Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship
The Tommy Flowers SCITT works with our primary and secondary schools to support Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeships (PGTA). The apprenticeship route combines paid work in your employing school with off-the-job training and enables schools to use apprenticeship funding (their apprenticeship levy) to cover the tuition fees.
As an apprentice, you would be employed as an Unqualified Teacher by your placement school for the duration of your training. Therefore, to be ready for an apprenticeship, you must have already secured employment or come to an agreement with a school who want to employ you and support you throughout your training year. Currently, the apprenticeship is only available to academies or multi-academy trusts. Local authority primary schools should consider the primary Salaried route. Candidates without an employing school should consider our Tuition-fee QTS or Tuition-fee QTS with PGCE courses.
Offered for both primary (5-11 age range) and secondary (11-16 or 14-19 age range), our Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status at the end of the 12-month course. Candidates can elect to also take the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for an additional charge of £1,000.
Features of the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship
- Receive a salary from your employing school
- Award of QTS and the Level 6 Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship
- Fees are paid through your school’s apprenticeship levy
- Option to take the PGCE (£1,000, paid by the apprentice, not the apprenticeship levy)
- More responsibilities for teaching the class than the tuition-fee routes
- Requires prior experience and an employing school to apply
- Two placements within our local partnership schools
- Support of an experienced mentor
- Weekly professional studies and subject studies training
- 12 month course (July – June) with End-Point Assessment in the term after qualifying
Fees and finance
Apprentices on the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship are paid for the duration of the apprenticeship by their employing school on at least point 1 of the Unqualified Teachers’ Pay Scale.
The fees for the course are paid for by the employing school’s apprenticeship levy at no cost to the apprentice. For some secondary subjects, employing schools receive a grant to contribute to the apprentice’s salary.
Candidates have the option to take the additional Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for a fee of £1000. Please note that employing schools cannot use their apprenticeship levy to pay for the PGCE, so this is charged to the apprentice.
Apprentices are not eligible for student finance from Student Finance England, as they are earning a salary.
Entry requirements
All applicants for the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship must meet the following entry requirements.
Degree
You must hold a bachelor’s degree with honours class 2.2 or above from a UK Higher Education Institution (HEI), or an equivalent qualification. The UK National Information Centre (UK ENIC) or our administrators can provide advice on the equivalence of overseas qualifications. For applicants to a secondary course, your degree should be in or closely related to the subject you wish to train to teach. Should your degree not be in the subject for which you are applying to teach, you will require a minimum of a grade B at A level in that subject in order to meet the requirement for recommendation to a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course. If you are in your final year of completing your degree, you can still apply to us – successfully gaining your degree will become a condition of any offer you receive.
GCSEs
English (Language or Literature) and Maths GCSE or equivalent qualifications at grade C/4 or above. For primary candidates, a Science GCSE or equivalent is also required at grade C/4 or above.
Please note that applicants who have achieved or are taking an equivalence test, or hold other evidence of maths and English attainment that intend to undertake the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA) will also need functional skills qualifiactions or equivalent qualifications at Level 2 in mathematics and English to meet the apprenticeship gateway entry criteria.
Applying for the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship
All applications for our teacher training programmes (with the exception of the Assessment Only route) must be made online using the Government’s Apply for Teacher Training portal. Our secondary Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship courses are opened when an employing school contacts us with a suitable candidate. If you are employed within one of our partner secondary schools e.g. as a cover supervisor or teaching assistant or will be taking up employment as an unqualified teacher, please discuss this route with the school’s Professional Tutor and ask them to make contact with the Tommy Flowers SCITT regarding next steps.
Once your application has been submitted, it will be received by our team who will check the entry requirements have been met and that the application meets a high standard of English. If your relevant qualifications are from overseas, please ensure you have UK ENIC in place when you apply and add the ENIC certificate number to your application. You may then be invited to an interview day.
Once a conditional offer has been made, two references (professional and academic) will be required from the applicant.
Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor candidates from overseas who require a VISA to study or work in the UK.
Course Codes
Please use the provider coded 1YK to apply to the Tommy Flowers SCITT, along with the following course codes for the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship:
Primary:
A158 Primary (5-11)
For Primary (3-7) please visit Bedgrove Infant School
Secondary:
V947 Art and Design (11-16)
J714 Biology (11-16)
J374 Business Studies (14-19)
A672 Chemistry (11-16)
W740 Computing (11-16)
H621 Design and Technology (11-16)
M254 Drama (11-16)
A876 English (11-16)
S351 Geography (11-16)
R148 History (11-16)
H417 Mathematics (11-16)
Q196 Modern Foreign Languages (11-16)
Y129 Music (11-16)
V031 Physical Education (11-16)
D849 Physics (11-16)
V085 Religious Education (11-16)
C166 Social Sciences (14-19)
Structure and support
Our Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship is full time and runs for 12 months with an End Point Assessment (EPA) taking place in the fourth term.
Induction: July
Your induction to the course in July will get you settled into your role at your employing school, provide you with pre-programme reading and tasks to complete over the summer and give you the basic tools to be ready to teach in September.
Term 1: September to December
You will spend four days in school and 1 day at training each week throughout this main placement at your employing school. Your 20% ‘Off the Job Training’ will include core training, subject-specific training, self-guided study, attendance at Intensive Training and Practice (ITaP) weeks, observations of other teachers and mentoring.
