Top marks for School of Education postgraduate programmes

This year the School of Education has undergone three inspections of our postgraduate programmes, and we’re thrilled to announce that we have received very positive outcomes in all three, along with commendations for our quality and approach.

The Ofsted inspection of our Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) resulted in a grade of 'Good' in all four categories, which is an excellent achievement for the team. In relation to our local partnerships with secondary schools, the report noted our support for schools working in challenging circumstances is strong. This support also strengthens the supply of teachers to regional schools where recruitment might be difficult, and contributes to our high employability rates.

In December our Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology (DEdCPsy) was inspected by the British Psychological Society (BPS), and not only received continued accreditation, but also achieved four commendations. These commendations recognised the integration of the programme within the School; strong leadership and a culture of enquiry and respect which underpins our critical approach to Psychology; strong participation and co-production across the teaching team and our regional partners, and the breadth, range and integration of inter-disciplinary learning across the programme. As with our PGDE programme, the DEdCPsy students make a strong impact across the region in their professional roles.

We had a further inspection from the BPS, this time of our newest programme, the MSc in Psychology and Education, and we are delighted to announce that accreditation was confirmed. This programme has not yet been running for a full year, but the inspectors were so impressed with the team's approach that they issued a commendation, which is extremely rare for a conversion programme. The commendation read:

"The visiting team commend the ethos of the programme and their … critical reflective and applied approach which is much appreciated by the students. It is a unique selling point of the programme and discerns it over other courses."

This is a huge achievement for such a new programme. In all three inspections, feedback from our students to the inspection teams was consistently positive, which reflects the commitment and specialist knowledge of the teaching teams, and the quality of our students' experiences in the University and our partner organisations. What connects these three programmes is a shared commitment across the School to our deeply held values, the principles of social justice, the importance of educational and scientific enquiry, and anti-oppressive research and practice in all its forms.