“Serious” concerns have been raised about the validity of the Westminster government’s process for accrediting universities to deliver teaching training in England after several of those that lost out received positive Ofsted inspections.
The University of Greenwich – one of those stripped of its initial teacher training (ITT) accreditation late last year – said its own recent “good” rating by the inspectorate cast doubt on the reliability of the controversial “market review” conducted by the Department for Education (DfE) that was designed to remove poor quality courses.
This review was a “desk-based exercise”, the university said, compared with the in-person, week-long visit by 15 Ofsted inspectors who rated all aspects of its provision as “good”, including its teacher apprenticeships, which it will be no longer be able to deliver when the new regime begins in 2024.
Greenwich highlighted that the universities of East Anglia, Cumbria, Sussex and the West of England, as well as London South Bank and Brunel universities, had all similarly lost their accreditation in the review and then received “good” or “outstanding” Ofsted ratings.
