Charity 2022-2023

Students and staff came together to raise money through a range of activities.

Thank you to everyone who took part part and donated.

 

School Direct

What is School Direct (train to teach)?

School Direct courses last a year and result in qualified teacher status (QTS) – most also award you a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) and/or Master’s-level credits. Southam Teaching Alliance works with the University of Warwick, the University of Leicester and the University of Coventry to offer QTS with PGCE.

The School Direct route means that you’ll train in a base school, getting the chance to learn ‘on the job’ – but you shouldn’t worry about being thrown in at the deep end. You’ll be part of a team from the very start, receiving intensive support from experienced teachers and mentors. That means you won’t be teaching classes unsupported, you will always have a qualified teacher on call to help you and provide guidance. Our programme of support takes a personalised approach for each trainee. 

All School Direct trainees will have an expert subject mentor in their base school, who will meet with trainees regularly and support all elements of their trainee's development through the course. Each school also has a Professional Mentor who is responsible for supporting the mentors and the trainees and who provides wider support and direction. The Head of Teaching School oversees all of this support across placement schools and monitors the progression and success of each trainee. 

 

School Direct (Training)

This is a good option if you have some experience in working with young people, for example you may be a scout leader or have worked as a camp leader. Your training will require you to attend university one day a week and 4 days in school (via the University of Warwick) or alternatively you may have a 'block' of time at university followed by placement at your base school (via the University of Leicester). 

You'll be expected to pay the fee for the course to the university but you might be eligible for funding through tuition fee loans, bursaries or scholarships to support the financial implications of taking a full time teacher training route. 

For further information please refer to:

https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/

https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cte/about/

Apply for teacher training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Following are short videos from the Department of Education – Getting into Teaching on: ‘School Direct’ and ‘How to become a teacher’.

https://youtu.be/mxyftL1 2wRs

Entry Requirements

Before you apply for teacher training, you need to make sure you’re eligible. Here are the requirements set by the Department of Education and you will also need to meet the extra requirements set by the University of Warwick 

GCSE requirement:

If you want to train to teach, you will need to demonstrate:

  • a standard equivalent to a GCSE grade C / grade 4 in mathematics and English to teach at secondary level
  • a standard equivalent to a GCSE grade C / grade 4 in mathematics. English and a science subject to teach at primary level
Degree requirement:

 

  • You need a degree to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).
  • The University of Warwick requires a Second class degree or higher
  • On postgraduate courses, the class of your degree may help to determine the level of funding you could receive during your training – find out about funding for teacher training on the link provided below – on the ‘The Get into Teaching’ website.
  • If you have overseas equivalent qualifications, you should contact your preferred training provider to check on eligibility, as they make the final judgement on equivalency.

 

Your training provider will make the final decision on whether you meet this entry criteria – if you don’t, they may ask you to sit a GCSE equivalency test, or ask for other evidence to demonstrate your attainment.

 

For more information please refer to link below: Get into Education – Eligibility:

https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/eligibili...

Extra requirements set by Warwick University:

School Experience:

t is recommended you gain school experience in mainstream Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 to enable you to make an informed decision about entering teacher training. Nationally, there is now no formal requirement to have experience in a school but we do feel that if you can, visiting a school and witnessing teaching in the subject you are interested in is effective in helping you to engage with current issues and ideas within education. Applications without school experience are not disadvantaged. You can contact us directly to organise school experience or use the national portal via this link:

 https://schoolexperience.education.gov.uk/

Skills Test:

Literacy and numeracy skills tests for teacher training courses starting in September 2020 and beyond will no longer be a government requirement. As a provider we will be assuring that you have the fundamental English and mathematics skills to become a teacher through your application, at interview or during the training course.

Please note: International applicants must provide evidence of equivalent qualifications. This can take time to process so make sure these are provided in good time. IELTS results are required in addition to the GCSE English requirement and are valid for 2 years only so ensure these are in date.

For more information please refer to link below: Warwick University – Entry Requirements (scroll down to PGCE Secondary):

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cte/start-teaching

 
WHY TRAIN WITH US?

Southam Teaching Alliance is based in Coventry and Warwickshire and we work closely as an alliance of secondary and primary schools with our HE partner, the University of Warwick. We use expertise and collaboration (both within and outside our alliance) to offer CPD, networks and school to school connections, through a practical, teacher-centred approach. From October 2021 we will also be recruiting into School Direct programmes in partnership with the University of Leicester for courses beginning September 2022. 

During a trainee’s time at one of our alliance secondary schools (see below), we will  introduce all trainees gradually to the practice of teaching and learning. All trainees will build the foundations of strong classroom practice, gaining competence in the key areas of planning, preparation and subject pedagogy.

For 2023/2024 we have placements (both salaried and training) at our following secondary and primary alliance schools:

 

Higher Education Partner

Southam Teaching Alliance partners with the University of Warwick, through their ‘Centre for Teacher Education’ (CTE).

The Centre for Teacher Education (CTE) is the University of Warwick’s global service provider for high quality training and professional education. This new centre builds on the success of Warwick’s existing expertise in teacher training, which was graded as outstanding by OFSTED in 2015. In addition to the traditional PGCE core training route, the CTE also offers PGCE School Direct. PGCEs cover early years, primary and secondary across a range of subject specialisms and all include Masters level credits as standard.

For more information on Secondary Education at Warwick please refer to their website:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cte/about/.