PGCE WITH QTS Early Years (ages 3–7) or General Primary (ages 5–11)

Do you have...• A proven commitment to teaching as a career?

• Thepassionandpresence,aswellastheenergyandenthusiasm,that’srequiredto workwithprimaryagechildren?

• Thepersonalandintellectualqualitiesneededtobeanexcellentteacher?

• Theconfidence,determinationandprofessionalismthat’srequiredtobepartof aninnovativeandprestigiousprogramme?

If so, then we would like to hear from you.

“Outstanding leadership and management, which ensures that the vision for excellence is realised and

permeates all aspects of the partnership” –Ofsted,2013

“This course has been the most demanding, but the most rewarding thing I have ever done and has been the best

preparation I could have had for taking my own class” –Formerstudent

Why train with us?In 2012, The Department for Education shared their vision for the future ofthe education system in their White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’. Itput Outstanding Schools at the heart of improving the education system andemphasised the value of the teaching workforce determining the directionof our children’s education. The Two Mile Ash ITT Partnership shares theseprinciples; actively seeking out the very best people who will inspire ourchildren to flourish. Our colleagues from a variety of settings; includingschools, local authorities, universities and Ofsted have commented upon our Partnership’sincrediblesenseofcommunity,moralpurposeanddriveforexcellence forall.

Our aims • Toensurethatoutcomesforpupilsremainsattheheartofourvision,sothatour preparationofexcellentteacherswhollysupportstheincreasinglydiverseneeds oftheexpandinglocalschoolcommunity.

• Toprovideahighqualityprogrammeofinitialteachertrainingwhichdeliversa comprehensive,inspirationalandmotivatingtrainingexperience.

• Toofferanexcitingcomplementofrichenvironments;withinwhichindividuals willflourishashighlyeffectiveandcreativeteachersforthe21stcentury.

• Toenablestudentteacherstobecomeconfidentandcommittedpractitioners, whoareproactiveinleadingtheirownprofessionaldevelopment,throughdeep andincisiveself-reflection.

• Todevelopstudentteachers’subjectknowledgeforteachingsothatthey demonstratetheirabilitytodeliverstimulatinglessonsinwhichthelearnersare engagedandmakemaximumprogress.

• Toseamlesslyblendacademicstudywithpracticalexperiencetodevelopthe highestlevelsofprofessionalattributes,knowledge,understandingandskills.

• ToengageinresearchanddevelopmentopportunitiesinorderthatThe PartnershipremainsattheforefrontofinnovativepracticeinInitialTeacher EducationandTraining.

• Tosethighexpectationsofprofessionalismforall;celebratingateacher’srole andpositioninsociety.

The strength of the Partnership’s reputation is such that: “schools speak very highly of the quality of Two Mile Ash trainees and, as one Headteacher said, ‘there is hot competition to employ them’... when they complete the course” –Ofsted,2013

“The drive for excellence has resulted in close attention throughout the course to those elements of

teaching which produce outstanding learning” –Ofsted,2013

The Partnership TwoMileAshITTPartnershipiscurrentlytheonlyprimary-basedaccreditedteachertraining provider, directly offering school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT),servingthelocalcommunity.ThePartnershiphas12yearsofexperienceinleadinginitialteachertrainingandhasprovidedthelocalareawithover250primaryschoolteachers.

MiltonKeynesisanexciting,vibrantnewcity,wheretheschoolcommunitycontinuesto grow each year. The building of new schools inspires creativity, pioneeringnew environments and practice; and the opportunities for teachers’ professionaldevelopmentexceedsthatofmoreestablishedcommunities.

All Partnership schools are carefully selected on the basis of their effectivenessand expertise.They are required todemonstrate a strong commitment to school-centredinitialteachertraining,withapassionforestablishingaprofessionallearningcommunity for their staff. The Partnership thrives because of the active role thatschoolstakeinthedesignanddeliveryoftheprogramme.

