Course Content

School Direct trainee Associate Teachers will spend a minimum of 120 days in good and outstanding schools from within our Alliance. We know these schools and work closely with them. We want you to learn from the best and be inspired by great teaching and learning.

Associate Teachers will be coached and mentored by outstanding teachers, senior leaders in education and university colleagues and will benefit from expertise from across the Alliance. Full training is given to mentors and class teachers to ensure they can offer the best support and guidance during the school placements.

Associate Teachers will have 60 days training which will be a blend of SCITT and school led training.

Our Highly Employable Teacher programme has been designed and is delivered at The Teaching School, by current senior practitioners from within our Alliance and covers all areas of the Teacher Standards offering expertise, experiences and relevant practical solutions for all our trainees. We also offer interview, application and career mapping support for all our Associate Teachers. The feedback on this programme has been consistently high and a highlight of our training.

Associate Teachers will spend the majority of their time in school based practice and centre led training sessions at specific times.

Assessment

Associate Teachers become reflective practitioners with specific targets to move their practice forwards. Weekly reflections and termly reviews are underpinned with theory and practice.

Fees and Funding

The fees for 2018/19 are £9000. Some Associate Teacher trainees may be eligible for a student loan/bursary. Subject dependent training bursaries may be available.

Successful Completion

All our School Direct courses last one academic year starting in early September to July. On successful completion of the course, you will have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a postgraduate qualification in Teaching and Learning with 80 Level 7 Masters credits. This will work towards a Masters in Teaching and Learning (this is more than a PGCertEd)

Entry Requirements

Academic Entry Requirements

General Primary and Early Years Route: GCSE English, Maths and Science - Grade C or above or their equivalent

Preferred Degree Classification

We consider all applications individually. A degree in a relevant subject, from a recognised UK higher education institution, or an equivalent.

The Professional Skills Tests 

The professional skills tests (skills tests) for prospective teachers assess the core skills that teachers need to fulfill their professional role in schools, rather than the subject knowledge needed for teaching. This is to ensure all teachers are competent in numeracy and literacy, regardless of their specialism.

All current and prospective trainee teachers must pass the skills tests in numeracy and literacy before they can be recommended for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS).

The skills tests:

• are in addition to the GCSE grade C or grade 4 equivalence entry requirement
• are set in the context of the professional role of a teacher
• assess the use of real data and information which teachers are likely to encounter
• are computerised and can be taken at learndirect skills test approved test centres throughout the UK
• go through a stringent quality assurance procedure
• are extensively piloted and the performance of each test is regularly monitored

You can find more information about the skills tests in the context of teacher training via the Get into teaching website.

We do not expect you to have passed your Literacy and Numeracy assessment prior to interview. An offer will be given with this as a condition of starting the course.

School Experience

We require two weeks of school based experience to be validated with a seen teaching form which needs to be signed by the Head Teacher and verified by the school.

• We offer a 2 day primary school experience at The Colmore Schools which will cover Early Years to the end of Key Stage 2. There will be the chance to teach and critically observe outstanding teaching. For more details see our website www.cptsa.co.uk. If you have successfully completed this 2 day experience with us then this is all the experience we will require.

Disclosure and Barring Service

A condition of your offer will be the successful completion of all Safeguarding procedures.

Fitness to Teach

A condition of your offer will be the successful completion of an Occupational Health Check to satisfy the requirements for Fitness to Teach. We endeavor to meet the needs of trainees with disabilities and you are welcome to discuss any needs or disabilities with us at any time during the application process.

Travel

Candidates should have the ability to travel to and from our partner schools and university.

How to Apply

Apply through UCAS teacher Training for programmes in England and Wales

• Course Provider Code: 19Q
• Early Years Course Code: 2T3X

School Experience Programme

• We offer a 2 day primary school experience at The Colmore Schools which will cover Early Years to the end of Key Stage 2. There will be the chance to teach and critically observe outstanding teaching. For more details see our website www.cptsa.co.uk. If you have successfully completed this 2 day experience with us then this is all the experience we will require.