The Application Process

Classroom Experience

Perhaps the best way to decide if teaching is for you is to see it in action! If you have experience working or volunteering in a school that’s great, you will hopefully have seen a range of teaching styles and spoken to colleagues about what they do. It may be you have spoken to your Headteacher about whether you might be able to stay there for one of your placements, if that’s the case, let us know when you apply.

If you aren’t currently working in a school don’t worry, we still want to hear from you if you are interested in teaching!  Please sign up to one of our free information events through our link HERE to find out more.  We will be running some School Experience Programmes soon, if this interests you, let us know through our Contact Page and we will be in touch.

Check Course Options

We offer full-time and part-time courses. Firstly, look at which subjects are offered, we offer a wide variety of secondary subjects and different primary specialisms but some are only available as full-time options.

Next think about your personal circumstances, and whether there are any factors which may affect your availability or the hours per week that you can commit to.

Finally, do also consider the financial aspects of both courses, the finances vary for different subjects and routes, both in terms of fees and bursaries.

Plan Application

Before you start your application ensure that you are aware of the entry requirements for teacher training courses and that you will be able to meet these criteria before the start of the course. Check that you are in possession of the required documentation- both qualifications, identity and right to work evidence- and ensure that you are taking steps to complete these or seek replacements if necessary. Please see our FAQ section for more details.

As a partnership we have a very clear Person Specification that outlines what we are looking for in applicants for our courses. It is highly advisable to consider this person specification when completing your application, and these areas will also be the basis for the different elements on the recruitment and selection day.

Apply

Once you have prepared all of the above you can apply! All applications are completed through Apply for Teacher Training, using our provider code 24T.

Your application will require a full work history and personal statement sections so do start thinking and writing a draft now. Think about what you want to tell us about your experiences, your motives and your journey, our Person Specification will help you decide what kinds of things to include. You will also need two referees and we would suggest that you use a current/ recent employer and/ or academic tutor or lecturer from a recent degree programme.

For further information visit the DfE Get into Teaching page and our FAQ page.

Recruitment and Selection Day

Once your application is received we will send you an email to confirm that it is now in our system, we will then make a decision about whether to invite you to an online Recruitment and Selection Day. We aim to review applications and send invitations within 5 days of receiving them, so you hopefully won’t be left waiting for too long!

Each recruitment day involves a small number of candidates completing a selection of tasks in rotation. The different elements will be observed by members of our SCITT central team and representatives from our partnership schools. Some of these elements require completion or preparation in advance and so you will need to spend some time preparing resources in the lead up to the day. Successful candidates will be sent the full details in advance, but if you would like to get ahead then you can view example candidate information here.

Offers

Once the relevant stages of the recruitment process are complete, we will make offers on Apply for Teacher Training.  Candidates will also receive an offer letter and a welcome pack, around Easter time, explaining the next steps.

Please be aware that in the first instance, all offers we make are conditional, but any offer is firm and will not be rescinded unless you do not meet the conditions of your offer. Conditions could be academic- such as pending degree or GCSE results- or they could be related to DBS or medical clearance. We will detail the conditions and expected time frames in your formal offer letter.

Placement Schools

A number of factors are involved when deciding on the best placement schools- such as which schools are able to support in that subject/ phase and geographical location.

If you are currently working in a school and would ideally like to be placed there, then this should be discussed with the Headteacher in advance of submitting an application and should be discussed with us before your recruitment and selection day.

If you are not already working at at a school or your school can’t support you, please be reassured that you will absolutely not be disadvantaged. We have a wide partnership of schools, all of whom have different needs, a different ethos and are looking for different things, and we know them well to be able to find the best match for you.

You can see where our current/ previous placements have been on our hubs and placements page.

Courses Start

Both the Full-time and Part-time courses begin with Induction days half way through July.  Full-time and part-time ATs are expected to attend all three days. where possible. This is a great opportunity to get started with your training and to visit your placement schools before the start of the Autumn Term.  The course continues after the summer break from the first week in September through to the end of the course the following June, or December for the part-time course.

Keeping in Touch

In addition to the Welcome Pack (which will be sent out in the New Year) which contains lots of information and enrolment forms, we will regularly keep in touch with you to ensure that any questions and problems are resolved quickly.  We hold Welcome Events after Easter which give you a chance to meet us and your peers ahead of the Induction week in July.

Congratulations, and good luck!

Congratulations and good luck!