We work in partnership with the University of Warwick to run our school based initial teacher training. This has some similarities and some differences with other courses such as university based teacher training.

Training with us you'll receive your QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) and PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education), along with master's level credits (based on satisfactory performance in academic and practical elements. Some other courses will only give you QTS; this doesn't qualify you to teach in other countries whereas the PGCE does.

The course runs in line with the calendar for the school year (available from each school's website). You'll spend 4 days a week in school and 1 day a week at university. 

At the start of the year, you'll be observing before transitioning to assisting with parts of lessons or small groups, then moving on to teaching whole lessons and sets of lessons. We increase your timetable throughout the year in line with university expectations so that you finish the year teaching 70% of a full teacher's timetable. This is tailored to the individual so you can progress as quickly or as slowly as appropriate.

Training with Arden Alliance you'll teach at two schools. You'll spend most of your time in your base school but you'll also spend a half term (secondary) or a full term (primary) in a contrasting setting. This is organised by us in conversation with you. One benefit of training with Arden Alliance is that our schools have different catchments, different pupils, and different ways of doing things so we can give a truly contrasting placement still within our family of schools.

One benefit of training with us is that you'll spend more time in your base school compared to a university-led training route, allowing you to become more embedded, get more used to the systems, and make more progress with your pedagogy (the science of teaching and learning).

With school-led routes, such as applying to Arden Alliance, you are also applying directly to the school you want to be your base school. On university-led courses they allocate your training venue and this can be up to an hour's commute!

If you're interested in getting in to schools to see what teaching involves and if it's a potential career for you, we also offer school experience at a variety of schools. Enquire via the School Experience portal here.