As the sector continues to face a recruitment and retention crisis, we need to consider the power of community-informed initial teacher training (ITT) programmes to ensure that new teachers are in tune with the needs of their schools.

This is one of the reasons why we at Ormiston Academies Trust set up Ormiston Teacher Training (OTT), recognising that the best teachers can come from anywhere.

This is how we achieve our community-focused approach.

Community-informed teacher training

In creating OTT, we took the best practice from our partnership with the National Institute of Teaching and tailored it to meet the unique needs of the local communities where our schools are located.

Across our trust, we serve a wonderfully diverse array of communities in Norfolk, the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Suffolk. We want our teachers to have the skills and knowledge to understand and support each of these communities effectively.

So first of all, our teacher training campuses are in each of those four geographical areas where our schools are located. Each is managed by a campus lead who truly knows our school communities and has taught in a local school, meaning that they can give real-life and practical examples to trainees.

Our campus leads tailor their training for the context in which teachers will be teaching, ensuring that they carve out time to help trainees understand the demographics of the local area so that they can make teaching accessible to students’ needs. For example, we have arranged visits from the charity Catch22 Include Norfolk, helping our trainees in the county to understand the opportunities and barriers around alternative education and provision within their region.

We have built on this by creating opportunities for trainees to work in the local context throughout the course. For example, we have worked with Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy to create bespoke training days around supporting students who speak English as an additional language (EAL), recognising that more than 40 per cent of students at the school have EAL.

Distinct local challenges

We’ve also spent time carefully tailoring our regional development days (RDDs). While RDDs are part of the core training calendar, we have further developed them by utilising expertise from our network of Ormiston schools and linking trainees with our expert practitioners, including in sessions delivered by the trust’s lead regional practitioner for English, for teacher development or for SEND.

For example, one of our recent RDDs focused on coastal communities, which often face distinct challenges such as high levels of social deprivation or geographical isolation. We gave all trainees the chance to take part in a primary experience day, where they could spend a day teaching in a feeder primary school, speak to teachers and interact with young learners who are being raised in these communities.

This has been vital in helping our trainees to understand the full education journey of an individual in these areas, from nursery to applying for a job or for further or higher education, and truly understand what meaningful outcomes and success looks like for their students.

We have also developed and delivered specific PSHE-style sessions for our trainees, encouraging them to engage with their community with a holistic mindset. These are focused on ideas such as working closely with families in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage or empowering regional skills and careers, and are delivered by Ormiston experts.

By providing opportunities for our trainees to learn about their students beyond the classroom, we have found that they feel more confident in applying their learning in a practical sense, engaging with families and creating impact beyond a set curriculum.

Building community relationships

We recognise the role that teachers play in giving back to their wider communities. As an example, we have worked alongside the education department at Norwich City Football Club Academy to offer trainee teachers the opportunity to work with young players who require extra support to close attainment gaps caused by missing learning to play football.

This unique initiative offers trainees the chance to experience one-to-one tutoring, providing personalised support to students in areas where they need extra help. We have seen huge benefits from this in our trainees building positive relationships with local organisations, reaching more young learners and giving back to the community.

Unlocking talent from all backgrounds

By providing training that is designed to be sensitive to the challenges that trainees may face, we encourage teachers who do not come from “traditional” teaching backgrounds - including some former Ormiston students - to find their passion in learning.

Thanks to our approach, we’ve seen benefits in not only having a more diverse cohort but also in fostering educators who bring fresh perspectives that ultimately benefit our students.

Kaye Patrick is director of initial teacher training at Ormiston Academies Trust

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