Initial Teacher Training - Schools
From 2024, there are a number of ways in which you, our schools/settings, can benefit from being involved in ITT courses and additional routes into teaching which support recruitment and retention.
This includes university-led school-based placements, teaching apprenticeships or assessment-only routes.
Placements
One of the ways in which you can and be involved with ITT is through hosting placements for our Primary 3-7 and 5–11 courses, in collaboration with our accredited provider, University of Derby, commencing September 2024.
For 2024-25, you will be able to be involved with either offering a placement to a trainee or supporting trainees with Intensive Training and Practice IT&P at your school/setting.
Schools/settings who are involved in either placements or IT&Ps will receive funding to support trainee development and allocated mentor time.
Placements
As part of their ITT course, every trainee teacher must get experience teaching in at least two schools and receive clear and consistent mentoring during each placement.
Trainee teachers need a variety of experience in schools to enable them to meet all the Teachers’ Standards. They need to teach children and young people in their specified age range, from different backgrounds, as well as gaining experience of different approaches to teaching and to school organisation and management.
This breadth of experience is designed to equip trainee teachers with the skills they need to successfully enter the teaching workforce, and to become an asset to the schools they teach in.
Schools/settings in our region are able to host trainees in their school for either 1 or 2 terms.
During a placement, schools provide trainee teachers with:
Intensive Training & Practice (IT&P)
Another way that schools can get involved in ITT is through supporting IT&P.
Intensive Training and Practice is not part of the ITT placement, although placement schools may wish to support Intensive Training and Practice too.
Other schools not involved in a placement, can also be involved in supporting Intensive Training and Practice.
Recruitment and Retention
To support schools/settings in our region to recruit new or retain existing staff, we are working in collaboration with local and national organisations to provide you with access to Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships or Assessment only routes to QTS.
Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships
We are working in collaboration with Best Practice Network (BPN) to support schools with accessing Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships.
Who are Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships for?
For schools who want to support their graduate Teaching Assistants or other support staff to become qualified teachers. Or for schools who wish to make use of the apprenticeship levy to support recruitment of new teachers to their school.
How can this pathway support schools?
This pathway allows schools to use the apprenticeship levy to either nurture their own talent or attract high calibre prospective applicants through a salaried teacher position.
What are the benefits of postgraduate teacher apprenticeships?
Click below to watch a short introduction to each topic:
Apprenticeships: Recruiting new members of staff
Apprenticeships: Upskilling your existing team members
Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships: Primary
Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships: Secondary
I am a school leader interested in this route. How can I find out more?
In this 10 minute film produced for Potentia TSH, Beth from BPN talks through these topics:
- Entry requirements
- Apprenticeship Funding: levy funding and co-investment options
- The application process to upskill existing staff, including the eligibility criteria and the BPN interview process
- An overview of the course structure, including when apprentices will be in the classroom each week and over the year
- Mentorship requirements and funding
- Secondary employer grants and the salary for apprentice teachers.
These flyers are also available :
Primary-Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship
Secondary-Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship
What does a week in the life of an apprentice teacher involve?
Read Mollie’s Diary of an Apprentice Teacher. This example of one apprentice teacher’s experience may be helpful to share with prospective applicants.
We would like to employ an apprentice but we need to recruit – can you help?
Best Practice Network has recently launched 'The Teacher Directory,' a tool aimed at addressing teacher recruitment challenges. This platform provides schools with access to a pool of interviewed and ITT ready prospective teachers, allowing you to easily find the right match for your school's needs.
Schools can review candidate profiles, conduct interviews, and receive alerts when new trainees are added that meet their specific recruitment criteria. The Teacher Directory is completely free for schools to use.
This tool helps pair schools with prospective teachers looking for placement or apprenticeship employment while they work towards achieving Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
To access The Teacher Directory, visit www.bestpracticenet.co.uk/teacher-directory For more information, contact teach@bestpracticenet.co.uk
Next steps
If you have specific questions, or would like to speak to someone at BPN about Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships, please see Teacher Training Apprenticeship with QTS for Schools | Best Practice Network or contact: partnerships@bestpracticenet.co.uk
Assessment Only
We are working in collaboration with the University of Derby to support schools with accessing the Assessment Only route to QTS.
Who is the Assessment Only route to QTS for?
For schools with a member of staff who has considerable experience working in education, who would like to be a teacher but who still needs to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
How can this pathway support schools?
This pathway allows schools to support a member of staff to obtain QTS whilst in their current role. This offers a flexible, convenient pathway to help existing staff to realise their ambitions and progress their teaching career.
If you would like to know more information about our pathways to QTS then please download our flyer here.
Alternatively, if you would like to discuss any of these options or would like to know more about how you can support, or benefit from ITT, then please email us via itt@potentiatsh.co.uk