Guidance

Initial teacher training: self-evaluation and improvement planning for providers

Updated 8 October 2020

Overview

Self-evaluation and improvement planning work together to support continuous improvement across ITT provision. Ofsted takes into consideration both of these processes as part of its judgement about the quality of the leadership and management of ITT providers.

Self-evaluation of ITT provision at the end of the year employs examples, evidence and data to support evaluative judgements. It identifies priorities for improvement which can then be transferred into an improvement plan for the following year. The impact on trainees (the term ‘trainees’ includes teaching apprentices where relevant) will demonstrate how successful the improvement plan has been.

There is no preferred format for documenting either process. You should develop your own format, taking account of the features of effective self-evaluation and improvement planning outlined in this guidance.

Large and complex providers often produce a self-evaluation and an improvement plan for each phase of training. Smaller providers might only produce one of each. What is important is that both the self-evaluation and the improvement plan are well presented, fit for purpose and fully understood by all partners.

Both self-evaluation and improvement planning are most effective when they are succinct, precise and developed in collaboration with the wider partnership. All partners should be familiar with the key findings from self-evaluation and in no doubt about their roles in the implementation of the improvement plan.

Self-evaluation document

Creating an annual self-evaluation document will help you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your provision.

In your self-evaluation, you should give attention to:

• the impact of provision on trainees
• the quality of education and training across the partnership
• the leadership and management of the partnership
• overall effectiveness of your provision
• compliance with the relevant current criteria:
  • ITT criteria
  • EYITT requirements
  • Assessment Only criteria
• curriculum coverage, including the ITT core content framework (CCF)

Impact of provision on trainees

You might analyse:

• how well trainees develop the intended knowledge, skills and behaviours by each assessment point (do they know more and remember more of the ITT curriculum and do they apply this knowledge to their practice?)
• how well the planned curriculum has prepared trainees to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards (part 1 and part 2) by the end of their training
• the successful completion rates of trainees who start the training programmes - you may wish to refer to the national and regional benchmarking data set out in the most recent initial teacher training performance profiles (ITTPP)
• the employment rates of those trainees who complete training programmes successfully - you may wish to refer to the national and regional benchmarking data set out in the most recent ITTPP

Undertaking the analysis of impact data

The outcomes of your analysis of impact data will help you to interrogate your provision to identify its strengths and weaknesses, both during and at the end of the year:

• your analysis of the assessment of impact during the year may lead to immediate changes to provision which will inform your end of year self-evaluation
• your analysis of employment rates at the end of the year may lead you to examine your preparation of trainees for employment interviews and thus identify weaknesses that you will address in your improvement plan for the following year

It can be helpful to examine the impact data for different sub-groups of trainees, as well as the whole cohort, in all cases over a 3-year period to establish any trends. In scrutinising the impact data, you need to identify the patterns it reveals for each sub-group of trainees as well as for the cohort overall. You should then list the impact patterns you identify.

Examples of sub-groups may include:

• trainees with protected characteristics, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act (including gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, age, faith background, disability or special educational needs)
• undergraduate or graduate routes sub-groups
• trainees training to teach different age ranges
• subject specialism sub-groups, including any primary subject specialism sub-groups
• degree classification sub-groups (in the case of graduate routes)
• A level point scores sub-groups (in the case of undergraduate routes)
• conventional or equivalent entry qualifications sub-groups
• placement school, school alliance or multi-academy trust sub-groups

Reasons for impact patterns

You can identify the reasons for impact patterns by:

• reviewing both the quality of education and training across the partnership and the quality of the leadership and management of the partnership
• remembering that several elements might contribute to any one outcome pattern - for example, both the quality of mentoring expertise and ineffective quality assurance measures might be the reason why a trainee fails to apply their curriculum knowledge

Significant features of education and training

The significant features of education and training that you might examine when looking for the reasons for any impact patterns include:

• the curriculum: coverage, including the ITT core content framework (CCF) as well as phase and subject or curriculum-specific training; sequencing over the training; coherence and integration across all aspects and settings
• the use of up-to-date and relevant research
• the curriculum knowledge and expertise of leaders, tutors, mentors and other experts
• the implementation of the intended curriculum across all settings
• the assessment of trainees
• the rigour and accuracy of the final assessment of trainees against part 1 and part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards

Evaluation evidence

To evaluate the quality of education and training across your partnership and to identify the reasons for impact patterns, you might draw on the following evidence:

• evaluations of both central and school-based provision by trainees, mentors, newly qualified teachers (NQTs), and their employing schools
• self-evaluation of the quality of their contribution to training by mentors, other school-based experts and tutors
• records of both central and school-based training, including records of observations, meetings, tutor visits and session plans, together with accompanying resources and research
• records of internal and any external quality assurance of training
• records of any in-year reviews of training
• records of the assessment of trainees
• records of both the internal and external moderation of the assessment of trainees

