Teacher training at Milton Keynes College Group has been given a glowing report by education quality controllers, Ofsted, in a first of its kind assessment. 

The College was evaluated on five different areas, reaching the Expected standard on achievement, curriculum, teaching and training, and a better-than-expected Strong standard for inclusion, leadership, professional behaviours, personal development and wellbeing.   

The inspectors wrote, “Trainees are proud to work and study at the college. They swiftly develop a strong sense of belonging and community. They feel valued by leaders, who show demonstrable care for their welfare and wellbeing by providing support networks, employee assist programmes, time off for study and flexible working.  Trainees learn from teacher educators and mentors who are carefully trained to model best practice, quality first teaching.”  

Milton Keynes College Group Director for Quality and Standards, Nathan Flynn, says, “We’re the first people in the country to be tested under this new inspection regime so we’re absolutely delighted to have received such a positive report.  We take people from all sorts of trades who want to become teachers in further education (FE) and give them high-quality training while they in turn are giving our young people the skills they need to thrive in their sectors.  We have trainee teachers from areas like construction or engineering on the one hand to specialists in English and maths on the other.  I’m especially proud that the inspectors highlighted the quality of mentoring – something we’ve been working very hard on – and also inclusion, where they said we were quick to identify any barriers our learners might face and help them to overcome them.  That’s resulted in a big improvement in staff retention, which is a significant issue in the FE sector.” 

The College staff on the teacher training course are all working towards a Level 5 Diploma in Teaching (equivalent to a foundation degree) and the qualification is free as part of their employment package at the College Group. 

Nathan says, “If people have a set of skills and an ambition to teach, we’d love to hear from them.  It’s a fantastically rewarding career to choose, and the training will give you everything you need to inspire the next generation.”