Initial Teacher Training: Your Course

During your training, you’ll spend most of your time in school placements, building your confidence, working with experienced teaching and leadership teams, meeting your mentor, and developing your skills. You’ll also have some time dedicated to theoretical learning at the award-winning St Mary’s University.

Our evidence-enriched, research-informed training ensures that you have an effective understanding of teaching and learning so that you can make a real difference in your own classrooms. You will be trained in a supportive, positive, professional environment that enables you to develop your subject knowledge alongside the pedagogy of teaching.  

The course has a gradual build-up into teaching. You can plan, teach, and share classes with the class teacher as you learn and develop your confidence. This means that when you fully take over teaching, you are well prepared and have an enjoyable, successful experience.

Training Details

  • 120 days of classroom experience 
  • Placements at a minimum of two schools 
  • Where possible, we offer a travel bursary for trainees where St Mary's is not their nearest ITT PGCE provider and who are not already in receipt of any other bursaries.
  • Additional financial support is available 
  • Regular meetings with your mentor 
  • Full-time teacher training usually takes 9 months
  • Explore what a typical timetable for your course would be

Teaching, evaluating, classroom management, and child protection are all covered in lectures. Your university tutor leads subject seminars.

Through an initial programme of observations at school, you will become familiar with the workings of the school and department (pupil groups, pastoral systems, staffing, curriculum, resources, facilities, methods of teaching, lesson planning, and assessment).

As you qualify to teach, you will feel supported by your school mentors and treated like a member of the teaching staff. Our mentors are excellent, experienced teachers who undergo rigorous training to develop their mentoring skills.

Throughout your time in both schools, your university tutor visits you to monitor your progress and discuss your development with you and your school mentors.  

Apply for Teacher Training now