Train to Teach

Can you give children the gift of learning?

Are you interested in becoming a primary school teacher? If you want your training to be based at a school where you can be fully immersed in the life of a teacher from day one, a school-led training course is for you.

Train to Teach with Capital Teaching School, Merseyside.

What is School Direct?

School Direct is a school-led initial teacher training (ITT) scheme. It is run by a partnership between a Lead School, other schools and an accredited teacher training provider. School Direct allows participants the opportunity to work closely with schools to gain their Teaching Qualification.

Why train with us?

If you want your training to be based at a school where you can be fully immersed in the life of a teacher from day one, a school-led training course is for you.

CAPITAL (Sefton) has an inspirational and diverse partnership of primary schools that are at the cutting edge of teaching and learning. We strive to create an environment in which staff, pupils and trainee teachers’ alike feel valued and supported.

Our staff are our most valuable resource and have a proven track record in supporting trainees. Our teachers are excellent practitioners and have a range of knowledge and skills and are eager to share this practice with the next generation of teachers.

You will be trained in a highly supportive and aspirational environment and will develop the rigour, professional knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to deliver a creative, purposeful and challenging curriculum.

Our accredited provider

We work in close partnership Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), which has a long established reputation for providing high quality Teacher Training, taught at the IMMarsh campus. LJMU are responsible for the PGCE Academic Award and your recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status.

Our emphasis is on developing inclusive and reflective practitioners. Our course ensures that CAPITAL trainees develop a deep understanding of the curriculum, learners and learning. This enables them to provide the very best and most appropriate learning opportunities for all children and young people, with a positive impact on all learners’ development and achievements. Following an Ofsted inspection completed in November 2018, our primary ITE provision received outstanding grades in all areas of inspection.

About the course – Primary (General)

CAPITAL (Sefton), in partnership with LJMU, offers a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with Qualified Teacher status. You will join a community of students at IMMarsh campus for University based sessions, which begin with a Summer School during the last week of August.

The Postgraduate Certificate is assessed through the 2 Modules. The Award of QTS is integral to one of the academic Modules. Trainees also submit one academic essay in two parts which focuses on reflecting on aspects of your practice. The course team and our Partnership schools have worked together to ensure that the PGCE Award is both relevant and manageable.

In the first term, students spend one day per week with LJMU with the remaining days in the home school. In the latter half of the training year, the amount of school-based experience increases to 5 days a week. The Primary programme will focus predominantly on developing your subject knowledge and subject pedagogy in all primary curriculum subjects, so that you have the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to become a confident teacher of the 5-11 age range. In addition, lead lectures and seminars develop student teachers’ confidence in a range of relevant issues; classroom and behaviour management; meeting individual needs and inclusion; planning and assessment etc. There is a strong emphasis on social justice issues in education and on mental health and well-being. We want you to develop into an inclusive and reflective teacher, with the skills, energy and resilience needed to make a real difference in schools.

Over the course of the training, experience will be gained across all key stages and in at least two schools, with one school acting as a Home School for the majority of the year. In addition to the time spent in a Home School, you will also undertake an alternative placement of roughly 6 weeks in a contrasting school between January and February.

There will also be professional development days held at St Nicholas CE Primary School, Crosby and at our Partner Schools. These workshop based sessions are led by experienced teachers and senior leaders and are designed to support students in developing the professional skills needed in the classroom.

Our last cohort of trainees has consistently rated this provision and training as excellent with many commenting on positive support received and tailored experience and training offered.

PARTNER SCHOOLS:

How school placements work

Your school-based experience takes place largely in a Home School, supported by well-trained mentors. We have found that being in a Home School ensures that you are fully integrated into school life and get to know staff, pupils and mentors extremely well, to the benefit of all involved. Members of staff from both LJMU and CAPITAL make regular visits to schools in order to support all trainees and their mentors.

All trainees are entitled to weekly review and feedback meetings with their mentors and on-going support from the lead school. This wrap-around care ensures that you are consistently supported from start to finish, both personally and professionally.

Our partnership of 17 schools comprises a diverse range of settings and are conveniently located, with good transport links. You will be allocated to your Home School during Induction and every effort is made to select schools within reasonable travelling distance. Placements are selected from within the Partnership of CAPITAL schools, which extends across the local authority and includes a diverse range of settings. Our CAPITAL family of schools is committed to student teacher development and to the Partnership. A range of mentor training and development events ensure that our mentors understand our expectations and commit to offering high quality guidance and support to each trainee.

