North Tyneside’s ‘outstanding’ school centered initial teacher training (SCITT) programme has secured its future after successfully gaining government accreditation to continue to deliver its training.
Granted by the Department for Education, the endorsement means the programme is one of only of 200 providers approved to nurture and train primary school teachers in the UK.
Renowned for its success in supporting trainees to have thriving careers, the North Tyneside programme provides collaborative working across the borough and the region and has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
The school-centred programme offers training at the council’s professional development centre where trainees will learn from experienced and respected early years and primary professionals, and they’re also guaranteed placements in schools in North Tyneside where they can get practical, hands-on classroom experience.
Recruitment is now underway for the September 2023 intake of trainees and past graduates of the programme have shared their successes to highlight how the programme transformed their lives.
As a recent graduate, Alex Barber now has her own classroom after spending almost 10 years in a job she felt unfulfilled in. She said “North Tyneside SCITT was undoubtedly the best decision I have ever made. I chose this programme because I knew that it has a great reputation for its brilliant training, but also that it holds a great reputation with schools around the area too.
“I worked for almost 10 years in a job I felt unfulfilled in and now I have my own class of 20 plus children and I couldn’t be happier that I took the jump to move into teaching.
“The staff are so helpful and hands-on to ensure that you get as much as you can from the course to be able to apply this into your own classroom and I think the course really helped me to become the teacher I am today. I couldn’t recommend it enough for people to go through the course if people are considering the SCITT route of teaching.”
Helen Rutherford graduated in the 2022 programme after being inspired by her friend who also completed the course and hearing how ‘incredible’ the programme is. Speaking of her experience she said: “I definitely made the right decision choosing this course, it has helped me massively with my first job and allowed me to discover the teacher I wanted to be and to find a school which matched my skills.
“I feel very lucky to have trained with the programme and the small cohort created a small family who supported each other throughout the year and beyond into our careers.
“I loved the amount of time we were given in school to experience the profession first-hand and receiving feedback helped to improve my practice and better educate the children in my class.”
Councillor Hannah Johnson, Cabinet Member for Inclusion, Employment and Skills at North Tyneside Council, said: “We strive to ensure every child in the borough has access to the best possible education and our outstanding initial teacher training programme offers the highest quality training experiences to develop future teachers’ skills and support the brilliant education offer in North Tyneside.
“It’s fantastic to hear first-hand the success stories from the programme and it’s brilliant to know that these trainees are now flourishing in their careers and educating the boroughs children with their fantastic skills and knowledge.
“We’re all delighted that the programme will continue in 2024, receiving backing from the Department for Education is a true testament to the commitment and dedication of the colleagues who run the course and the fantastic schools in our borough.
“As a teacher who trained through a SCITT course four years ago, I know first-hand how challenging but extremely rewarding the course is and I’d encourage anyone who has considered a move into teaching to do it through our outstanding course.”
Applicants for the course must have an honours degree at 2:2 or above and must have gained grade C/4 or above in English, mathematics, and science GCSE or equivalent qualification.
The programme is hosting an open event on Wednesday 23 November between 4.15pm and 5.30pm where anyone can head to The Langdale Centre to speak to the team who run the course.
If you’re interested in joining the training programme, or would like to find out more about what’s on offer, visit North Tyneside SCITTs website: https://ntscitt.org.uk/
