Key features

• Duration: 12 months to gain QTS, plus 3 months for the End Point Assessment (15 months in total) to ensure the apprentice has met the Apprenticeship Standard.
• Location: in-person at Cornwall SCITT campuses with some remote sessions/tutorials.
• Cost: £9250 per apprentice, paid for by the employing school; £9000 of levy funding is available for schools/MATs to access through the government's apprenticeship service
• Phases available: Primary (age 5 – 11) and Secondary (age 11 – 16) with a range of subjects.

Course description

This is an employment-based route into teaching that allows an apprentice to gain Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) while they work as part of a school team, with support from a school-based mentor and members of the Cornwall SCITT team. They will work towards the Apprenticeship Standard which sets out the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours required of the Apprentice Teacher and QTS. Apprentice Teachers divide their time between school and centre-based study. They will receive practical, school-led training alongside experienced staff, and spend at least 20% of their time off the timetable to learn how to teach.

It will help you to:

• Gain a nationally recognised apprenticeship and QTS at no cost to the apprentice
• Develop knowledge and understanding of a chosen phase and subject
• Develop practical teaching skills, ideas and activities to use in the classroom
• Gain knowledge of schools through working as a member of a school team
• Develop the ability to reflect critically and consider the impact of their teaching on others
• Gain knowledge and develop skills of effective teaching and learning by following Cornwall SCITT’s curriculum which embeds the DfE’s ITT Core Content Framework

Entry requirements

This course is aimed at candidates who have some experience of working in education, are interested in becoming a teacher and are currently employed, or will be employed, in a mainstream primary or secondary school.

To be eligible for this apprenticeship you must: 

• Have achieved a standard equivalent to GCSE grade 4/C in English language and mathematics (and a minimum of grade 4/C in science if you’re training to teach at primary level). Candidates with overseas qualifications should provide an ENIC statement to demonstrate the comparability of their qualification. See the Get into Teaching website for guidance. Applicants who have not achieved grade 4/C but are otherwise suitable may be able to take an equivalency test.
• If they have taken a GCSE equivalency test in maths or English, they will be required to take functional skills (level 2) during their apprenticeship.
• Hold a Bachelor's degree (2:2 or higher) from a UK higher education institution or equivalent qualification.
• Be successful at interview.
• If they have studied English as a foreign language, they may be required to provide evidence that they have passed a Secure English Language Test (SELT) at level B2 or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) with an approved provider within the last two years. 
• Possess the appropriate qualities, attitudes and values expected of a teacher. These are skills such as resilience, commitment and adaptability, together with good communication skills and upholding SCITT’s own core values: integrity, positivity and equality.
• Satisfactorily complete all safeguarding checks before the start of training (and such checks must not identify them as being unsuited to working with children).
• Meet the Secretary of State’s requirements for health and physical capacity to teach.
• Have been offered employment in a school as an unqualified teacher.

Course delivery

• The apprentice teacher follows a structured, 12-month course of centre-based and in-school training that is specific to their phase and subject range, following a curriculum that embeds the DfE ITE Core Content Framework.
• The apprentice teacher must complete a minimum of 120 days of school placement, comprising at least two schools; apprentices must attend a second, complementary placement (this can be within a single MAT), for a half-term, or the equivalent number of days.
• Upon gaining QTS, they will have an End Point Assessment, usually in the first three months of becoming an Early Careers Teacher.
• We currently offer a Primary (age 5-11) course and are looking to offer a Secondary (age 11-16) course in a wide range of subjects including: art and design, music, biology, chemistry, computing, English, geography, history, maths, modern foreign languages (MFL - French, Spanish and German), music, physical education (PE), physics and religious education (RE).
• For each subject and phase, the apprentice teacher follows a weekly training plan that will ensure you’re making the most of learning experiences in and outside of school.
• 20% of their timetable will be dedicated to Education and Professional Studies (EPS) and Subject Specific (SS) training, led by SCITT and delivered at one of our campuses, across all three terms.
• They will be assigned a school-based mentor who will help guide them through the ITT course and meet with them regularly to discuss progress and next steps.
• They will also be appointed a personal tutor (from Cornwall SCITT) who will provide regular feedback on their progress whilst on placement, as well as coach and mentor them on subject knowledge and teaching practice development. They will also work with the apprentice teacher to develop their evidence portfolios for QTS, and observe them teach lessons to a range of classes.
• Assessment is based on the way they will be assessed when they are a qualified teacher and includes: evidence portfolios, presentations, observed teaching and discussions. Summative assessment will require them to be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards, for the awarding of QTS.