Hamwic SCITT is accredited by the Department of Education and offers a Primary QTS with PGCE – the industry recognised postgraduate professional training programme of Initial Teacher Education (ITE).
Our Primary QTS with PGCE allows you to train inside the classroom alongside experienced teaching professionals in one of our Partnership Schools. It offers a practical school-centred teacher training programme, which is delivered in tandem with academic theory.
Primary QTS with PGCE + 60 masters credits with Bath Spa University (5-11 age range)
Course length: 1 year (full-time)
Course starts: September
Our course brings together a wealth of expertise from all of our partner schools, complemented by experienced teacher educators. You will join a true learning community where the staff and students alike are interested in reflecting and researching the pedagogies of teaching and learning, whilst always striving for excellence.
Right from the start, our trainee teachers are in the classroom learning the profession and gaining real teaching experience while being guided by dedicated teaching mentors. Your development is also supported by SCITT tutors, who are often senior leaders or head teachers in the school. They champion your growth and refine your teaching skills to help ensure a strong start to your teaching career.
Our comprehensive training programme covers all the professional skills and theory that trainee teachers need in order to deliver high-quality teaching. You gain experience of working in your preferred age range and in an alternate key stage, and in at least two constrasting schools. In addition, there are enrichment activities including spending time in a variety of settings such as secondary and early years, and special schools to provide a genuine breadth of experience.
Trainees are in school Monday to Thursday and then on Friday, you have a centre-based training session which focuses on academic theory, curriculum and national priorities.
As you build your teaching experience, knowledge and skillset, you steadily increase your teaching time. By the end of your final placement, you are teaching 80% of the timetable.
Trainees are placed in two different schools. Hamwic SCITT has a number of Partnership Schools situated in and around Hampshire and Dorset. You cannot pick which school you want to be in, but we try to place you in a school you can commute to easily.
You start your training in your preferred age group and then in the second term move to the alternate key stage. In the third term you return to your first placement.
The wellbeing of our trainees is hugely important. Trainees have access to dedicated SCITT tutors, free counselling and a range of online resources. There are one-to-one sessions that can be arranged to ensure that our trainees are fully supported throughout the programme.
Our training programme fully adheres to the requirements of the Equality Act. We welcome applications from any candidate who wishes to pursue teaching as a career.
We work in partnership with candidates to put in place reasonable adjustments where required, facilitating ongoing support from the centre, school placement and university provider.
Our ongoing assessment is formative and applied as appropriate to the role and context within which a SCITT Trainee is practising. School-based mentors, tutors and the Lead tutor assess SCITT trainees in a way that is consistent with what could be reasonably expected by a SCITT Trainee prior to the award of QTS. We assess a trainee’s learning over time based on the full range of evidence, focusing on:
Our assessment practice develops trainees’ ability to reflect critically on their practice. At each stage, they are engaged in discussions about their evidence base so that they have an accurate understanding of how mentors, tutors, the Lead tutors and the Programme leader are evaluating their learning and skills over time.
This programme equips trainees with the professional attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), with the academic award of PGCE.
On successful completion of the programme, trainee teachers are recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by Hamwic SCITT and awarded PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate of Education) by Bath Spa University.
Hamwic SCITT is part of Hamwic Education Trust, which is one of the largest multi-academy trusts in the South of England. As part of the Primary QTS with PGCE, you gain lots of teaching experience in two Partnership Schools and there are opportunities to build your network. Lots of expertise is available and our intention is to support you in your early teaching career and beyond.
All of our trainees from previous years have secured jobs before leaving the training. There are also employment opportunities in Hamwic Education Trust schools.