The Open University's teacher training programme, which was judged Outstanding by inspectors in Northern Ireland last year, has received a glowing report for its work in England.
Ofsted, the government's office for standards in education, has rated the OU's initial teacher education in England as Outstanding in all but one area. That area, Attainment, is rated Good.
The Ofsted report, based on its inspection in March, says that the structure and flexibility of the Open University teaching training provides high quality training for people who in most cases would not otherwise have entered the teaching profession.
It says: "They are trained well and the very large majority successfully complete the course and secure teaching posts that suit their personal circumstances.
"The overwhelming majority of successful trainees remain in teaching beyond the early years, a testament to their personal qualities and to the quality of training and support they receive."
The Ofsted report follows a glowing assessment of the OU's teacher training programme in Northern Ireland, conducted by the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) last September.The OU was the only Northern Ireland institution to receive the highest grade, Outstanding.
The Open University offers a professional graduate certificate in education (PGCE) to teach in the 11 to 16 age range, with post-16 enhancement for most trainees, in: design and technology; geography; mathematics; modern foreign languages (French, German and Spanish); music; and science (biology, chemistry and physics). Successful trainees can take an additional masters-level module, leading to a postgraduate certificate in education, at the end of the course.
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Comments
Support?? What support? Do you mean to say that the OU supports its students? Or are you giving yourself a pat on the back for all the wrong reasons? The only support students get from the OU is a very quick phone call(that the student has to make) a few ignored cries for help and a bit of Jargon that(as far as I can see) the majority of students can't get their head around when the tutor replies to forum messages. The occasional half hour or even 15 mins would be helpful considering the amount of cash you get from private students and government grants. I understand that you pride yourselves on the fact that when a student gets a degree from OU its worth more than a degree from any other uni because the student has to achieve more with the lack of support by comparison but a little bit here and there(personal support) would go a long way to making the open uni a better place and help students achieve higher grades surely.Premature back slapping if you ask me. Take a look at your system before you go posting your bragging rights. Listen to your students and take a look in the forums some times.
Im not Grumpy.. Im just small and dozy
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