In the recent full inspection of Initial Teacher Training, Ofsted has awarded CILT’s Graduate Teacher Programme a Grade 1, confirming the organisation’s status as an outstanding training provider.

CILT’s unique GTP is the only GTP with a national spread of training schools and the only one that is subject-specific. It recruits native speakers of French, German and Spanish from Europe and beyond, and is specifically designed to prepare them for assimilation into the English education system.

The programme is run in partnership with the School of Education at the Universities of Birmingham and Sheffield, and over 45 schools nationally each year. A large number of these schools have been working with CILT for many years, and according to Ann Swarbrick, Head of ITT at CILT, it is ‘thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of our partner schools and the innovative and highly experienced GTP Team that we have won such well-deserved recognition.’

CILT was praised in all aspects of the inspection including its recruitment process, which results in the selection of extremely high calibre trainees. The programme is known for attracting high quality recruits into the profession and for providing a programme specifically designed for speakers of languages other than English and schooled in a variety of countries. ‘Employing schools have been impressed with the quality of our trainees,’ says Ann, ‘and we are very proud of their achievements.’

Ofsted also complemented CILT’s self-evaluative approach and management of change, and highlighted the positive effects that come from maximising CILT’s resources and expertise in aspects of modern languages education beyond initial teacher training.