel them off the programme.
“That can be 10-12% a year of the people we take on. We stand by that in Ofsted, because sometimes people need to start the PGCE, and we have a teacher from one of our partnership schools on the selection panel with us.
“Trainee teachers cannot pass a PGCE unless they pass their school placements. Trainees do two placements and spend three quarters of the time with schools. No single person makes a decision on whether or not to pass somebody on a course – but a significant proportion is based on school-based practice, even under the present system before we bring in the new changes. That is right and proper, and I am 100 per cent behind that.
“Securing the HEI route and the work we contribute to the standard of trainees we are producing by working in partnership schools is extremely important. It has many spin-offs including the extra things we do working with school staff and the kind of platform for CPD that we give them. We have seven local school teachers working on the PGCE with us at the moment. It is a matter of remembering that the different routes can all bring something distinctive, and you cannot measure each exactly one against the other, but a mixed economy has to be good for the modern world.
“It is my belief that although a trainee leaves me after a nine-month or one-year course and goes into school, it takes three to five years to mature as a teacher. Some trainees need CPD that is about support and nurturing. Some are so good that they need CPD that is opportunity-based, and it is about giving them an opportunity to grow, flourish and take that on quite quickly. They need to be in schools where they will not be accused of being young upstarts because they need that opportunity – it is about a culture of recognising those two avenues.”
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