University News Last updated 26 October 2010
Teacher training at Birmingham City University continues to go from strength to strength with a recent survey ranking its secondary teacher training provision 4th in the country.
The newly qualified teacher (NQT) survey is a voluntary exercise which collects and analyses NQTs’ perceptions of their initial teacher training. It is sent out to all new teachers registered with the General Teaching Council for England. The survey is used to gauge NQTs views on the quality of their initial teacher training and how well it prepared them for their first year in teaching with NQTs being asked to rate the quality of their training against 34 different categories using descriptors ‘very good’, ‘good’, ‘adequate’ or ‘poor’.
The percentage of students reporting that the provision at Birmingham City University is ‘at least good’ was 96%, which is well above the sector average of 85%. The percentage of secondary NQTs rating their training as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ has increased from 94% in 2009 to 96% in 2010. This has resulted in an improvement in the overall ranking of secondary provision at Birmingham City University from joint 12th in 2009 to joint 4th this year.
Simon Spencer, Course Director of the PGCE Secondary at Birmingham City University, said: “Our success in this survey reflects the high quality of provision offered on our secondary teacher training courses.
“Our success in the NQT survey builds on our recent Ofsted success – following inspection in March of this year we were recognised as an ‘outstanding’ teacher training provider after achieving the highest mark – a grade 1 – for the quality of training and the management and quality assurance of the training we provides for both its primary and secondary teacher training courses.
“Our Ofsted success confirms Birmingham City University’s status as a Category A provider of both secondary and primary teacher training – very few providers in the country manage to achieve this standard. Our success in the recent NQT survey further reinforces our reputation as an excellent provider of teacher training education.
“We take pride in the success we achieve and this good work provides a platform from which we can continue to build.”
For further information on teacher training courses available at Birmingham City University please log on to www.bcu.ac.uk.