ABOUT US
With a 100% employment record, the Tommy Flowers SCITT attracts applicants from a range of backgrounds and with a variety of prior experiences. Here you can find out about some of our recent graduates. While many applicants are recent or soon-to-be graduates from university, others have been working in schools already, perhaps as teaching assistants, volunteers or office staff. Some candidates have already held successful careers in other industries and are looking for a change, realising where they can make a difference to the lives of children.
Explore the case studies below to see some of the paths our former trainees have taken and find out why they chose the Tommy Flowers SCITT as their teacher training provider.
Eva Tedford
Career Changer – Primary
Eva led a successful career in Human Resources before making the change into teaching. In this video she talks about that journey, why she recommends other follow her what a difference she is already making to children’s lives.
Esther Johnson
Recent University Graduate – Secondary English
Esther graduated from university with a degree in English before joining the secondary cohort with the Tommy Flowers SCITT. She is now an English, Media and Film teacher and tells us about the positive community supportive relationships she developed while training to teach.
Lauren Preston
School Employee – Primary
Lauren is a graduate from the Tommy Flowers SCITT who trained as a primary teacher on our QTS with PGCE course and is now leading a successful career. Here she talks about how she moved from working in a school office to becoming a highly effective teacher.
Reviews about the Tommy Flowers SCITT
‘The Tommy Flowers SCITT is a training provider I will be recommending to anybody who would like to pursue this career. The Partnership Managers have always been available to help and have shown such genuine care in helping me navigate my training year. I would not have been as successful as I was this year without this course, the people behind it and the brilliant mentors I was lucky enough to work with.’
Former trainee
‘The Tommy Flowers SCITT is right at the heart of what we do. It is growing outstanding teachers for us and creating a pipeline of potential for the city. Without the Tommy Flowers SCITT, we wouldn’t have recruited teachers with such exceptional potential and we would be missing out on everything that each trainee has contributed to the school.’
Mark Sim, Headteacher, Oakgrove Primary School
‘From experience, the course gives the best training and experience for future teachers, with all the support and guidance needed.’
School Mentor
The Tommy Flowers SCITT is looking for trainees who are engaging, energetic and enthusiastic. You may be about to graduate from university or looking for a career change where you can inspire and shape children’s futures. If you have the dedication, professionalism and confidence to be an excellent teacher, then please contact us.
About the Tommy Flowers SCITT team
Tom Molloy
SCITT Director
Tom Molloy is the Director of the Tommy Flowers SCITT. With oversight of all programmes, Tom leads the design and delivery of the primary courses, including recruitment, training and assessment of trainees and working closely with partnership schools. He has taught in primary schools across Bolton, West Sussex and Milton Keynes, including as a Deputy Headteacher. He is an External Moderator and a member of the Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group. Tom is a musician with a passion for promoting the arts in schools. A father of two boys, Tom is delighted that his eldest is currently being taught by a Tommy Flowers SCITT graduate!
Sally Newton
Secondary Partnership Manager
Sally Newton is the Secondary Partnership Manager for the Tommy Flowers SCITT where she works with a team of subject tutors to design the full range of secondary courses on offer. She was the Professional Tutor at Oakgrove School where she was responsible for ITT and ECT Induction across the school’s all through provision. Sally is also a Specialist Leader for Education (SLE) for English; her most recent deployment involved working with a local primary school’s highest attaining students. In her spare time, Sally enjoys swimming and running.
Johanna Thomson
Primary Lead Mentor
Jo Thomson is the Primary Lead Mentor and works closely with Tom to deliver the primary course. She has an MA in Effective Teaching and Learning, an NPQ in Leading Teacher Development and has taught in Milton Keynes since 2008. Jo is passionate about and specialises in teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL) to children and their families. She writes EAL materials professionally for an international educational publisher and also has completed a CELTA course which qualifies her to teach English language to adults. In her spare time, Jo enjoys swimming and crafting.