Significant features of leadership and management

The significant features of leadership and management that you should examine when looking for the reasons for impact patterns include:

• strategic leadership
• the vision for excellence, focused on improving or sustaining high-quality provision and its impact on trainees
• the engagement of school (and other settings) partners
• the training of expert contributors to both central and school-based training
• the recruitment and selection process
• quality assurance and enhancement systems
• the management of workload
• procedures to ensure equality and diversity, secure safeguarding, including e-safety, and eliminate discrimination
• liaison with employers
• demonstrable capacity to bring about further improvement
• compliance with the relevant current criteria as set out in:
  • ITT criteria
  • EYITT requirements
  • Assessment Only criteria

Evaluation evidence

To evaluate the effectiveness of leadership and management you might use the following evidence to identify the reasons for impact patterns:

• data additional to those related to impact, such as data on applications, offers, acceptances and rejections
• evaluations of the selection process by applicants

• records of the selection process

• records demonstrating the expertise of central and school-based experts
• records of the training of mentors and other experts over the year
• evaluations by mentors and other experts of the impact of such training on their expertise
• records of the outcomes of internal and any external quality assurance processes
• records of any in-year reviews of training
• agenda and minutes of the meetings of relevant management committees

• records of the internal and external moderation of the assessment of trainees

• evidence of compliance with each of the relevant criteria as set out in:
  • ITT criteria
  • EYITT requirements
  • Assessment Only criteria

Overall effectiveness: strengths and weaknesses

To identify the most significant strengths and weaknesses of your provision, you can:

• read through your self-evaluation
• list all the reasons, or factors, you have identified to explain both stronger and weaker impact on trainees
• in the case of both stronger and weaker impacts, group these factors into broad categories and:
  • summarise the significant weaknesses in your provision to be addressed
  • summarise the significant strengths in your provision to be maintained or enhanced
• transfer all significant weaknesses into your improvement plan as the key improvement priorities for the following year
• transfer the strengths you wish to enhance into your improvement plan for the following year

Involving your wider partnership

You can involve your wider partnership in compiling your self-evaluation by:

• asking partnership committees to review, and giving them the opportunity to comment on, the draft self-evaluation

You can make sure your wider partnership is familiar with the final version of the self-evaluation by:

• circulating a short summary of the self-evaluation
• giving attention to this summary during quality visits to each partner school
• discussing the short summary at any mentor or expert training events and at relevant management meetings

What the best self-evaluation looks like

The best self-evaluation:

• is fit for purpose

• is based on high expectations

• uses a wide range of examples, evidence and data to support evaluative judgements, avoiding all descriptive narrative
• takes full account of the views of a wide range of stakeholders, thus seeking to secure ownership and accountability
• is rooted in a cycle of systematic monitoring and evaluation
• acknowledges both strong and weak impacts on trainees
• enables a partnership to know what works well and what can be improved further
• focuses on securing the strongest possible impact on trainees’ progress, attainment, course completion and employment
• is used to secure effective improvement planning and thus modifications to provision to maintain and improve impacts on trainees
• is used to benchmark and compare provision and its impact with the rest of the sector

Checking the quality of the self-evaluation

To help you check the quality of your completed self-evaluation, consider these questions:

• is any contextual introduction brief and does it include only contextual information about provision, not judgements on quality?
• have I selected the most significant sub-groups of trainees?
• for each aspect of impact, have I examined data for the cohort as a whole and for each sub-group of trainees?
• for each aspect of impact, have I listed the patterns the data reveal?
• have I evaluated all aspects of my provision to work out the reasons for each impact pattern?
• did I draw on a full range of evidence to help me evaluate my provision?
• does my evaluation make clear the reasons for the impact patterns I have identified?
• do I employ examples, evidence and data to corroborate all my judgements?
• have I listed the most significant strengths and weaknesses I have identified?
• do the strengths and weaknesses I have listed derive directly from my self-evaluation?
• have I taken into account any recommendations from Ofsted and any other external advice?

Creating your improvement plan

Creating an improvement plan that addresses weaknesses and sharpens strengths in your provision will help to strengthen its impact on trainees.

An improvement plan is:

• a working document designed to secure improvements in provision, which will strengthen the impact of education and training and leadership and management on future trainees

• based on the priorities identified in the self-evaluation at the end of the previous year

• a working document subject to frequent revision during the year

Providers take different approaches when documenting their improvement plan. Any of these approaches can be effective:

• a matrix using the improvement plan features as the headings for each column
• a prose description of how each priority will be addressed, giving attention to all the improvement plan features
• a combination of prose and matrix, giving attention to all the improvement plan features

Improvement plan features

You might like to include the following in your improvement plan:

• priorities for improvement
• the sequence of actions you will take to address each priority
• dates when actions will be undertaken
• details of who is responsible for actions
• the resource demands of planned actions

• impact criteria

• arrangements for monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the implementation of the planned actions

• analysis of the effectiveness of the actions taken to secure improvements that will strengthen impact

• details of the outcomes of each review and consequent adjustments to the plan

Improvement priorities

Your priorities for improvement should derive directly from the summary of strengths and weaknesses at the end of your self-evaluation. You should transfer all significant weaknesses and any significant strengths you wish to enhance, from the self-evaluation into the improvement plan.