In addition to the time spent in a Home School, you will also undertake an alternative placement of roughly 6 weeks in a contrasting school between January and February. This placement has an explicit focus on a new Key stage and age range. Additional experiences are also often provided for instance through visits to other partnership schools and secondary schools. Although this programme focuses on the 5-11 age range, you will also gain some experience of Early Years and the Foundation Stage curriculum.

School experience is structured in phases, beginning with an observation phase, so that you can develop appropriate confidence and competence, only taking on greater responsibility for planning and teaching as the year progresses. Your final assessment for QTS is conducted at the end of the year.

Interview process

As the Lead School in the partnership, St Nicholas CE Primary School will co-ordinate the recruitment process.

Interviews will be held in partnership schools and will include a 20-minute small group task; written test to assess candidate’s ability to write at master’s level; followed by a formal interview with representatives from Partner Schools and the Lead School. Details about the small group task and age group will be sent in advance of an interview. This is a rigorous, thorough and reciprocal process, designed to best match applicants and schools

Applicants are asked to bring evidence of GCSEs in English, Mathematics and Science with them to interview, along with degree certificates if they have already graduated.

Qualifications

You should have or be expected to achieve an Undergraduate Honours degree (or recognised equivalent). The degree classification should normally be at 2:1 or above, however strong applicants, with experience, with a 2:2 will be considered.

GCSE English Language and Mathematics and Science at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent qualification)
Please note: original evidence of GCSE passes (or equivalent) and your degree (if you have already graduated) will be requested at interview. Level 2 numeracy and literacy qualifications are not considered as equivalent. If you have non-standard qualifications, please check their suitability with education@ljmu.ac.uk.

Personal qualities

We are looking for ambitious trainee teachers who have enthusiasm, are highly motivated, energetic and those who can work effectively in a team. We are seeking individuals who strive to improve, are reflective and are committed to their own professional development. You should have a genuine belief that education transforms life chances and want to make a positive difference to children and to their communities. Mainstream primary school experience would be highly beneficial, prior to application. At interview we hope to see your enthusiasm along with evidence of some experiences which have informed your decision to become a teacher.

Other requirements

You will also be required to meet the Department for Education standards for physical and mental fitness to teach and clearance to work with children. Further information, including a Declaration of Health questionnaire and details of how to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure will be sent to you after you have firmly accepted an offer.

Your offer is conditional on completing ALL conditions of entry. These will be made available on UCAS.

Training with disabilities and other needs

LJMU is committed to Equality of Opportunity and proud of the help we offer. The Disability Advice Team will help you access the support you need. The best time to contact the Disability Advice Team is before you start your course. By contacting the team before you begin and disclosing your disability, you’ll be able to receive support from when you arrive. Email: disability@ljmu.ac.uk Tel: 0151 231 3164/3165.

If you need an Individual Student Learning Plan (ISLP) which sets out the type of support you may need and who is responsible for ensuring your support is in place, this will be put in place by an LJMU Disability Adviser once you have met to discuss your needs. Once finalised, your plan will be sent to you via email. As soon as you have agreed the ISLP it will be sent to your Disability Coordinator and then, with your agreement, passed on to the relevant academic and support staff.

All trainees are encouraged to disclose any specific learning need that they experience, in order to make any adjustments, both at LJMU and within our Partner Schools. As part of the enrolment process to Teacher Training Programmes all students are required to complete a Health Questionnaire and some may be asked to attend a screening appointment with our Occupational Health Unit. This is designed to ensure that arrangements are in place, from the outset, to support any students who may need additional support or reasonable adjustments to be made.

Fees

The course fees for this year are as follows:
Student type	Fees to pay
UK students	£9,250
EU students	£9,250
International students	£14,000

There are a range of ways in which you can arrange to pay your course fees, including in monthly instalments.

Financial support

You may be eligible for financial support while you study, including bursaries, scholarships and loans.

Financial support if you’re from outside of the UK.

HOW TO APPLY

Find Postgraduate teacher training courses in Primary – GOV.UK

Apply via the UCAS website from 8th October – ucas.com. You’ll need to register with UCAS before you can apply.

When applying for our training programme you will need these codes for the Choices section of your application form:

Training provider code: 2CD
Training programme code: 2XNP

USEFUL LINKS

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Angela Davies Teaching School Administrator, CAPITAL Teaching School, St Nicholas CE Primary School Nicholas Road Crosby Liverpool L23 6TS

E: admin@capitalteachingschool.sefton.org.uk

T: 0151 – 924 5751 (direct)

Find Us

Angela Davies

Teaching School Administrator

St Nicholas CE Primary School,

Nicholas Road,

Blundellsands,

Liverpool, L23 6TS

Telephone:

0151- 924 5751 (direct line)

0151- 924 1204 (school)

Fax:

0151 924 1204