This month we warmly welcomed our partners onto campus to celebrate all our collaborative work in Education.  Following our Good OFSTED inspection earlier this year, and subsequently being ranked 36th in the country as an Education department in the Complete University Guide 2018, we took this chance to say thanks to all the schools/colleges in the region for working alongside us and supporting all our trainees.

We were pleased to be joined by our colleagues from schools, colleges, nurseries, and OFSTED, as well as graduates from our courses.

Dr Nigel Thomas, Dean of our School of Life Sciences and Education, opened the ceremony celebrating the impact of our ongoing educational partnerships with over 70 organisations.

As well as providing the chance for all of us to network and celebrate, we also shared best practice through a series of talks.

Jim Pugh, Head of Education, discussed the importance of this event to celebrate not only the staff involved but also the students who are entering the teaching profession and stressed the important of development and innovation to raise the education bar in order to genuinely impact and improve the experiences of students.

We heard from one of our current students, Amy Witton, along with Sue Hamilton from the Staffordshire University nursery discussing the importance work placements have on the development of our Education students; placements not only give students experience in the core skills they will need in their future careers but also open up opportunities to areas of work and study they may have never considered before.

Paul Maddock, Senior Lecturer in Education, shared with us the impact his government funded work in Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) is having in our local schools and colleges.  He was joined by Richard Walker, one of Paul Maddock’s former students, who has just started his teaching career at Ormiston Horizon Academy. Paul’s SKE course in computer science allowed Richard to round off his subject knowledge and hit the ground running when he started his teacher training placement.

SKEs provide potential trainees with the opportunity to study and teach in areas that may not have had previous experience or knowledge of, thus expanding their employability prospects and their future careers.

The event came to a close with a keynote speech from OFSTED Senior HMI, Ian Hodgkinson. OFSTED’s focus on the importance of partnership between training providers and those employing NQTs has seen their inspection processes change considerably over the past few years.

This approach ensures that teachers are entering employment with the knowledge and skills necessary to genuinely impact the development and education of children and young people.

We are pleased with the excellent feedback received from those who attended the event, with Helen London,  Head of Teacher Development and Higher Education at Riverside College, passing “on our thanks to Jim Pugh for arranging the Ofsted Celebration; as a partnership College we felt very valued.”

Keep updated with the latest Education news from Staffordshire University on Twitter @EdStaffsUni (Education); @EarlyYearsSU (Early Childhood Studies)

For further information about Education courses and research at Staffordshire University please visit the following webpages:

Undergraduate Education Courses at Staffordshire University

Teacher training at Staffordshire University

Postgraduate Education Courses at Staffordshire University