University of Portsmouth receives outstanding Ofsted for secondary education training

The Ofsted inspection took place between January 29 and February 1, 2024 and found that the secondary education training is working at an outstanding level in all three inspected categories which includes overall effectiveness, quality of education and training and leadership and management. The inspection outlined that the university offers trainee teachers an ‘exceptional training programme’ which ‘exemplifies ambition, rigour and aspiration.’

The report said: “The commitment and relentless determination to equip trainees with the very best knowledge and skills are evident throughout.

“The coherence of all elements of the training programme supports trainees in deepening their specialist subject knowledge. The CCF underpins the ambitious curriculum. A focus on pupils who are disadvantaged, including those with SEND, equips trainees with a deep understanding of the challenges that these pupils face. Trainees learn and practice a plethora of strategies to support disadvantaged pupils. This enhances their teaching for all pupils.”

Mr Andrew Porter, director of initial teacher training/PGCE geography course leader, school of education, languages and linguistics said: “We are delighted with the inspection outcomes for our teacher training courses. This inspection framework is tough so getting good is challenging enough, let alone outstanding. It is a reflection of all the hard work that my academic colleagues and our partners in schools and colleges put into supporting our trainee teachers. Now, more than ever, we need to recruit and retain great teachers to give young people in the local area the best start in life. These inspection outcomes reflect all the hard work that goes into achieving that.”

The inspection also found that ‘strong relationships enable mentors to provide consistently effective support to trainees’ which ‘enables trainees to develop vital knowledge and skills’. The University of Portsmouth offers several routes to gain qualified teacher status (QTS) in either primary, secondary or further education and skills (FES). Trainees study to teach pupils aged either 5 to 11 years, 11 to 16 years or young people aged 16 to 19. It comes as the university plans to invest £250m for new buildings and open spaces as well as the recent announcement that 398 academic staff have been put at risk of redundancy, as part of University of Portsmouth's 'Academic Reset' restructure programme. As a result of the possible redundancies, there is the potential for strike action as the University and College Union begins a consultation with its members over the redundancies.

For more information about the University of Portsmouth, click here.

For more information about the Ofsted, click here.