Lisa Turnbull
Secondary Lead Mentor
Lisa Turnbull is the Secondary Lead Mentor for the Tommy Flowers SCITT and works closely with Sally to deliver the secondary course. She has been teaching since 2012 and is passionate about teaching and learning, particularly for GCSE and A Level courses, and developed her expertise in this area during her time as Curriculum Design Lead for KS4 and KS5 English at The Radcliffe School. Lisa has extensive ITT and ECT support experience through her years of mentoring. In her spare time, Lisa loves spending time cooking, reading and swimming.
Victoria Lacy-Wills
EPA Lead
Victoria Lacy-Wills has oversight of the Tommy Flowers SCITT's team of End Point Assessors for the Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship. She is also the Partnership Manager of PEP:mk, one of the lead CPD providers in Milton Keynes. She has taught in both mainstream and special needs schools. Her passion is SEN and she has completed the National Award for SEN Coordination and Nurture Group Network qualification. Victoria loves nothing more than spending time with her family on her days off.
Beth Kendall
Administrator
Beth works for the secondary arm of the TFSCITT. Her work also includes finance and EPA administration. Beth spent 17 years working as a trainer in hospitality. In her spare time, Beth enjoys long walks with the children, exploring the different parts of the UK.
Sally Kellett
Administrator
Sally is the administrator for the primary arm of the TFSCITT. She will be there from your very first enquiry right through to your application and interview process. She has 11 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant working in London in the advertising industry. In her spare time Sally loves to cook, read and spend time with her daughters.
Ofsted report
Ofsted inspected the Tommy Flowers SCITT in June 2023 and graded our teacher training provision as Outstanding. The full report describes the Tommy Flowers SCITT courses as being “second to none”, “a first-class programme” and having a “highly ambitious curriculum.”
“This exceptional training programme weaves together theory and practice seamlessly to provide trainees with an experience that is second to none.”
“Trainees are incredibly proud to study here. They truly flourish during their training year.”
Trainees are in a “prime position to be successful in their future careers.”
“Leaders have created a first-class programme for trainees. Their unfaltering commitment to provide Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas with exceptional teachers shines through all aspects of their work.”
“Leaders, at every level, lead with integrity, conviction and clarity of purpose.”
“Mentors are very well trained.”
Partner schools
We work in partnership with over 40 primary and secondary schools in the Milton Keynes. We ensure that all trainees have experience of two contrasting placements in different schools. All our partnership schools contribute to the steering committees that shape the strategic direction of the Tommy Flowers SCITT. The partnership is ever growing and schools who wish to host trainee teachers are welcome to get in touch.
Primary Schools
Bedgrove Infant School
Bishop Parker Catholic Primary School
Broughton Fields Primary School
Caroline Haslett Primary School
Hanslope Primary School
Haversham Village School
Heronsgate School
Long Meadow School
Loughton School
Middleton Primary School
New Chapter Primary School
Oakgrove Primary School
Portfields Primary School
Priory Rise Primary School
St. Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School
St. Michael’s CE Combined School
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Combined School
The Premier Academy
The Redway School
The Willows Primary School and Early Years Centre
Watling Primary School
Wavendon Gate Primary School
Willen Primary School
Secondary Schools
Bridge Academy
Denbigh School
Glebe Farm School
Lord Grey School
Oakgrove School
Ousedale School
Sir Thomas Freemantle School
St. Paul’s Catholic School
Stephenson Academy
The Hazeley Academy
The Radcliffe School
The Redway School
Walton High
Watling Academy
About our name: who was Tommy Flowers?
Tommy Flowers’ contribution to code breaking in the Second World War was immense. He led the team that designed and built Colossus – the first electronic programmable computer – to break the complex encoded communiques between the German High Command and the field. The first model was demonstrated at Bletchley Park, the British forces’ Intelligence Centre, in December 1943, with a faster version in operation by June 1944, days before D Day. Historians believe that the code breaking facilitated by Colossus shortened the war by two years. He was appointed MBE for his contribution to the war effort along with a rather meagre £1,000 award, but, since the codebreaking activities at Bletchley Park were kept secret for 30 years, Flowers remained largely unknown to the public.
The annual graduation ceremonies have previously been held at Bletchley Park, in recognition of Tommy Flowers’ huge contribution to computing and the war effort. Read more about Tommy Flowers.
Policies
All other Tommy Flowers SCITT policies are available to partnership schools and apprentices through the online portal.