Term 2: January to April
This term will include a second placement at a contrasting school for 6 weeks, before returning to your employing school.
Term 3: May to June
During this final term, you will have your summative assessment and recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (and optional PGCE).
Term 4: End Point Assessment
Now a qualified teacher, you will undertake your End Point Assessment (2.5 hours) in this fourth term to complete and receive your Level 6 Post Graduate Teaching Apprentieship certificate.
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
Apprentices may elect to take the Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) in addition to Qualified Teacher Status and the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship. The PGCE is a Masters level qualification that provides 60 credits towards the 180 credits required for the awarding of a full Masters degree. The PGCE is accredited by Northumbria University and costs £1,000.
The PGCE sessions are taught and assessed through the submission of written assignments.
The first focuses on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and allows trainees to work collaboratively before individually writing 1,200 words about a particular area of SEND need. This is due at the end of October.
The second assignment explores trainee’s classroom practice and enables trainees to develop their understanding of the theory and pedagogy of behaviour for learning. This runs from November to January, culminating in a 4,500 word assignment.
Finally, the reflect practice assignment, running from January to May looks at assessment, marking and feedback. This also concludes with a 4,500 word written assignment.
Assessment leading to QTS
The Tommy Flowers SCITT will formatively review your progress throughout the course, with a summative assessment against the Teachers’ Standards in June. By meeting the Tommy Flowers SCITT curriculum, you will have demonstrated that you have met each of the Teachers’ Standards and can therefore be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Supporting material for your reviews include:
Online portfolio
Your online portfolio will include a sample of lesson plans, resources, observations and evaluations from your teaching throughout the year. It will support you in talking about how you have developed as a teacher across the course. Weekly mentor meetings and tasks related to your learning will be stored in the portfolio
Projects
These projects enable you to develop your expertise in key areas of the Tommy Flowers SCITT curriculum, including planning sequenced lessons, early reading and phonics (primary), how children learn in your subject (secondary) and developing your knowledge of an area of SEND.
End-Point Assessment (EPA)
During the first three months as a qualified Early Career Teacher (ECT), you will be assessed by an independent EPA Assessor. This 2.5 hour assessment will consist of a lesson observation and a professional discussion and will lead to the awarding of the Level 6 Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship certificate.
The interview process
If called to one of our selection days, you will be sent full information via email. The selection days are an opportunity for us to get to know you but also for you to find out more about us and the course.
The selection day includes the following:
- A 20 minute task with a group of 8 children
- Literacy task
- An interview
The selection process will usually last approximately 2 hours. Further information and resources for this will be sent out when you are offered an interview and we are always willing to answer any questions you may have before the selection day.
Fundamental English and maths skills
Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers are expected to make an assessment of the English and maths knowledge of a trainee before Qualified Teacher Status is awarded. The following guidance demonstrates the fundamental skills required to be a teacher. The interview process assesses a candidates strengths in these areas. Once accepted onto one of our courses, it is the responsibility of trainees to fill any gaps before the end of their training year.
Speaking, Listening and Communicating:
- Identify key information and main points from discussion or presentations.
- Demonstrate effective listening skills and the ability to follow a line of thought.
- Use a range of questions appropriate to purpose and context.
- Communicate information and ideas clearly, adding appropriate detail.
- Speak with Standard English grammar and clear pronunciation, using vocabulary relevant to the situation.
- Manage discussions effectively.
Reading:
- Extract key points and more specific information from texts.
- Recognise that different texts convey information, opinions and ideas in different ways
- Accurately comprehend meanings in texts.
- Use dictionaries, glossaries, internet searches and other reference materials in your own work.
- Know how to use organisational features of texts to rapidly locate and retrieve information.
- Be able to identify different points of view from reading material and distinguish fact from opinion.
Writing:
- Demonstrate a range of sentence constructions and punctuation in written work.
- Use Standard English grammar in written work.
- Spell common and everyday words that a professional would be expected to know.
- Ensure written work conveys meaning clearly, coherently and effectively using appropriate detail and length.
- Use a range of organisational devices in written work, ensuring the text is coherent and cohesive
- Use legible and clear writing appropriate to the situation and audience.
Data and Graphs:
- Describe simple mathematical relationships between two variables.
- Analyse data in a table and draw conclusions from the information provided.
- Make sense of statistics and graphs in the news, in academic reports and relevant papers.
- Identify and interpret anomalies and outliers in data tables or on graphs.
Mathematical Calculations:
- Calculate using whole and decimal numbers.
- Make changes to an existing mathematical formula to carry out calculations.
- Work out percentages of amounts, express one amount as a percentage of another and calculate percentage change.
- Order, approximate and compare decimals, fractions and percentages.
- Understand and calculate using ratios, direct proportion and inverse proportion.
- Carry out simple budgeting by calculating amounts of money, percentage increases, decreases and discounts.
Solve Mathematical Problems:
- Solve mathematical problems by breaking them down into a series of simpler steps and selecting appropriate operations.
- Make general estimates of calculations to be able to judge the reasonableness of an answer.
- Know how to use a variety of strategies when counting, measuring or estimating.
- Calculate using units of time.
