Department maintains “Outstanding” rating following OFSTED visit
The Department of Education has been rated “outstanding” once again for our initial teacher education following a visit from the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED).
The last visit took place in 2018 when inspectors rated the Department’s training to be of the highest possible standard. In the latest visit, which took place just before Easter, OFSTED said: “The University of Oxford successfully realises its ambition to ensure that trainees are as well prepared as they can be to become excellent teachers. The innovative course design has an exceptionally strong subject focus. Trainees acquire highly developed subject specific knowledge and pedagogical understanding to teach complex concepts in an accessible manner to pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.”
The report highlighted the quality of education and training, leadership and management and overall effectiveness of the course to be outstanding in all areas.
Department Director, Victoria Murphy, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our research-based teacher education in Oxford and the latest findings from OFSTED show that we are maintaining the highest standards possible. I’d like to thank my colleagues who deliver such world class education.”
The Department offers the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) to students who want to teach English, mathematics, science, modern languages, geography, history or religious education in secondary schools. Currently there are 133 students on the course.
PGCE Course Director, Katharine Burn said: “We’re delighted that the inspectors recognised the quality in depth of our partnership with local schools, achieved by working in close collaboration with one another. The Department uses an internship model, which emphasises the need for a constant interplay between the research-based understandings of practice that the University can offer and the rich, contextualised knowledge of expert teachers.
“By jointly planning and refining the course each year, we ensure a supportive and coherent programme, with our students fully part of their schools from the very first week. We’re incredible proud of the course and of our students.”
Director of Graduate Studies, Velda Elliott said: “The way we run teacher education in the Department is, we think, exceptionally strong. We work with new teachers as they take their first steps into the classroom through to being fully fledged professionals, using the partnership model with schools which is highly effective.”
Our Department has a long history in initial teacher education, dating back to 1892.
The full Ofsted report is available now.
More information can be found out about our teacher education on our PGCE pages.
