Follow this salaried path to a teaching career and be part of the solution to the challenges before us. The size of the pupil population is expected to rise by almost 15% by 2027 in England’s secondary schools, however the number of teachers is falling. If you have a degree in any subject and are interested in teaching at secondary level but do not want to follow the traditional academic path to becoming a teacher, the Teacher Apprenticeship (with QTS) Level 6 is for you. You’ll benefit from receiving a salary while your train along with your course fees being paid for by the school in which you are employed.
Are you ready to dive into the world of secondary teaching and pass on your specialist knowledge? Take this postgraduate, work-based route into the sector and benefit from paid employment status along with 80% on-the-job training and 20% off-the-job-training.
During your Initial Teacher Training (ITT), you will be employed by a school within the Luminate Partnership for ITT for 15 months. You may already be working at a school as an unqualified teacher or teaching assistant.
As part of the 80% on-the-job training, you will work as an unqualified teacher for four days of the week which will predominantly take place in your employing school. You will also spend at least 20% of your time off-timetable developing the professional expertise and core knowledge expected of teachers of secondary age pupils, including your understanding of how to teach your specialist subject. This will usually take place one day per working week.
Benefit from our excellent links with our secondary partnership schools and academies within the Luminate Partnership for ITT, spending a minimum of 120 days in these settings, supported by school mentors, class teachers and university-based tutors. You will be placed in your employing school for the majority of the year. However, to ensure compliance with statutory Initial Teacher Training criteria and supporting advice issued by the Department for Education, you will also gain experience in different school settings. One of your short placement experiences will be in an alternative setting within the Luminate Partnership for ITT, such as an SEMH/SEND school.
After successful completion of the apprenticeship, you will be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards required to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). You will then complete a final assessment, known as an End Point Assessment (EPA), at the start of your Early Career Teacher (ECT) year.
*The course is salaried. Employers that pay into the apprenticeship levy will be able to use up to £9,000 of funding from their apprenticeship service account to cover the cost of training and assessing the apprentice.
This course is assessed between our team within Luminate and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (A&TE)
You will undertake a Professional Studies programme in association with your practical teaching.
Semester 1
Demonstrating Professional Practice 1
This module provides opportunities for you to meet the professional standards and expectations of teaching through practical, school-based experience during School Block 1. The module focuses on the ways in which you develop your professional skills, Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and expertise. The first teaching practice placement will introduce you to whole-school policies, giving you a broader operational perspective and preparing you for a future role in school development planning.
Semesters 1 to 2
Demonstrating Professional Practice 2
During School Block 2, you will develop your subject specialist teaching skills and your ability to plan a series of lessons that build on and sustain progression in pupils’ learning. You will create subject-specific material and resources that reflect an enhanced understanding of your discipline, address common pupil misconceptions in the specialist subject and promote intellectual curiosity. You will also develop a secure knowledge of how pupils are expected to make progress within the subject area and across each relevant Key Stage. At the same time, you will advance your own subject-specific professional development as part of a Community of Professional Practice (CoPP).
Semester 2
Demonstrating Professional Practice 3
In this module, you will experience the complexity of non-mainstream secondary education, including independent alternative provision, off-site direction and SEMH/SEND school. You will critically reflect upon how our secondary education system serves the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. As part of this module, you will be required to interrogate the work being undertaken by SEND practitioners. The placement will culminate in a School Adoption week when you will take on the wider responsibilities associated with being a teacher in the secondary sector.
Successful completion of these elements will contribute to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
To prepare you well for your future role as a teacher of secondary education, you will benefit from the unique experiences that being a trainee within the Luminate Partnership for ITT will provide. Through the partnership, you will have access to a large number of specialised settings. The experience you gain within these specialist settings through your compulsory alternative placement experience is invaluable and will enhance your professional profile and skills.
We will draw on the strengths of the partnership to support your continuous professional learning, early career development and upward in-work progression. You will have frequent opportunities to meet and work with other professionals across the sites within the partnership so that effective practice can be shared and developed.
As part of your third placement experience, and at the latter stage of the academic year, all trainees who are on track to meet the Teachers’ Standards will participate in a ‘School Adoption’ week. During adoption week, you will be given the opportunity to experience the role of a secondary teacher under increasingly real conditions, developing a range of additional skills.
Assessment will consist of a combination of teaching observations and an individual progress journal that contributes towards the achievement of each of the Teachers’ Standards.
The award of Qualified Teacher Status is the gateway to End Point Assessment (EPA) and, once QTS has been achieved, the EPA must be completed within three months. As required by the national standard, the EPA consists of the following:
The EPA will be graded outstanding, pass or inadequate.
To gain a place on the Teacher Apprenticeship (with QTS) Level 6 you will go through a selection process. Partner schools will have a key role in the appointment of apprentice teachers. This process will include an individual interview. You will be invited to one of the partnership sites for your interview, which will include the following:
At interview, you will have to complete the following:
English and maths audit
If you do not have the required standard at GCSE or equivalent, you will be given the opportunity to present other evidence of attainment. This will be assessed by a English or maths specialist within University Centre Leeds and compared with the current GCSE standard. Alternatively, you will be given the opportunity to sit an equivalency test provided by University Centre Leeds.
Subject Knowledge Audit
As part of the selection and interview process, you will complete a subject knowledge audit. This is to see whether you need to complete a subject knowledge enhancement course prior to the commencement of your training year, or if any gaps identified can be addressed during the subject knowledge input throughout the year. The outcome of the subject knowledge audit will inform part of the condition of your offer.
The programme will be delivered at the new Teacher Development Centre at our Park Lane Campus. The space will host a number of classrooms, focused on their ability to be flexible for a variety of delivery and learning episodes. The new Teacher Development Centre will have its own purpose-built library with relevant teaching and learning literature, as well as a plethora of resources such as books, journals and other publications.
All apprentices will become members of the Chartered College of Teaching, the professional body for teachers. Through membership of the Chartered College of Teaching, you will have access to a wealth of research, resources and insight to enable excellent teaching. Apprentices will also be encouraged to join a subject association. The most relevant subject association chosen will be funded by the provider.
All applicants will need to fulfil the following entry criteria to be offered a place on the programme:
Successful applicants must complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and be cleared to teach by the accredited provider, ensuring they are not barred from working with young people or excluded from teaching. Candidates will also be required to sign up for the update service.
Attending the programme will have additional costs, such as the purchase of books and other materials. A key cost will be travel to and from your teaching placements. The cost of the enhanced DBS check, including registration with the update service, will be reimbursed by the training provider.
Schools can employ apprentices across all curriculum subjects – specific posts to be advertised Spring 2024!
For the latest version of The Open University regulations please click here.
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