Applications for 2019-20 opening soon!
Mon 15th October, 4.00 - 6.00p.m.
Weds 21st November, 4.00 - 6.00p.m.
Little Gonerby Infant School is the lead school within the Grantham South Lincolnshire ITT Partnership. We have been actively involved in initial teacher training for many years through local universities and providers hosting trainees on a number of different routes.
However, we and our partner schools truly and passionately believe that a school based (SCITT or School Direct) route into teacher training is the best possible start to becoming an outstanding teacher, hence our partnership with the East of England Teacher Training Centre (eoettc) and the School Direct programme.
The huge breadth of skills and experience within Little Gonerby and our partner schools in training the next generation of teachers is immense; it is an inspiring course to train to teach.
We chose to work with the eoettc because in recent years ALL of their School Direct trainees have been offered posts within partner schools and they have a 100% employability record. Little Gonerby has strong links with amazing schools in Lincolnshire and nationally through the EdTransform network, opening the door to amazing opportunities to network, share ideas and collaborate with some of the world's most innovative, forward thinking educational organisations.
The diversity of our large partnership of schools can offer you many different experiences: working in a special school, small rural primary schools, large urban primary schools and junior and infant schools. We also organise a special school experience for our trainees, as we believe that all trainees need a well rounded and real experience of how to support children with additional needs.
We offer trainees flexibility in their choice of route, as not all people will want to complete a PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education), in addition to QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) to teach in England and Wales (see www.eoettc.com for more information about the PGCE route and QTS route).
By joining us on one of our training programmes you will be receiving exceptional training, leadership and support from outstanding professionals who are experts in their industry. Existing teachers, who are at the cutting edge of education, lead the vast majority of our training. They will be able to pass on their current knowledge, share their skills and make sure you are classroom ready for your NQT year.
We want to offer trainees choice and flexibility, so we have designed our courses to give you options at different price levels. The PGCE & QTS route (PGCE supported by the University of Hull) gives you 60 masters credits, so if you are looking to complete a Masters, you will have a third of the credits needed. If you are looking to teach abroad, you will need a PGCE, as it is an internationally recognised teaching qualification. For those of you not looking to teach abroad or complete further study, you only need QTS to teach in England and Wales.
Throughout the year our large team of experts will support you. Within school you will have a senior mentor and also a mentor (class teacher). You will be based in school usually four days a week and will attend training a day a week, although some training takes place in block weeks. As a trainee you will be treated like a member of staff and will be introduced as a teacher to the children. The school will expect you to commit yourself fully to the programme and to immerse yourself in the life of the school by attending staff meetings, training events and becoming a member of the team. The beauty of the school based training route is that you get to see EVERYTHING, so there are no surprises when you become an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher)! You will attend parents evenings, help to write reports, help to plan and lead a school trip, attend pupil progress meetings and see the children in your class develop, flourish and grow under your direction – it is an amazing feeling!
In the first term, you will be based in your 'main' class where you will work with your mentor until Christmas. You will teach 1.5 days a week until October half term, then 2 days a week until Christmas. You will start off by teaching small groups, which will then lead to the whole class. You will be supported every step of the way and given expert guidance. In the spring term, you will move to a different class or two within your school to widen your experiences, so you have knowledge of a range of year groups; you will be teaching 2.5 days a week by now. Also in the spring term you will go on your second school placement, where you will go to a school which is contrasting to yours, for 6 weeks, to give you a different type of experience in a different year group or key stage. We believe it is essential that our trainees have a wide breadth of experiences and opportunities through out the year. In the summer term you will teach up to 4 days a week back in your original class where you started your training; you will become the class teacher! Each week you will be observed teaching by your mentor and you will have a weekly mentor tutorial meeting, so you will have feedback and support, knowing exactly how to become an outstanding teacher!
As well as the huge amount of support that you will receive in school, you will also be allocated a Quality Assurance Tutor who will visit you five times over the course of the year and will also complete online checks of your evidence towards the Teachers' Standards. Your Tutor is a lead professional from within one of our partnership schools and will have immense experience in working with and supporting trainee teachers, they will be there to give you and your school support and to moderate the judgements of the school. The staff at The East of England Teacher Training Centre will be on hand to fully support you every step of the way, from offering a free checking service for your application, through to support for your interview, allocation of a school, right through to final assessment and into your NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) year. The East of England Teacher training Centre has weekly online forums that you can engage in to discuss any issues or seek advice/support at any time.
During your training year you will need to evidence the Teachers' Standards; we use an online portal to store your evidence. The training programme is designed to ensure that all trainees will have support and feedback when collecting and presenting their evidence for the standards. Your QA Tutor will give you regular feedback about the quality of your evidence, as will your school mentors, so you are able to reach the highest possible standard. Each week, at your mentor tutorial meeting, trainees will be asked to show evidence that demonstrates the impact of their teaching on pupil progress.
During weekly face to face training sessions, you will experience a blend of subject knowledge development training and training showing you the different teaching styles and approaches (pedagogies) that you will need to be an effective teacher. We will cover all elements of the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and we have added extra experiences like: Forest School training and mental health and wellbeing training too. In addition to the face to face training you will attend 'experience days' where trainees can spend a day in a school looking at maths mastery, or different phonics schemes and how different schools support those with English as an Additional Language. We feel that our training programme is broad and balanced and fully prepares you to enter the teaching profession as nothing but the best!
*New schools join the partnership all of the time and we welcome new schools whole heartedly.
Applications will be screened against entry requirements and suitable candidates will be shortlisted to attend an interview. We offer a free 'checking' service, where we will give you feedback on your personal statement before you apply. We will provide you with full information regarding the interview process if your application is successful. All interviews will be held in a school and you will be expected to teach a class of children. If offered a place, trainees will attend orientation visits to our schools, so they can choose which schools suits them the best and the schools can select a trainee that matches their needs.
We are looking for passionate, exceptional individuals who want to truly inspire future generations. If you are an ambitious, creative learner and want to discover your true potential to be an inspirational primary teacher then you are the person for us!
GCSEs or equivalent at grade C or above in Mathematics, English Language and a Science. An honours degree – in any field.
Minimum of ten days' recent school experience for all routes. For the School Direct Salaried programme you will also need at least 3 years career experience, as this route is designed for career changers.