Teaching staff celebrate Education Pioneer’s Birthday

Today (Thursday, 20 July 2023) marks the birthday of Margaret McMillan – the namesake of the Bradford College School of Education.

Margaret McMillan was a famous pioneer in Bradford who lobbied for better children’s living conditions and education at the turn of the 20th century.

She campaigned for early years health and advocated for creative teaching, imagination, and outdoor learning in education.

Bradford College has been offering teacher training for over fifty years and renamed the teacher training department to the ‘Margaret McMillan School of Education’ in her honour.

The College offers one of the widest ranges of teacher training courses in the UK.

Students study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, training to teach early years, primary, secondary, further and higher education, and adult community education.

We are “Good”

In May, teacher training was awarded a ‘Good’ rating after a recent Ofsted inspection  – the second highest possible grading. The report awarded all areas of primary, secondary, and further education and skills teacher training as ‘Good’, including quality, leadership, and management.

The report praised how trainees are well prepared for the day-to-day realities of the classroom. Students learn how to manage behaviours and meet the wider needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who speak English as an additional language.

Inspectors also commended how staff consider the needs of disadvantaged trainees and recruit from a local area to meet the demand for teachers in Bradford.  Sarah Applewhite, Bradford College Vice Principal for Quality, Teaching & Learning, said:

“Staff at Bradford College work tirelessly to transform lives, and this report confirms that we are significantly improving outcomes for our students, schools and education providers, and the local community.”

The Ofsted inspection result was welcome news, given regional teacher shortages. Staff at Bradford College currently supervise 345 trainees and apprentices across all phases of teacher training, some as far as Newcastle and Brighton.

Read our teaching blog and find out more about careers in teaching, or visit the Bradford College Education and Teaching web pages to learn about our teaching and education programmes and qualifications. 

If you’re interested in a career in teaching, you can call into the College anytime over the Summer where our teams can support and guide you to the right qualification.