At this time of year we are reviewing and undertaking extensive research about our integrated curriculum to ensure that it continues to be coherent, relevant and inspiring. We do this every year as part of our commitment to providing the very best teacher training possible and often use the evaluation data that we collect from previous cohorts of Associate Teachers (trainees) to shape and inform our thinking.
As we continue to make minor adjustments and improvements to our courses it is reassuring to see strong evidence from our evaluations that we continue to deliver incredibly effective training courses. A few statistics from last year’s cohort of Associate Teachers that really stand out are;
100% of our Associate Teachers said that they would recommend our courses to other applicants.
100% said that their overall training had been either effective or very effective in preparing them to be successful teachers
100% said that the Mentoring that they had received in placement schools was either effective or very effective
We are proud of these statistics but never complacent and as we prepare for our 2024-25 courses it is helpful to read about specific areas that Associate Teachers have found particularly significant. Here’s a sample of them:
1) The programme is designed, taught and reviewed each year to ensure that we are drawing on the most significant bodies of research and educational thinking.
‘Academic research underpins all the learning at Oxfordshire SCITT. All of our sessions were rooted in educational research, ensuring that our practice is relevant and will have an impact on our students.’
Secondary English Associate Teacher
2) The credibility and relevance of the SCITT team
I can’t stress enough the importance of learning from people who themselves have experience and expertise.
Primary 5 – 11 Associate Teacher
My subject specialist was amazing. It is evident he brings with him years of experience and has made my knowledge of geography flourish.
Secondary Geography Associate Teacher
3) The course is carefully structured to support the growing competence and confidence of every individual so that they are supported and encouraged to improve at every stage.
‘OTT is a fabulous teacher training provider. I have felt fully supported throughout the whole year of training. The course is carefully structured to help you get your head around the complex and wonderful skill of teaching, using the highly qualified team (all still classroom teachers as well!). The wellbeing provision is testament to the importance placed on this by the programme’.
Secondary History Associate Teacher
The SCITT course is very well organised and run and having the opportunity for two equal placements has helped me develop skills across two contrasting schools. The seven core areas of the OTT curriculum have helped me to work successfully towards the Teacher’s Standards throughout my training and the Principles for Teaching Effective Lessons have provided consistent guidance for my teaching practice.
Secondary MFL Associate Teacher
We’d love to have you training with us in our next cohort so if you’d like to find out more please join us at one of our events.
There’s lots more information about our fantastic primary courses here and our inspiring secondary subject courses here. And if you’d like to know where our training hubs and partnership schools are located across Berkshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire there’s lots of information here.
Patrick Garton
OTT SCITT Director, OTSH Co-Director