Considering a Career in Teaching?

As part of The Heath Consortium school-led training route, you will commence in September in your allocated school and be part of the staff team from day one. There will be a second placement of six weeks in a contrasting school within the Consortium, to help you gain a breadth of experience to prepare you for your Early Career Teacher (ECT) year. As we have a range of schools within the current Consortium, we are also able to arrange days at Primary, Secondary and Special Schools to support you to develop in areas specific to your needs.

Over the academic year, you will participate in ten days of bespoke, practical training which will impact immediately on your teaching. Training is delivered by specialist leaders of education, and experts in various areas of pedagogy and school life.

During Term 1, you will spend a day at university where you will have access to expert teachers in your subject, who will support you in how to deliver your subject in the classroom. They will also set and mark two assignments that you must complete as part of your PGCE qualification.

We are aware of the challenges that the PGCE programme can present, and therefore we take the support of our trainees very seriously. In school you will be assigned a subject mentor who will support you throughout the year on a daily basis. You will also receive weekly practical training sessions with a professional mentor in your school. Consortium Manager, Eileen Robinson, is also available on-site at The Heath School, to provide support as and when it may be needed.

Alongside your work in school, Liverpool John Moores University offer support via a University Liaison tutor.

You will start by observing lessons, and noting what makes a good teacher, and the strategies to be used.  You will gradually begin to teach, as and when you are ready. The expectation is that by Christmas you will be teaching eight lessons a week solo and then, following your return to your home school, after your alternative placement this will be increased to 11 hours a week (supervised by the classroom teacher). This allows you to gain experience with a full range of classes. You will also be linked to a form group, and work alongside an experienced form tutor to gain pastoral experience in school.

Upon successful completion of the school-led training programme, you will be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), and gain a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with 60 Masters level credits, giving you a head-start should you decide to continue with a Masters level qualification as an ECT, or later on.

As part of a cohort of trainees, you can truly benefit from a bespoke experience, which allows you to develop into a confident teacher, ready to take on your first post, in a range of settings. You can expect a wealth of support and focused feedback to help you to progress to being an outstanding teacher. The true benefit of The Heath Consortium, as compared to a traditional PGCE university-based programme, is that you will start to build strong relationships with students and staff from 'day one'.  You will be able to very-quickly see the progression of your teaching, and the positive impact you have on students in school. You will have the opportunity to visit your home school school prior to starting in September, enabling you to meet your team, to get to know students and the school environment.  Feedback from previous trainees has been that this is a really effective way to manage nerves prior to starting in September, as you will already be familiar with the school environment.  We have to be clear however, that although we endeavour to place you within within our Consortium of schools once you gain QTS, there is no absolute guarantee of employment.

If you are offered a place on this programme, tuition fees of £9,535 will be applied. There are a number of tax-free bursaries or scholarships that you may be eligible for in addition to the loans offered through student finance. Bursaries and scholarships are dependent upon a number of factors including, degree specialism and classification.

Full details of bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Teacher Agency website: www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/funding.aspx

Details of student finance can be found on: www.gov.uk/teacher-training-funding