Routes Into Teaching

The Postgraduate Route

Postgraduate is the term given to students who have successfully completed a first degree. The postgraduate ITT route (which has no age restrictions for application) could be considered as an 'add on' qualification, awarding the candidate QTS on satisfactory completion. This is of course over-simplifying matters, but fundamentally the principle holds true. There are three postgraduate initial teacher training routes - the widely recognised PGCE, and the lesser known SCITT and GTP (see Employment Based Route)

PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate of Education)

Not to be confused with the Post Graduate Certificate in Further & Adult Education which will not award you QTS. A PGCE course is typically a one year full time course, with some institutions running them over 2 years. Your time will be split between your ITT provider and school-based placements. For primary teaching at least 18 weeks will be spent on school-based placements, and 24 weeks for secondary teaching. As well as undergoing continual 'on-the-job' assessment you will need to complete the Key Skills Tests at the end of your training before being awarded QTS. To be eligible for the PGCE you should have a first degree closely related to the subject in which you wish to specialise. If you do not have this, talk to the HEI in which you wish to study; they may be quite flexible on this point, or they may be able to offer you details of any bridging courses being run, along with any number of options specific to that establishment. Some ITT providers may also require you to have previous teaching/classroom experience. Again, this is specific to each individual HEI and should be checked with them directly. A list of all ITT providers offering PGCE courses can be found by clicking here .

SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training)

Although the SCITT is in many ways similar to the PGCE, it is the way in which it is run that attracts most of its applicants. The SCITT does exactly what it implies, it provides School Centred Initial Teacher Training. Put simply this means that from day one you will be in a classroom environment obtaining first hand experience of all the essential skills required to become an effective member of the teaching profession. Your training programme will be designed by, and undertaken within, a consortium of schools. In many cases the schools involved - although taking the lead role in your training - will opt for an outside body (e.g. HEIs, LEAs etc.) to manage areas such as finance, general admin istration, quality assurance. In some areas a local HEI may be used to award the successful candidate a PGCE, together with the standard QTS obtained from the SCITT. The entry requirements and final Key Skills Tests for the SCITT are the same as those for the PGCE. For a list of all SCITT courses in the South West click here .

In all cases you will not be awarded your QTS without completing the Key Skills tests, no matter how well you do in your other assessments.

Applications to nearly all postgraduate courses are made through the GTTR (Graduate Teacher Training Registry). They can be contacted on 01242 223707, alternatively visit their website by clicking GTTR . Some ITT providers will accept applications submitted directly to them. For general details contact the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991.