Teacher trainers are acing their inspections under Ofsted’s new regime, with more than half of courses rated ‘strong standard’ and above across the board. Schools Week has analysed 75 sets of grades awarded to 42 primary and secondary initial teacher education (ITE) providers since the new inspections began. Teacher trainers are given separate judgments for each phase of teacher education they offer, meaning many have more than one set. Forty-two courses (56 per cent) were rated ‘strong standard’ or ‘exceptional’ – the top two grades – across every judgment area. All except three were handed grades at ‘expected standard’ and above. Meanwhile seven (9 per cent) courses received all ‘exceptional’ grades, with experts saying the top grade is far more common than expected. No provider has yet received the lowest ‘urgent improvement’ grade. Top grades bonanza Analysis of all 375 grades awarded showed 99 per cent were at ‘expected standard’ or above, with more than half ‘strong standard’ and more than one in 10 ‘exceptional’. Just two teacher trainers were graded ‘needs attention’ for any judgment area, across three courses. Ofsted introduced its new report card inspections in January, the second time since 2020 that ITE inspections have been reformed. The framework change in 2020 aimed to “raise the bar”, amid concerns in government that the national picture – with all providers ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ – did not reflect reality. A 2021 market review also required all providers to go through a bruising re-accreditation process. Those reforms resulted in a drop in the proportion of providers rated ‘good’ or above. In the year to August 2024, 97 per cent were awarded one of the top two grades. The new regime introduced a five-grade scale across five judgment areas. Overall headline grades were scrapped. Middle grades expected Before the launch, Ofsted said it expected the middle three grades – ‘needs attention’, ‘expected standard’, and ‘strong standard’ – would be most common. In an Ofsted webinar, senior HMI Andrea Shepherd said these were the grades Ofsted expected to see “most frequently”, while ‘exceptional’ and ‘urgent improvement’ were expected “less frequently”. “‘Exceptional’ is just that…the work of the provider needs to be transformational.” But analysis shows more than one in 10 grades awarded since January were ‘exceptional’, while just 1 per cent were ‘needs attention’. Since January, 29 school-centred initial teacher training providers (SCITTs) and 12 university education departments have been inspected, as has the National Institute of Teaching. They received 75 sets of grades, given that some offer training for multiple phases. All met safeguarding standards. Of 375 total grades, ‘strong standard’ was the most common, accounting for 57 per cent (212). A further 30 per cent (111) were ‘expected standard’ while just under 13 per cent (47) were ‘exceptional’. Just 1 per cent (5) were ‘needs attention’, and no provider was graded ‘urgent improvement’. Four providers – the National Institute of Teaching, the School of Teaching and Learning (OTT SCITT), United Teaching National SCITT, and Ripley ITT – scored ‘exceptional’ in every judgment area across seven phase courses. Sam Twiselton, who helped advise the DfE on the 2021 review, said: “Inspections have been very strong on the whole, and there have been far more ‘exceptionals’ than people were expecting – than Ofsted were expecting. “The sector had been told it would be incredibly unusual to get ‘exceptional’…but generally speaking, there’s definitely been more ‘exceptionals’ and just better across the board than you would expect.” Judgments closely moderated Twiselton said she understood Ofsted had closely checked the judgments “because they’re coming through at a higher level than anticipated” but “they think they’re very secure”. The grading could in part reflect the outcome of the market review, which prompted providers to closely scrutinise their programmes, she said. Emma Hollis, the chief executive of the National Association of School-based Teacher Trainers, said the outcomes so far were “exceptionally positive” and provided further evidence that school-based initial teacher training was a high-performing part of education. “Providers are achieving well across all evaluation areas, but ‘inclusion’ and ‘professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing’ are emerging as particular strengths.” Jo McIntyre and Stef Sullivan, chief executives of the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers, said: “The new framework is premised on expectations of high quality with the ‘expected standard’ reflecting a provider doing everything it should be doing consistently and effectively, and the new report system enabling a more nuanced evaluative picture than previous one-word judgments. “We are pleased to see that ITE providers continue to perform well under the new framework.” Only two providers have been rated below ‘expected standard’ for any area. They received a combined five ‘needs attention’ grades, across three phases. Cumbria SCITT received the grade for both ‘leadership’ and ‘curriculum, teaching and training’, across both primary and secondary provision. Birmingham City University (BCU) received ‘needs attention’ for ‘achievement’. Both providers were approached. Cumbria SCITT declined to comment, and BCU did not respond. Inclusion Meanwhile, inclusion was the area in which providers were most likely to be graded highly. Of 75 inspections, 65 courses (87 per cent) were graded above ‘expected standard’, including 12 (16 per cent) ‘exceptional’. It was followed closely by ‘professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing’, with 63 courses above expected standard, including 11 at ‘exceptional’. Meanwhile, curriculum, teaching and training was the area with the fewest courses above the ‘expected standard’, at 56 per cent (42), followed by ‘achievement’ at 57 per cent (43). A spokesperson for United Teaching, which is part of the United Learning trust, said the organisation was “delighted” to achieve ‘exceptional’ across the board. “We felt the judgments were underpinned by a rigorous and fair inspection process,” they said. “Inspectors took time to understand our programme, values and approach before reaching conclusions, and there was a strong emphasis on triangulating evidence through discussions with trainees, mentors, ECTs and partner schools alongside evaluating documentation and practice.” They said they felt Ofsted “was genuinely seeking to develop a deep understanding of quality and impact before making judgments”. “Overall, we found the inspection demanding, but professional, and we welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback.” Ofsted previously said new inspections would be more collaborative than under the previous framework. ‘Rigorous, but positive’ A spokesperson for AA Teamworks SCITT, which achieved ‘strong standard’ in every area, also described their inspection as “rigorous, but overall a positive experience”. They said it “gave the team a good opportunity to reflect on their work and the experience of our trainees”, and they are “really proud” of their outcome. An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We are pleased to see the high standards being achieved by ITE providers so far across all evaluation areas and phases. “These outcomes recognise the achievements of ITE providers, ensuring trainees are given an evidence-based introduction to the teaching profession.”