NTTC rated ‘Good’ in all areas in latest Ofsted report
27th June 2023
Norfolk Teacher Training Centre has received another ‘Good’ grading from Ofsted. Although we are one of the smaller providers of Initial Teacher Education (ITE), inspectors recognised the big impact that NTTC is having on teacher training in Norfolk.
Click here to read our latest Ofsted report
Inspectors describe NTTC as a ‘close-knit ITE provider’ and summarise the trainee experience as follows:
‘Course leaders foster an environment where individuals build each other up, celebrating successes. It ensures trainees nurture the self-belief needed to face challenges head on and go on to become capable, committed teachers.’
There is also praise for NTTC’s ‘carefully designed’ curriculum, which ensures that trainees and apprentices develop their subject-specific knowledge well, whilst NTTC’s trainers ‘call upon their own education and experience to model for trainees how they expect them to teach pupils.’
The report notes that NTTC staff are responsive to feedback from trainees and apprentices, whilst preparing them for the realities of a career that can be both challenging as well as extremely rewarding:
‘Trainees understand the highlights and difficulties of teaching. This is because course leaders and tutors share honest, inspiring anecdotes and practical advice. It serves to manage trainees’ expectations and prepare them for life as a teacher.’
Continuing the high standards recorded in its last inspection, NTTC is judged to be ‘Good’ across the board – a set of judgements which is particularly significant because this is the first inspection since NTTC expanded from training teachers for the secondary phase to encompassing both primary and secondary ITE.
NTTC now offers a comprehensive mix of School Direct teacher training, Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeships, and Assessment Only certification.
Earlier this year, NTTC successfully passed the Department for Education’s rigorous process for re-accrediting teacher training providers. NTTC is the only solely Norfolk-based provider of ITE to have done so.
The Ofsted report also highlights the invaluable contribution of NTTC’s 60 partner schools, most of which are themselves graded as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’, who play an integral part in supporting the development of NTTC trainees and apprentices throughout their training year.
NTTC has already started work on the small number of areas for development identified, as part of the ongoing improvement of its provision, and will have these in place for September 2023.
Jacqui Waring, Director of Norfolk Teacher Training Centre, commented:
The high quality of teacher training provided by NTTC is a real team effort, underpinned by the close working relationships we have with our valued partner schools and mentors who work with us to ensure that trainees receive the best possible preparation for their teaching careers.
Our shared vision is to recruit the best calibre of trainees and to give them a broad and comprehensive experience, so they make excellent progress and are at the forefront of their profession.
We are very proud of NTTC’s record of providing Norfolk’s schools with teachers who are confident, have vision, meet local recruitment needs, and are retained within the profession. NTTC-trained teachers are making a real difference in both primary and secondary education, providing the highest quality educational opportunities to current and future generations of children and young people in Norfolk.”