The programme is integrated to give you time in school and time learning from expert professionals with an opportunity to implement this into your own classroom practice immediately. Whilst in school, you will discuss your own school’s expectations and class teacher mentor’s working routines. We advise that to get the most out of this course and to enable as much time with your mentor as possible, you bring your attendance in line with these expectations. Typically, SCITT trainees follow the full working schedule each day, each week in school, with one day out per week for General Professional Studies training. Some variation will occur in 2024 in light of recent DfE changes to training requirements.

Once you’ve been accepted onto the course you’ll be sent a reading list, however in the meantime we recommend the following:

Principles of Instruction by Barack Rosenshine

Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov et al.

How to be an Outstanding Primary Teacher by David Dunn

About our Schools by Tom Brighouse and Mick Waters

Spin: Time and Task Management in Teaching by David Gumbrell

You will receive day to day practical support from your mentor, who will provide you with daily informal feedback and guide you to improve your classroom practice. As a lead school, the team at Xavier TSE will regularly communicate with you through bulletins, so you know what to expect.

You will not be expected to teach anything that you have not been able to observe in practice. We recognise that everyone has a different starting point on the course and have the flexibility to be able to personalise your timetable to suit your individual needs. By the end of the first term all trainee teachers should be aiming to teach 40% of the timetable.

As a teacher training provider, we are only able to offer salaried positions to those candidates who apply with a pre-existing relationship with a school, committed to supporting them financially.  You will not always find our apprentice or salaried route on the DfE Apply site but we are able to offer this. Please contact Al Nicol at anicol@stcat.co.uk or your Headteacher for more information.

The Trust schools listed on our website are those that we have a strong working relationship with, who we know have experienced mentors in place to help you. If successful in your application we will discuss which school would be best for you to be placed in and would seek to place you within a 40 minute commute.

There is no requirement for you to have any experience of teaching before you apply for teacher training. We would encourage you to spend some time in school before the September start, and we arrange this for you if you wish.

The best applications for teaching that we receive are those who demonstrate a real commitment to teaching and demonstrate consideration of the kind of teacher they aspire to be. Having many different experiences which relate to learning will support you with your interview answers.

Yes. All offers are conditional as requirements such as DBS need to be in place by September, therefore candidates who do not fully meet the requirements at the point of application, have until September to comply.

A Grade 4 (C) or above in English, maths and science, or equivalent qualification is required before you can start our ITT course. Candidates with pending GCSEs will be considered, and Equivalency tests will be accepted in English, maths or science.

We accept an equivalency from Equivalency Testing: Click HERE for the link. 

We are proud to work with the Xavier Teach SouthEast Teaching School Hub. SCITTs (School Centred Initial Teacher Training) are based exclusively in school, rather than University. With us, you will be based in school for the entirety of your training, but part of your training will be delivered by subject specialists from within the SCITT partnership, specialists in their field and at the forefront of teaching within our network of schools.

Across the year you will have the opportunity to have different placements across a minimum of two schools. This provides a breadth of teaching opportunities across a full range of year groups. We also offer SEND placements, days in KS3, EYFS and other specialist environments.

We welcome candidates to an interview at one of our primary schools near to where they live, where our aim is to understand your reasons for pursuing a career in teaching. Candidates are asked to undertake a small teaching task which is delivered to a panel, as opposed to a ‘live class’. There is also a short written task and a discussion based around your motivations, experiences and skill sets but candidates are not required to sit any additional skills tests at interview.