School Direct Information:

Copthorne Primary School is the lead school of the Exceed Alliance–an alliance of seven primary schools, working with Bradford College on an innovative, exciting and high quality approach to Initial Teacher Training. Known as ‘School Direct’, graduates apply directly to schools to undertake their training as a teacher. This year-long, school based programme is devised and delivered by Alliance schools and our partner higher education institution. Working in a very close partnership, will give the best possible training experience for our student teachers so that they can take up a post within one of our Alliance schools.

We aim to train the next generation of outstanding Bradford teachers. Our schools are committed to providing the highest standard of education for the young people in our area of Bradford. We are keen to recruit student teachers who share the same commitment. If you share our vision for education, we want to hear from you. We will provide training of the highest quality, delivered by outstanding practitioners in a diverse and stimulating range of schools. We aim to deliver a bespoke training package which will make the most of your knowledge and skills. After a year of successful training, you will achieve a PGCE with QTS. As an Alliance, we are committed to helping you develop professionally, well beyond your training and Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year by means of an extensive programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities.

The School Direct programme exists in two distinct formats. If you are a graduate with 3 years successful experience in the workplace (not necessarily educational) then School Direct (Salaried) could be the training programme for you. This programme is aimed at career changers who would otherwise be unable to train as teachers. If you were to be successful in securing a place on this programme you would be employed by the school as an unqualified teacher for the duration of the course. If you have less than 3 years work experience you could follow the School Direct route. In this case you would be funded through a student loan in the same way as for your first degree.

Our group of schools and the places we have on offer for 2013 are as follows:

Primary Schools
Schools / Type of School Direct place






/ 10 School Direct Places
5 School Direct (Salaried) Places

If you wish to find out more about the schools, click on the school name and you will be directed to their website.

Our entry requirements

You will have at least grade C at GCSE in English, Maths and Science. Your degree classification will preferably be at least a 2(ii). You will have at least 10 days of recent experience of working in schools. You will also have the ability both to write in Standard English and model good spoken English; you will also be computer literate. Equally comfortable working in a team or independently, you will also have a high degree of emotional intelligence, the ability to empathise and have a sound understanding of equality and diversity. You will be a highly motivated individual with a real sense of moral purpose and a tireless energy to achieve the best for your pupils. You will take and deliver criticism constructively and understand the need to balance your home and work life. We are lookingfor a committed, resilient, reflective practitioner, able to learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others.

Our selection process

Our selection process will start with a standard application form, provided by the Department for Education. Through this you will demonstrate you meet the academic requirements laid down by the Teaching Agency. We would also expect to see some evidence of why you have decided to pursue a career in teaching – for example, experience of observing in a school or employment within a school setting as a Learning Assistant. The choice of referees is important.

Following DfE guidance, applicants will need to have taken and passed skills tests before application provided by Pearson education.

Those candidates that best fit our requirements will be invited to undertake a face to face selection process which will include interviews. You should be able to demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively and also be able to show a sound understanding of the age phase you wish to teach. We will not assess your subject knowledge but would expect you to be able to outline how you might go about teaching a particular topic. Any offer of a place on our programme is conditional on a satisfactory Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure, a satisfactory Fitness to Teach Declaration.

Our programme

For the school Direct (Salaried) programme, for the majority of the school year, you will be based in a main Alliance school, with a shorter additional placement in another Alliance School. Bradford College will deliver important elements of your training in College, but the majority of your training takes place directly in school, throughout the year. Bradford College based training may take the form of a one day a week college training day, during most of the year.

For the School Direct programme, you will undertake some training by staff in that school as well as meeting with and undertaking workshops and other activities with other student teachers from across our Alliance of schools. Bradford College staff will be delivering many significant elements of your training to support the school-led programme.

For both programmes, being linked to a school from early on in the course you will quickly come to appreciate teaching and learning in the workplace and will see theory put into practice every day. The training programme we have designed will build your confidence and subject knowledge and give you the necessary skills to become an effective classroom practitioner. Throughout this time you will be supported by a well-trained mentor. As your confidence grows, you will deliver parts of lessons on your own, taking on more responsibility until you are teaching full lessons. As part of your further development you will undertake one other main placement at another school, usually in a different context to your first school. There may also be the opportunity to spend a varying amount of time at other schools to further enhance your learning through experiencing a diverse range of educational settings. Our placement strategy is aimed at giving you the best preparation possible for a successful teaching career.

Finance

School Direct (Training Programme)

A course fee of £7100 is payable to Bradford College. You will be eligible for the standard student support package, including training bursaries, tuition fee loans and scholarships if appropriate. Once you have accepted a place on the School Direct Training Programme you can make applications for tuition fee loans through Student Finance England, to cover the cost of training. The following bursaries will be available for 2013/14:

Subject areas
Type of award/Class of degree / Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics / Modern Languages / Primary mathematics specialist1 / Other priority secondary and primary2 / Computer science
Bursary - 1st / £20,000 / £20,000 / £11,000 / £9,000 / £9,000
Bursary - 2.1 / £15,000 / £15,000 / £6,000 / £4,000 / £4,000
Bursary - 2.2 / £12,000 / £12,000 / £0 / £0 / £0
Scholarship / See note below / N/A / N/A / N/A / See note below

A further 25% on these amounts will be paid to those School Direct trainees whose training is based in a school where more than 35% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. This information is available from individual schools.

Details of Physics and Chemistry scholarships were announced on 6th and 28th September respectively and are available on the DfE website; the availability of scholarships for mathematics and computer science is yet to be confirmed.

1 The Secretary of State announced on 14th June 2012 that trainees with a B or better at mathematics A-level on the new mathematics primary specialist courses would receive an extra £2000 bursary or, if on the School Direct Training Programme (salaried), the school in which they train would receive an additional £2000 subsidy.

2. English, Geography, History, Computer science, Greek, Latin, Music, Biology, Physical Education and Primary.

School Direct (Salaried)

Trainees on the School Direct Training Programme (salaried) are not required to pay tuition fees to cover the course. You will be paid at point 1 on the unqualified teacher scale for the duration of your course.

What happens next?

Applications will open at the start of November.

For further details please contact [insert main contact]

For more information about entering a career in teaching you will find the following websites useful:

The Teaching Agency

Teachers’ Standards:

Department for Education:

School Direct:

Vacancies

(Vacancies will be advertised when posts are available:

Job Description & Personal Spec

APPLICATION FORM

Criminal Convictions Declaration Schools Form

Child Protection Policy

(All posts are subject to successful CRB checks).

Dear Ed,

I would also like a section for each class where we can take visitors on a virtual tour around our classrooms and give information such as half termly letters and what we have been learning about, children’s work, trips and visits etc.