“The high quality of trainees, who demonstrate very high aspirations, develop quickly into good and outstanding

teachers, and who often move on to leadership roles” –Ofsted,2013

What we are offering• Aprestigious,internationally-recognisedqualification

WearefullyaccreditedbytheNationalCollegeofTeachingandLeadershiptoofferapostgraduaterouteintoteaching.TheprogrammeleadstotheawardofQualifiedTeacher Status (QTS), including collaboration with Oxford Brookes University toawardaPostgraduateCertificateofEducation(PGCE).

StudentswillhavetheopportunitytospecialiseineitherEarlyYears(3-7)orGeneralPrimary(5–11).

• Exceptionalemploymentopportunities

The opportunities for employment stem from the close links the Partnershiphaswith schools acrossMilton Keynes. Consequently, from our total number ofemployed students, over 85% of our former students have gained employmentwith Partnership Schools or other schools within the Milton Keynes TeachingSchoolsAlliance.Weareproudthatwedirectlyservetherecruitmentneedsofthelocalschoolcommunity.

“Almost all trainees gain employment and nearly all are still teaching after three years. Employment and retention rates are exceptionally high when compared with national figures” –Ofsted,2013

“Fantastic course! I am very confident that I could go into any school now and teach” –Formerstudent

Programme Elements

“I felt fully prepared for my teaching practices from the well-structured core training programme and, after every

session, I felt as though my knowledge had improved” –Formerstudent

“The course inspires the trainees

to be the best” –SchoolBased

Trainer

Higher academic studyA high priority for our Partnership is to develop teachers who have the drive forimprovement. An intrinsic passion for learning, for themselves as well as theirchildren, motivates the very best teachers to seek out the very best strategies

to promote pupil progress. Engaging with educational research, debatingpedagogicalapproachesandtriallingnewinitiativesallowstheprofession

toevolveandgrow.Ourstudentsarehighlyreflectiveandrelishtheopportunitytothinkabouttheirpractice.Theseareexcitingtimes;

wewant our students to be at the forefront of developmentsintheeducationalworld!Academicwritingisfullysupportedthrough our collaboration with Oxford Brookes University,throughdedicatedsessionsthatpromotereflectivethinking

andguidanceforwritingatMastersLevel.

Core Training ProgrammeThewholecohortgatherstogethereveryweekfor‘core’trainingsessionswhichfocusontheessentialssuchas:

•Teachingandlearning •Behaviourforlearning•Childdevelopment •Creativityandinnovation•Subjectknowledge •Assessmentforlearning•Professionalism •Statutoryrequirements•Inclusionineducation

School experienceAsaSCITTprovider,studentsareimmersedinschoollife

fromtheoutset;deepeningtheirunderstandingofteachingpedagogythroughreflectingontheeffectivepracticeofthe

professionals around them. Students are also very aware ofthewider roles of a teacher, having been involved in aspects

suchasextra-curricularclubs,parentconsultations,sportsfixtures,planningmeetings,SpecialEducationalNeedsreviewmeetingsetc.

Individual Training Plans All students have an Individual Training Plan (ITP),which is a reflective document featuring specific targetsrelatingtotheTeacherStandardsandpersonalisedtrainingopportunities.WiththesupportoftheirSchool-BasedTrainer(SBT),studentsareexpectedtodrivetheirITP,takingaproactiverole in identifying theirownareasofdevelopmentand taking thenecessaryactiontopromotetheirprofessionalprogress.

“The course inspires the trainees

to be the best” –SchoolBased

Trainer

Lesson observationFrom the outset, students will receive feedback on their interactions with thechildren, and then gradually focus in more specifically on how effectively theirteachingpromoteslearning.Whenoveralljudgementsaremadeonthequalityoflessons,School-BasedTrainerswillrefertosetcriteriawhichhavebeendevelopedby the Partnership, and which are based on the Ofsted Framework for SchoolInspections.ThisensuresconsistencyofjudgementacrossthePartnership,aswellasallowingstudentsfromtheverybeginningtounderstandhowqualifiedteachersarejudgedintermsoftheirteaching.

