Teacher training at Derby rated ‘Outstanding’ in latest Ofsted report

The University of Derby’s College of Education has upheld its excellent reputation for teacher training after being awarded the highest accolade from Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education) in their latest report.

Ofsted awarded ‘Outstanding’ to Derby’s Primary and Further Education (FE) and Skills (post-14) provision, and acknowledged that the ITE (Initial Teacher Education) partnership has an excellent reputation with its trainees, newly qualified teachers (NQTs), employers and partner organisations.

Reporting on the quality, Ofsted highlighted that the University’s teacher training programmes are going from strength to strength; putting the trainees at the heart of all they do, with a Primary Leadership Team, who ensures that trainees' outcomes are excellent.

“The University’s relationship with its partnership schools is excellent. Many of the schools are long-standing members of the partnership and those joining are often making a clear preference to work with this provider,” the report said.

“Schools are an integral component of the training partnership. They are increasingly involved in the different aspects of the training programmes and contribute well to the future direction of travel.”

Highlighting the outstanding FE and Skills provision, the Ofsted report said: “The University of Derby provides excellent training for teachers and trainers in the further education and skills sector. Teaching and learning are lively and thought-provoking; challenging students to rise to the high expectations set by trainees and NQTs in their lessons.

“The partnership is extremely strong; stakeholders at all levels work well together to the benefit of trainees and newly qualified teachers. There is particularly strong and dynamic leadership from the University which ensures that partners are fully engaged in the development of the programme.”

Dr Lynn Senior, Dean of the College of Education at the University of Derby, said: “We are thrilled with this recognition of the hard work and high quality of education we provide.

“Derby has a rich heritage in ITE and the University’s origins can be tracked back as far as 1851, when the Derby Diocesan Institution of the Training of Schoolmistresses was created.

“Through our teaching offer, more than 600 students study at the University of Derby each year to become newly qualified teachers and go on to fantastic careers working with children and young people.”

‘Good’ ratings were also awarded in Early Years Initial Teacher Training (ITT), a new provision to the University, which received ‘Outstanding’ for the quality of leadership and management of the provision, and Secondary education was also awarded as ‘Good’.

The number of trainees studying at Derby has significantly increased over the last three years and more than 600 trainees are currently studying across the different education programmes.

The University offers a number of routes into teaching including undergraduate, postgraduate and School Direct, leading to qualified teacher status, qualified teacher learning and skills, and early years teacher status.  

For further information about the courses on offer in the College of Education, visit: www.derby.ac.uk/education/.