Routes into Teaching

Eligibility To be eligible for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) you will need to have GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade C or above in English and Maths for Secondary courses plus Science for Primary courses. Teaching is a degree profession and there are routes on offer to both Undergraduates and Post graduates. More information for these routes will be posted on this site shortly. Please visit the TDAs ways into teaching page in the meantime. Or continue down the page for employment-based routes.

Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE)

This is the most popular graduate route to teaching for both primary and secondary.  A large number of univeristies offer this route on a full and part time basis in many subjects.  The local providers are Canterbury Christchurch University and Greenwich University.and Kent and Medway Training.

At Canterbury Christchurch University the Faculty of Education is one of the largest and most successful providers of postgraduate initial teacher education in the country.  The provision is highly rated by Ofsted and they currently hold the top grades for the management and quality assurance of primary and secondary provision.

Website: www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/departments/pointed/

Email: education@canterbury.ac.uk

Kent & Medway Training are a SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training) consortium of fifteen successful schools in the Kent and Medway areas, providing post graduates with the opportunity to train to become secondary school teachers.  This one year full time course, based entirely in schools within our consortium, leads to a PGCE, and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)

Website: www.kmtraining.org.uk

Email:bsm@leighacadamy.org.uk

The School of Education & Training at Greenwich University offers programmes in teacher training and degrees in the study of education and related areas. We have strong partnerships with local schools and colleges whose staff work closely with us in mentoring students on placement.

It is also active in research and consultancy, offers a large programme of higher degrees and provides Continuing Professional Development for teachers, lecturers and other education professionals.

A very high percentage of our students choose to take up teaching posts and readily gain employment. Our location provides access to schools in a wide variety of settings, including schools and colleges with rich multicultural traditions.

Website: www.gre.ac.uk

Email:courseinfo@gre.ac.uk

iTeach - Online Teacher Education

iTeach (Initial Teacher Education at Canterbury and Hibernia) is a new project which aims to provide competent and confident education professionals to qualify to teach in secondary Physics, Chemistry and Maths classrooms. The enthusiasm and need for the project arises from the under-recruitment of specialist physicists, chemists and mathematics to secondary schools.

iTeach is a suite of courses that will enable individual participants to devise their own learning pathway to Qualified Teacher Status. For more information on the programme please visit www.iteach.ac.uk.

Employment-based routes to teaching

As well as traditional routes to teaching such as the Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and the Bachelor of Education (BEd), there are employment-based routes in operation in Medway.
For full routes to teaching options you can also visit www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/becomingateacher/waysintoteaching.

Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP)

This is a programme which usually takes up to one year full time. Trainees work towards qualified teacher status (QTS) whilst working in a primary, secondary or special school. To qualify for this programme, candidates must fulfil the following criteria:

• Hold a relevant degree
• Hold GCSE grade C, or equivalent, in Maths and English.  Primary candidates must also have a GCSE grade C or above in science.
• Must have eligibility to work in the UK.

Candidates who are accepted by a school to train will earn a salary of at least £14,040 whilst training.

It is up to the candidate to find a school that is willing to support them through the programme. A list of schools is available on the Medway Council website.  Once you have gained employment at a school they can make an application to go on the programme.

All places on the programme have to be applied for through a Designated Recommending Body (DRB) or Accredited Provider, please be aware places are limited and therefore competition is high.

Accredited Providers in this area are:

Find out more about the Graduate Teacher Programme on the Training and Development  Agency for Schools website (www.tda.gov.uk) or select the highlighted keywords in this text.  You can also request a hard copy information pack.

Overseas Trained Teacher Programme

An OTT (trained outside the EEA) can work in a maintained school as an unqualified teacher for up to 4 years providing they have permission to work in the UK.  During this time the teacher can work towards gaining UK Qualified Teacher Status by successfully completing the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme.  This route can take from 3 months to one year depending on the experience of the candidate.  You may need your qualifications checked by the National Academic Recognition Centre (NARIC), please visit www.naric.org.uk for more information.

It is up to the candidate to find a school that is willing to support them through the programme.  You can apply directly to vacancies found on this website and a list of schools is available on the Medway Council website.  Once you have gained employment at a school they can make an application to go on the programme.

All places on the programme have to be applied for through a Designated Recommending Body (DRB) or Accredited Provider.  Please contact Equalitas (details above) for further information on the programme.

Teachers who qualified inside the EU may access teaching positions in the same way as 'home' trained teachers.  For further information regarding overseas and EU trained teachers please visit the TDA website (www.tda.gov.uk) or select the keywords in this text.

Registered Teacher Programme (RTP)

This programme is similar to the GTP in that candidates work towards the qualified teacher standards (QTS) whilst working in school. The duration of this programme is up to two years as candidates also complete studies towards a degree.

To qualify for this programme, candidates must fulfil the following criteria:

• Hold the equivalent of years 1 and 2 of a degree, or 240 HE credits
• Hold GCSE grade C, or equivalent, in maths and English.  Primary candidates must also have a GCSE grade C or above in science.
• Must have eligibility to work in the UK.

Candidates who are accepted by a school to train will earn a salary of at least £14,040 whilst training.

It is up to the candidate to find a school that is willing to support them through the programme. A list of schools is available on the Medway Council website.

All places on the programme have to be applied for through a Designated Recommending Body (DRB) and places are limited.

Places for the programme in this area are run through either:

Find out more about the Registered Teacher Programme (select key words) or visit www.tda.gov.uk for an information pack.