The Havering Teacher Training Partnership

The Havering Teacher Training Partnership comprises a group of schools working together to provide training for secondary teaching. Currently Abbs Cross, Bower Park, Brittons, Campion, Chafford, Coopers, Emerson Park, Gaynes, Hall Mead, King’s Wood, Marshalls Park, Royal Liberty, Redden Court, and Sanders Draper schools form the partnership. In the academic year 2009-10 we will have 28 training places all with grants attached. Most of these are for the shortage subjects Maths, Science, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Religious Education, ICT, Design and Technology) but we can provide for the full range of secondary subjects (except Citizenship, Psychology and Sociology).

Training teachers are employed in a lead school where most of their training will take place but there will be experience in a second school for six weeks during Term 2. The course lasts a year.

Much of the experience will be practical and trainees gradually take responsibility for teaching classes as their experience develops.

The programme will provide trainees with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and acquire the skills necessary for teaching their subject at Key Stage 3 & 4. By the end of term one the minimum teaching requirement is 30% of a normal timetable, increasing in term two to 50% and finally trainees are expected to teach 75% of a full timetable in term three.

The Graduate Teacher Programme is an apprenticeship model and trainees are expected to take responsibility for their own learning. However, considerable support will be on offer both from the partner school and the Management Group.

There has been a huge interest in this route into teaching and potential candidates are advised to gain some experience of secondary school life, even if only relatively brief induction days. Similarly, experience of primary or sixth form education is beneficial. Trainees are employed on the unqualified teacher scale and at current rates this means an annual salary of approximately £17,953 including outer London Allowance.

There is a continuous programme of training activities designed to prepare training teachers for the profession and for assessment to achieve Qualified Teacher Status. Graduate Trainees are released for generic cohort training on Tuesday afternoons and meet centrally at one of the partner schools. In addition Subject Leaders will deliver subject specific “twilight” sessions.