HUDDERSFIELD’S long and proud history in training the country’s teachers has received another boost.
Ofsted has given top marks to the University of Huddersfield’s school of education.
Teacher training at the University has earned the Ofsted seal of approval, with a verdict that much of it is quite simply outstanding.
In fact, initial training for primary teachers was judged to be outstanding in every category.
And the Ofsted team concluded that training for secondary and further education teachers was good with many outstanding features.
Tens of thousands of teachers have started their career in Huddersfield.
Training courses have been run for almost 60 years and many of those were held at the Holly Bank campus in Lindley, which was first part of Huddersfield Technical College and latterly part of the former Huddersfield Polytechnic.
Building work on the Holly Bank campus started in 1957 and a number of buildings for studies were created.
There was also a nine-storey hostel block built in 1961 to house 170 students.
The site was sold off for housing development in 2001 and the courses transferred to the University’s Queensgate campus.
The Ofsted verdict has delighted staff at the University’s School of Education and Professional Development, which is one of the UK’s largest schools of education, with 5,000 students.
The Dean of the School of Education and Professional Development, Dr Christine Jarvis said: “We were delighted by the outcome of our Ofsted inspection.
“It is a tribute to the excellence of our staff, our students and our many partners in primary, secondary and further education.
“It is a clear endorsement of the quality of teacher education at this University, that sits alongside our superb position in the National Student Survey, and in The Guardian League Tables.”
Dr Roy Fisher, who is Head of the Department of Initial Teacher Education said: “These results are a strong endorsement of what we already knew about the excellent initial teacher education work for the primary, secondary and lifelong learning sectors of education that is undertaken by the School of Education and Professional Development.
“They confirm the high quality, not only of the work undertaken by the School, but also by our many partner schools and colleges, and, of course, by the trainee teachers who go on to enrich the profession.”
The Ofsted report praises factors such as the School’s outstanding use of human and physical resources, including staff development.
Managers were deemed to be highly competent and dedicated and trainees were motivated by very effective academic and pastoral support.