Addressing priorities

To address each priority, you should:

• read through your self-evaluation
• review the reasons, or factors, you have identified which explain the impact on trainees of education and training or leadership and management
• identify a sequence of actions that will enable you to address each factor over time
• express each action precisely
• avoid using terms, such as ‘ensure’, ‘encourage’ or ‘continue to’, instead set out the precise action you will take
• remember that precise dating of actions supports effective monitoring

Responsibility for actions

You should:

• work out who is best placed to secure the actions you have identified, making sure you take into account school partners and other settings
• set out who is responsible for each sequence of actions, as well as for each separate action
• ensure that no-one responsible for any action is also responsible for securing its quality

Resource demands

Resource demands can include time, materials, or fees. You should:

• work out whether staff time is an extra cost or whether the task is part of agreed responsibilities
• identify the financial cost of resource demands
• set out the specific costs for each action or sequence of actions, and work within your budget

Impact criteria

You should:

• identify impact criteria that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timed (SMART) and fit-for purpose
• ensure that all impact criteria are focused on the specific impacts your planned actions are designed to secure
• consider identifying interim impact criteria to help you judge whether improvement actions are having the intended impacts during the year as well as at its end - this gives you the opportunity to adjust actions at an early stage
• not express impact criteria as completed actions or subjective judgements

Monitoring

To monitor the implementation of your improvement plan, you should:

• devise processes that allow you to check that the actions set out in the improvement plan are being implemented as and when intended
• state who will undertake these checks, when, what evidence they will use, how they will record their findings and how you will use their findings

Evaluation

To evaluate the quality of the implementation of your improvement plan, you should:

• devise processes that allow you to judge how well the actions set out in the improvement plan are being implemented - these processes might include engagement of any partnership committee, as well as the external moderator, examiner or consultant

• make clear who will undertake the evaluation and when, what evidence they will employ, how they will record their findings and how you will use their findings

Review

To review the impact of the implementation of your improvement plan, you should:

• devise processes that allow you to take regular stock over the year, of how far you have met your impact criteria
• make sure that dates of reviews take account of the dates of the assessment of trainees, the timing of monitoring and evaluation activities, and the calendaring of relevant management meetings
• compile a brief but precise summary of how far you have met your impact criteria for each priority at each review point
• identify and list any necessary adjustments to your improvement plan after each review
• present to the management group (or other relevant group or committee) your brief review of the impact plan and the consequent changes you are making to it

Involving your wider partnership

When compiling your improvement plan, you should involve your wider partnership by:

• asking your partnership committee (or other relevant committee) to comment on the draft improvement plan
• sending drafts of the improvement plan to the relevant staff in each partner school, or other setting, requesting comments

You should make sure that your wider partnership is aware of the final version of the improvement plan by:

• making sure the improvement plan identifies the responsibilities of all partners, including schools
• making sure all partners are aware of their role in implementing the improvement actions
• circulating a brief summary of your improvement priorities to all partners
• updating the summary after each review
• giving attention to this summary and its updating during quality visits to each school
• discussing the improvement plan and its updating at mentor or expert training events and relevant partnership management committee (or other relevant committee) meetings

What the best improvement plan looks like

The best improvement plan:

• is fit for purpose and concise
• sets out priorities which concentrate on factors that will strengthen the impact of provision on trainees
• is precise in respect of who will do what and when
• includes measurable impact criteria
• is clear about how to keep the improvement plan on track
• incorporates regular reviews against impact criteria
• documents adjustments to the plan in the light of each review of its impact
• involves all partners in developing and implementing the plan

Checking the quality of the improvement plan

To help you check the quality of your completed improvement plan, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• have I transferred improvement priorities directly from my self-evaluation into my improvement plan?
• have I identified sequences of actions to address each factor contributing to each priority?
• is each individual action dated?
• is each action identified as a specific activity?
• is the person responsible for each sequence of actions and each separate action specified?
• are costs documented?
• are impact criteria expressed as measurable impacts?
• are processes for monitoring the implementation of the improvement plan stated?
• are processes for evaluating the implementation of the improvement plan stated?
• are processes for reviewing the impact of the plan and adjusting its actions stated?
• was the wider partnership involved in the development of the improvement plan?
• is the wider partnership engaged in the implementation of the improvement plan?

Contact

If you require further guidance regarding self-evaluation and improvement planning for your ITT provision, please contact:

Initial teacher training market regulation team

Email itt.accreditation@education.gov.uk

This email address is for potential new and accredited ITT providers.

If you’re a potential candidate, wishing to gain QTS, visit Get Into Teaching: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/explore-my-options/teacher-training-routes/specialist-training-options.