There is an… “exceptionally sharp focus on what makes teaching and learning outstanding, which pervades all parts of the course, and ensures that trainees have the ability to demonstrate those attributes” –Ofsted,2013

Assessment

“Trainers and schools model excellent practice and raise trainees’ awareness, aspirations and ability to emulate this” –Ofsted,2013

Progressing as a TeacherThe Teachers’ Standards form the basis of assessments of student progressthroughout the year. Each half term our School-Based Trainers refer to our step-by-stepframeworkforassessingstudentteachers,whichexplicitlystatesthecompetenciesstudentsarerequiredtodemonstrate,notjustintheirteaching,butoverallasateacher.Itisusedtosupportregularsummativeassessmentsandusedformativelytoidentifywheretrainingopportunitiesareneeded.Thisframeworkisshareddirectlywithstudentssothattheyarewell-equippedtoself-evaluateandprioritisetargetsfortheircontinueddevelopment.

“I have had a fabulous school-based trainer, patient, generous with her time and fully supportive,

but more importantly, she gave me a belief in myself” –Formerstudent

“We have really enjoyed having our student, who has been incredibly dedicated and really taken on her own development and learning” –SchoolBasedTrainer

Teaching Practices

TP1 First Teaching Practice – Autumn

Studentswork from existing schoolmedium termplanning and plan lessons toteachforapproximately50%ofthetimeoverathreeweekperiod.

TP 2 Cross Phase Teaching Practice – Spring

Thispracticetakesplaceinadifferentschoolanddifferentkeystageandlastsforsixweeks.Thefirstweekislargelyobservationbasedandworkingwithgroups,thesecondweekwill involve solo teaching,buildingupwards to50% teaching fromWeek3onwardsand60%inthefinalweek.Studentswillplanfulllessons,drawingfrommediumtermplanningintheschool.

TP 3 Final Teaching Practice – Summer

This is the final assessment period. At this stage, it is expected that studentsdemonstratethattheycanfullyplananappropriatesequenceofworkacrossthefull range of curriculum areas. They must demonstrate that they can sustain asatisfactoryteachingstandardoveran80%teachingtimetable.Theyshouldprepareteaching resources, mark work and fulfil themain requirements of a classroomteachertodemonstratetheirabilities inreadinessforentryasaqualifiedteacherintotheprofession.

“I felt fully prepared for my teaching practices from the well-structured core training programme and, after every

session, I felt as though my knowledge had improved” –Formerstudent

Assessment

Subject KnowledgeAhigh levelof subjectspecificknowledge isessentialasaprimaryschool teacher,as the broad and varied curriculum, with high expectations for pupil attainment,demands that teachers teach with accuracy and confidence. Students undergo atesting and self-auditing process which is used diagnostically to inform subjecttrainingrequirementsandidentifyanindividual’ssupportneeds.

Higher academic studyOurcollaborationwithOxfordBrookesUniversityprovidesthevaluableopportunityfor our written assignments to be recognised at postgraduate level. The threeassignment modules are submitted to the university, for assessment against thecriteriaforMastersLevel.

“Outstanding use of the considerable expertise in partnership schools which provides trainees and NQTs with consistently

high-quality training, for the whole group and at individual level” –Ofsted,2013

Application criteria

Essential

• A British Bachelors Honours Degree, or equivalent qualification (Second Class orabove)

• English, Mathematics and Science GCSEs/O levels, or equivalent qualifications (atgradeCorabove)

• QTSSkillsTestsinLiteracyandNumeracy

• ExperienceinamainstreamUKprimaryclassroomwithinthelasttwoyears (aminimumof10days,butgreaterexperiencewillstrengthenapplication)

