It is no secret that schools are struggling to recruit and retain talented staff. This is why it is more important than ever to create strong talent pipelines that not only give trainees the key skills they need to be excellent teachers, but also grow trainees who stay in the profession and are intrinsically motivated to keep getting better.
A central ethos within our School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) is the belief that we aren’t just teaching our trainees to be successful in the first year of their career, but that we are fostering lifelong teachers who are committed to ongoing self-improvement and learning. This approach helps create sustainable and meaningful teaching careers, as new teachers are supported to stay in the sector for longer as they progress up the ladder, which in turn positively impacts every student in each of their classrooms who benefit from this enhanced approach to teaching.
From drawing on internal expertise within the SCITT to thinking more holistically about what it means to train teachers, we have determined the key aspects of training programmes that will ensure every trainee is in the best position to succeed.
1) Application of training through a subject lens
In developing a training programme, the priority should be ensuring that while trainees are learning the required component of the curriculum, they are given the necessary training, support and time to learn to apply the ‘subject lens’ to this material. Our curriculum is one that respects each subject as its own unique discipline. Our trainees are trained not just to teach, but to become true subject specialists.