Leeds Trinity University receives positive Ofsted report

Leeds Trinity University’s Initial Teacher Education (ITE) provision has been awarded a ‘good’ Ofsted rating after a recent inspection.

The inspection, held in May 2023, highlighted the high quality of training on offer at the University, with trainees well prepared to teach their chosen subject and phase.

Leeds Trinity offers a variety of routes into teaching, including Undergraduate degrees, PGCE study and Assessment Only routes, working with hundreds of partnership schools.

During the visit, inspectors met a range of University staff and school partners, including academic leaders, lecturers, tutors and mentors, in addition to school staff, trainees and early career teachers (ECTs). Focused reviews were completed across primary and secondary phases of teaching.

The report resulting from the inspection notes that trainees are well supported at Leeds Trinity, with effective partnerships underpinning the quality of trainees’ education and experience. As part of this, communication between trainees, the University and placement schools is described as “strong”.

An ongoing focus on trainees’ development and the competencies they build on their placements also helps trainees and mentors to “identify strengths and next steps”, with staff helping trainees to understand the realities of teaching.

Furthermore, the way in which research is woven through all elements of the curriculums is described as “exceptional”, and a distinctive aspect of training at Leeds Trinity.

Dr Duncan Martin, Deputy Dean of the Institute for Childhood and Education at Leeds Trinity University, said:

“We are delighted that Leeds Trinity’s approach to Initial Teacher Education has been received positively by Ofsted in its recent inspection of our provision. We work hard to provide our students with high quality education and training, and value the relationships we have built with our school partners to prepare our students for their chosen careers. It is also encouraging to see that Ofsted recognises the impact of our research and the work we are doing to increase representation in the classroom.

“As one of the larger providers in the country, we are incredibly proud to have trained so many brilliant teachers over the years at Leeds Trinity, and our students continue to benefit from their expertise and leadership through our close connection to them as alumni.

“I would like to thank the many colleagues involved who supported this inspection and who continue to play a hugely important role in training the next generation of teachers and supporting the national pipeline.”

Leeds Trinity University has an established history in teacher education, having been founded as two Catholic teacher training colleges in September 1966, with an intake of 300 students.

Since then, the University has grown to support over 700 trainees this academic year, with a partnership of approximately 500 schools. 

The University was also reaccredited by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2022 as part of its competitive application process to continue providing initial teacher training from 2024.

Professor Malcolm Todd, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Leeds Trinity University, commented:

“We are very proud to be a well-established quality provider of teacher education, with an excellent reputation for training teachers to work in primary and secondary education settings.

“As we continue to develop our Initial Teacher Education offer, we are looking forward to forging a number of new partnerships across the region to support the provision of teacher training, in addition to using our expertise to drive and influence national policy and practice over the next decade.”