• Clearandaccuratewrittenandverbalcommunicationskills

• Willingnesstoimplement/promoteequalopportunities

• Abilitytoreadeffectively

• Cleancriminalrecordandgoodhealth

“School-based trainers promote very high expectations and have a sharp focus on the impact of the trainees’

teaching on pupils’ progress and learning” –Ofsted,2013

Desirable

• Knowledgeandunderstandingofprimaryeducation–NationalCurriculum, PrimaryFrameworks,currenteducationalinitiatives

• Knowledgeandunderstandingoftheroleoftheprimaryteacher

• ICTconfidenceandcompetency

• PersonalQualities–evidencethatyouareableto:

•Workonowninitiativeandmanageworkload

•Workco-operativelyandeffectivelywithpeoplefromadiversesociety

•Buildrelationshipswithchildrenthatpromotelearning

• Interestsandtalentsthatwouldenhancechildren’slearningexperiences

• Willingnesstoseekemploymentinthelocalarea

• AnunderstandingoftherigourrequiredtostudyatMastersLevel

TheTwoMileAshITTPartnershipiscommittedtoequalopportunitiesandwillnotdiscriminateonthegroundsofcolour,race,nationality,ethnicorigin,sexormaritalstatusoronthegroundsofdisability.

Weencouragepotentialapplicantswithdisabilities,orotherspecialneeds,tovisitthePartnershipanddiscussanyprogrammeadjustments thatmightbedeemedreasonable.Alleffortswillbemadetosupportanindividual’sneeds,butapplicantsshould be aware that unsuccessful management of a condition may result interminationoftheprogramme.

“The Partnership staff supported me, both professionally and personally, always putting my

well-being first, helping me to achieve my full potential” –Formerstudent

Fees and BursariesOurtuitionfeesfor2014willbe£9000.

Tuition fee loansYoucaneitherprivatelyfundthecostsoftheprogrammeortuitionfeeloansareavailablefrom the Student Loan Company. Your tuition fees will be paid automatically to thePartnershipbytheSLCandyouwillpaythemback,accordingtoapre-determinedschedule,onceyouareemployedandearningovertheminimumsalarythreshold.

https://www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance

Maintenance loan and maintenance grantsDependingonyourpersonalfinancialcircumstances,youmayalsobeeligibleforamaintenance loan(whichhastobepaidback)and/oramaintenancegrant (whichdoesnot have tobepaidback), to contribute towards your costs of living.This ismeans-testedandwill be completely individualised to eachapplicant.This ispaidtermly,atthestartofeachterm,bytheStudentLoansCompany.

https://www.gov.uk/student-finance

Training BursariesCurrentlytheawardsare:

• If you are in possession of a first class degree (OR a PhD), you will receive abursaryof£9,000.

• If you are in possession of an upper second class degree (OR a Masters), youwillreceiveabursaryof£4,000.

This is an automatic entitlement and is paid to you, in ten monthly instalments, fromOctobertoJuly.

http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/funding/postgraduate-funding

Enhanced Certificates from the Disclosure and Barring ServiceStudentswillberequiredtopayfor theirownDBSchecks.

The trainees’ own evaluations show an unusual depth of analysis and personal understanding, and therefore the personal targets they set for

themselves are precise and provide an impetus to reach the next level of achievement –Ofsted,2013

Financing your studies

“The ITP was clearly set out for me to follow and was my journey plan for the year” –Formerstudent

Full details of how to apply and our recruitment and selection process are available in our separate application pack, available on request from the Partnership:

All enquiries to Jane Cole, ITT Partnership Co-Ordinator: itt@tma.bucks.sch.ukWebsite: www.inspiringtomorrowsteachers.co.uk

“I have felt fully supported and have been given outstanding guidance and advice throughout my training year. Thank you for everything!”

–Formerstudent

Two Mile Ash ITT Partnership, Two Mile Ash School, The High Street, Two Mile Ash, Milton Keynes MK8 8LH

Website: www.inspiringtomorrowsteachers.co.uk