Hales Valley Teaching School

About School Direct

School direct is school-led training course which gives you the chance to learn ‘on the job’ in a school. You work as part of the teaching team from day one learning from experienced, highly-skilled colleagues and immediately put your new skills into practice.

The School Direct programme will allow successful trainees to achieve Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) as well as a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)

Here at Hales Valley Teaching School, we offer two routes into teacher training that are validated by the University of Birmingham.

Primary Postgraduate Certificate of Education award (Level 7) which has a total of 60 Masters level credits plus a QTS qualification.

Early Years Postgraduate Certificate of Education award (Level 7) which has a total of 60 Masters level credits plus a QTS qualification.
Successful applicants will have access to teaching placements within one of our 20 partner schools within Dudley and neighbouring local authorities. The teaching experiences will place the trainees working alongside outstanding classroom practitioners.

For more information of School Direct visit www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/teacher-training-options/schooldirect.aspx

Why choose Hales Valley Teaching School?

Excellent support and bespoke provision to meet the individual needs of our trainees.

P.G.C.E. School Direct delivered in partnership with the University of Birmingham and 20 schools

100% pass rate at good or better grades and 100% employment rate once qualified

100% of past trainees rated the course as good or better—70% rated us outstanding

Experienced Hales Valley mentor designated to each trainee throughout the year

Additional benefits such as a free laptop, key texts and paid travel costs

Course Overview

The courses will begin in September 2016 and last for one academic year with a trainees time being divided between school based placements (approximately 80%) and structured training days (approximately 20%) which will take place either at the University of Birmingham or at the Hales Valley Teaching School and focus upon key educational theory and practice.

On the 38 week programme a trainee’s time is divided between Teaching Experiences and structured training sessions looking at subject delivery and wider professional issues. The teaching commitment will build up over the year: 50% in the Autumn term, 70% in the Spring term and 80% in the Summer term. During the course trainees will be supported by their school-based practitioner who will be a good or outstanding teacher and leader with in the school.

Trainees will be assessed on a combination of evidence gathered during the teaching experiences, a range of tasks linked to Hales Valley workshops as well as three formal assignments that focus on key areas of teaching and learning.

Applying for School Direct 2016-17

All teacher training applications are made through UCAS. We will be accepting applications for both our Primary and Early Years School Direct programmes as soon as the UCAS system opens on Tuesday 27th October.

For further information on how to apply please click here

Trainee Requirements

We are looking to select trainees with outstanding potential with a commitment and enthusiasm for working with our children. It is important that trainees have school based experience. Should you be thinking about school direct and lack school based experience please contact us as we will be able to help you obtain this.

The academic requirements set out by the Teaching Agency to enter the profession are:

A grade C (or better) in GCSE English, Mathematics and Science

A degree class 2.1 or above

Successful completion of skills tests in English and Maths.
For further information on School Direct via Lutley Primary School, and their strategic partners, please contact Belinda Hale at schooldirect@lutley.dudley.sch.uk or bhale@lutley.dudley.sch.uk

Fees and Funding

The cost of undertaking the programme is £9,000. Once individuals have accepted a place, they can then make applications for tuition fee loans through Student Finance England, to cover the cost of their training. Bursaries and Scholarships are also available to eligible individuals to part or fully fund their training.

Full details can be found on the Department for Education website, www.education.gov.uk

Quality Assurance

We are currently undergoing some research into the quality of our ITT provision through a research reflection portfolio. We are looking at current research and wider reading about ITT and how people learn. We are then comparing our practice in order to help measure the effectiveness of the programme we provide. 'How Hales Valley Teaching School's School Direct Programme Reflects Educational Research' is an evolving document that will respond to current research, and the findings will impact on the training we provide.