A TRAINING facility for future generations of teachers in Basingstoke has received high praise during its first ever Ofsted inspection.

The Basingstoke Alliance School Centred Initial Teacher Training (BASCITT) centre based at Dove House School, in Sutton Road, has been given a “good” status by the educational watchdog following an inspector’s visit in May.

Since it was established in 2014, the BASCITT has helped develop and nurture more than 30 new teachers in the last two years with all its graduates finding employment.

Headteacher at Dove House, Tom Pegler said: “From Dove House we run school-based training and aim to supply our local secondary schools with good and outstanding newly qualified teachers (NQTs), 30 of our trainees have secured jobs in local secondaries in the last two years. It is a vital part of school improvement in the area.”

The inspectors’ report said: “The Basingstoke Alliance has quickly developed a strong reputation among local schools and further afield.

“Local recruitment needs are being met through the programme and trainees are making a positive contribution to improvements in teaching, learning and assessment in the partnership schools.”

It added: “A comprehensive training programme, careful quality assurance and increasingly effective mentoring ensure that trainees complete the course as accomplished NQTs, nearly all of whom are at least good, with an increasing proportion who are outstanding.”

The BASCITT comprises of an alliance of 12 schools locally and their vision is to provide high quality teachers to Basingstoke and the surrounding areas and to ensure pupils have access to outstanding teachers and learning experiences.

Programme manager Nicky Hepworth said: “We are delighted with the report, it is testament to the hard work of our team, the quality of the training experienced by our trainees and the highly effective partnership we have with our local schools.”

The inspectors said for the BASCITT to achieve an “outstanding” rating it must “broaden trainees’ experience” and build on mentoring to build on greater consistency.

The report said that the BASCITT must “ensure that training and mentoring fully prepare trainees to provide more stretch and challenge for the most able pupils in their classes” to achieve the highest bracket of grading.