OFSTED praise for teacher training at The Deepings School

The report has now been released after inspectors visited the school’s training programme in January.

Alongside the overall effectiveness judgement of ‘good, both the quality of

education; training and leadership and management was deemed to be ‘good.’

After almost a decade of high-quality teacher training across local schools, The Deepings SCITT is celebrating its very complimentary report.

Following a 4-day inspection, the team commented that, “The Deepings SCITT is a highly valued provider in South Lincolnshire.”

The inspection highlighted the quality of this ‘rigorous’ and ‘comprehensive’ local teacher training programme, saying, “Leaders are ambitious for their trainee and expectations are high.”

The Deepings Partnership SCITT is overseen by the Anthem Schools Trust and currently has 37 trainees; 19 in the primary phase and 18 in the secondary phase.

There are 42 schools in the partnership. The lead schools in the partnership are The Deepings School and Bourne Westfield Primary Academy.

The partnership offers school direct, fee-paying and salaried, and assessment-only routes towards Qualified Teacher Status. Most trainees additionally opt for a postgraduate certificate in education which is accredited by the University of Hull.

SCITT Director, Nikki Benjamin has led the teacher training provision at The Deepings School from the beginning and is delighted that Ofsted recognised the top-quality training received by her trainees. She said: “Training programmes are ambitious and well sequenced.

“Particularly pleasing is that the close-knit nature of the SCITT was highlighted in comments such as, ‘Supportive relationships between staff and trainees… like family.’

“I have been at the Deepings School for 30 years, my children grew up here, went to school here and I am completely invested in the Deepings community.”

Richard Lord, Headteacher at the Deepings School, said “I am thrilled that the Deepings SCITT has received such well-deserved recognition. This judgement is a testament to the hard work of Nikki and her team and is great news for our school community. The recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers is

a priority in schools across the country and the SCITT provides us with excellent support in this area, so this is great news for our students.”

The SCITT is still recruiting for a September 2022 start or avaialble to offer some school experience for those who just want a taste of how life as a teacher feels.

The Teacher Training Information Evening is at The Deepings School (PE6 8NF) on Tue 26 th April, 6.30–7.30pm. If you would like to attend, contact the SCITT’s Admin Officer on 01778 342159 or [email protected].