This section of our Starting Out Guide contains a good amount of information from the Training and Development Agency for Schools. You can find out more about TDA by clicking here.Finding the right route for you
There are a wide variety of routes that you can take into teaching. The one which you choose will most likely be specific to the age group or subject that you wish to teach. This will include studying alongside a degree, straight after a degree, as a part-time course alongside work or as a full-time course. For more help on choosing your preferred route, you can answer a short set of questions on the TDA website.
The options
Higher education institutions
Universities, colleges and other higher education institutions offer you both undergraduate and postgraduate initial teacher training courses. With this option you will also undergo a teacher placement in schools. It is advisable that you fully research institutions before you apply. Click here to view a complete list of higher education institutions offering ITT.
Teach First
The Teach First programme is an independently provided course of ITT, leadership training and commercial work experience, intended for the most talented graduates. Teach First recruits on university campuses. During the autumn and spring, Teach First maintains a targeted presence through presentations and careers fairs, and runs specialist events to engage with undergraduates and graduates. Find out more about where they recruit in Events near you.
Teach First runs assessment days which have been developed with employer partners and education specialists to select outstanding graduates. The selection criteria are among the most rigorous of any employer. To find out more about the selection process and to apply click here. To find out more about the qualifications that you will need to apply visit the TDA website.
Schools
You can choose to complete your initial teacher training at a school, either through a set school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) course or an employment-based programme, tailored to you by a employment based initial teacher training provider (EBITT provider).
- Graduate teacher programme (GTP) – The Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) is an on-the-job training programme that allows graduates to qualify as a teacher while they work. On the GTP you will be employed by a school, earn a salary and towards QTS all at the same time.
- Registered teacher programme (RTP) – The RTP provides a blend of work-based teacher training and academic study, allowing non-graduates with some experience of higher education to complete their degree and qualify as a teacher at the same time.
- Overseas trained teacher programme (OTTP) – If you are qualified as a teacher inside the EU, mobility laws apply and you can access teaching positions in the same way as home trained teachers.
If you are qualified as a teacher overseas and outside the EEA, you may be eligible to work in England as a temporary teacher without QTS for up to four years. This programme is currently available in England only.
OTTP four-year rule
The four-year rule for overseas trained teachers (OTTs) states that you can teach for up to four years before you have to be awarded QTS. If you have not achieved QTS in this time, you can no longer teach. The four years start from the first day that you teach in a mainstream school in England, and includes any time out of service.
If the four-year rule applies to you, you will need to complete a programme such as a flexible PGCE to gain QTS, or gain employment in an independent school to continue teaching. For further information on the OTTP four-year rule please visit the TDA website.
It is also worth considering any changes that have been made to the student visa system. For instance from March 2009 the following will come into effect; all colleges and universities that want to recruit foreign students will need a sponsor licence, every student will need a licensed sponsor, and stricter rules to protect the UK’s labour market.
Then from autumn 2009 the system will be tightened further with the introduction of a ’sponsor management system’ – dedicated technology that will make it easier for universities and colleges to inform the UK Border Agency if students fail to enrol or miss more than ten sessions. For further information on these changes visit the UK Border Agency website.
Important changes for work permit arrangements
The introduction of the new points-based system (PBS) means there will be important changes to the way businesses will recruit overseas workers in the future.
The introduction of the new points-based system (PBS) means there will be important changes to the way businesses will recruit overseas workers in the future.
Tier two (skilled workers) and tier five (temporary workers) of the new PBS replace the current work permit scheme. If you wish to recruit migrants in these tiers; or renew a period of employment for a current work permit holder; after November 2008, you must apply to UK Border Agency for a sponsor licence.
Following successful registration, anybody you wish to employ via these routes must hold a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) provided by you. This will be used as the basis of their application to enter the UK or remain for a further period of time once their existing leave has ended.
You are able to continue to recruit migrants who have applied under the Tier one (highly skilled) route without applying to act as a sponsor.
View a complete list of SCITT providers.
Employment-Based Initial Teacher Training (EBITT)
EBITT providers are partnerships of schools, local education authorities and ITT providers that help to provide employment-based teacher training programmes. They recruit trainees, help match them with appropriate schools and design training programmes tailored to individual needs.
Employment-based routes to teaching – Employment-based training options allow you to qualify as a teacher while working. This includes:
- Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP)
- Registered Teacher Programme (RTP)
- Teach First
All of the above information can be found on TDA website. The TDA is the national agency and recognised sector body responsible for the training and development of the school workforce. They play a central role in supporting the workforce to help children and young people meet the outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda.
Disability discrimination
As a result of the extension of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to education and training initial teacher training (ITT) providers must make sure they do not discriminate against disabled applicants or trainees in their selection procedures, their requirements for progression and completion of training or their provision of services.
Able to Teach has been revised and updated, to reflect significant changes to the DDA and the disability equality duty (DED). In order to meet the DED, providers need to actively promote their courses to people with disabilities.
Meeting these requirements can mean providers have to make difficult decisions about a person’s fitness to enter teacher training. The aim of this guidance is to show how, by analysing the concepts of disability, reasonable adjustment and fitness, on a case-by-case basis, providers can increase their confidence in making fair judgements about individuals.
If you would like futher information on any of the above visit the TDA website.
TDA NQT survey 2008
From February to April 2008, the TDA surveyed NQTs who had successfully completed their ITT in England during the 2006/07 academic year.
The results can be viewed online (PDF format: 2.7mb ) and amongst other things are sorted into route, institution type, gender, age and ethnicity. You can also view information on NQTs’ current employment circumstances.
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