School Direct Secondary

School Direct PGCE course structure

Academic sessions take place on a Wednesday afternoon and these sessions are either led by York St John or EborHope staff. We use outstanding teachers within our school network to facilitate our sessions. These sessions aim to give you an academic understanding alongside pedagogical strategies to deploy in the classroom. You can then deploy these strategies in the classroom the next day as the majority of your time is spent at your base school.

Academic and Mentor Support

Support is an integral part of developing and nurturing EborHope trainees to be outstanding teachers. Through weekly mentor meetings, as well as regular feedback on your teaching, you will be supported by your school mentor as well as your York St John University Link Tutor. You will also have a Professional Mentor who will provide you with support.

In addition, you will also be allocated an academic tutor from the York St John University to support with writing at Masters Level. Students have full access to the Student Support Services offered by the University.

Induction is a key part of the programme and each placement as we feel it is important for you to feel welcome in the school community and valued as members of staff from the start. You will attend school meetings such as staff meetings, participate in school training days and other professional development events as appropriate. You are given the opportunity to participate in all aspects of school life and the wider school context. This helps you to understand your own professional identity and be a fully committed member of a school community.

The support you receive at EborHope will continue into NQT year and beyond.

Partner schools

Our Teaching Schools Alliance is made up of partner schools throughout York and North Yorkshire, offering a diverse range of teaching and learning opportunities to our School Direct training teachers when you are on your training placement. You will benefit from direct road and rail links into York as our partner schools are easily accessible, not only to the access York St John University facilities, but also the wealth of entertainment and leisure facilities, historical sites, coastal beauty spots and outstanding countryside. To discover why York was voted the UK’s best place to train to teach and work, click here: York Best Place to Teach

You can see the locations and names of our partner schools on the map below.

School Experience Programme

Gaining experience within a school environment is an important first step on your pathway to teaching. At EborHope Teaching School Alliance we offer a School Experience Programme (SEP) which aims to give you a valuable opportunity to experience what it is like to teach your own class and engage with pupils of varying ages. You have the chance to observe a lesson in your chosen subject, engage with pupils and teachers and speak with leading practitioners about our outstanding School Direct programme which we are proud to deliver in partnership with York St John University.

We aim to deliver a tailored school experience to meet your needs. We keep the groups of attendees fairly small to allow for your individual questions and allow us to offer tailored advice on your next steps into teaching, including the application process through UCAS, advice on personal statements, and what will be expected of you during the interview process.

For 2020-2021 we are recruiting in the following subjects:

Biology, Chemistry, Drama, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, PE, PE with EBacc, Physics, RE

All experience days are at a range of Hope Learning Trust schools and further days within our alliance schools may be possible. During Spring 2021 EborHope TSA will deliver school experience virtually, due to Covid-19, however we are able to offer an interactive, online opportunity with Dr Brian Rock, Initial Teacher Training Lead at EborHope Teaching Schools Alliance.

During the spring term we will offer the following School Experience days

• Wednesday 3rd February 2021       16:30 to 18:00      Maths; English; Science
• Wednesday 24th February 2021     16:30 to 18:00      All subjects
• Wednesday 10th March 2021          11:00 - 12:30         All subjects
• Tuesday 23rd March 2021               16:30 to 18:00      All subjects

Read about our School Experience days here: Train to Teach with EborHope (Spring)

Support to secure your first teaching role

Working in partnership with York St John University as York's original School Direct provider, we have supported 112 training teachers so far to secure their first teaching posts. We offer an extensive range of CPD opportunities to help you learn, develop and shape your career during your PGCE year and beyond.

Recruiting for our 2021-22 training cohort, our newest cohort will be the 9^th to choose to start their teaching journey through this immersive, school-centred route into teaching. Between 2018 and 2020, approximately one third of our training teachers have gone on to secure teaching roles within our Hope Learning Trust schools while many of our partner schools have also employed our training teachers based on their performance during their placements.

EborHope TSA offer training to help your start your teaching career after your PGCE year, such as job applications advice and mock interviews, as well as preparing you for your NQT year by working with Ambition Institute on Early Career provision. Equally, our partners at York St John University continue to support you after your training year with a dedicated NQT service.

Our School Direct PGCE programme develops our EborHope student teachers into competent and confident professionals as they begin their NQT years. They learn that intellectual endeavour, criticality and personal reflection are key to developing outstanding teaching practice during the early stages of their teaching careers. Dr Brian Rock, Secondary ITT Lead at EborHope Teaching Schools Alliance

At York St John University, we recognise, and celebrate, the fact that many of our schools have very robust, highly effective NQT induction programmes. Our aim is to complement the support being offered in the school, by the Local Authority and Teaching School Alliances and to be instrumental in creating highly-skilled, confident and resilient teachers of the future. We offer regular webinarson a range of topics, a dedicated NQT website containing a wealth of resources, frequent communication with our NQTs in the form of newsletters, and also bespoke support both for those in employment and those seeking their first teaching position. Louise Whitfield, Senior Lecturer in Primary Education/NQT Lead

School Direct Secondary entry requirements

• You must have an A Level in the subject you wish to teach.
• You must be an honours graduate of an approved university or other institution granting equivalent qualifications acceptable both to York St John University and the National College for Teaching and Leadership. The first degree should be specific to the subject-based PGCE you are applying for. In some circumstances candidates without a subject specialist degree may be considered if you can provide evidence of strong subject knowledge, and have at least an A level in the subject.
• All applicants require GCSE grade C or above in English Language and Mathematics. Applicants for the Secondary PGCE in the sciences must have a grade C or over above in GCSE Science.

Apply to our Secondary programme if you:

• are committed to ensuring that all pupils can succeed no matter what their background or starting point.
• have a passion for teaching and a love of learning.
• are enthusiastic, combined with excellent organisational skills.
• have the ability to reflect and develop as critical professionals.
• can express ideas clearly and succinctly.
• have a high level of resilience and respond well to constructive feedback.
• show personal initiative and can work well with peers, pupils, tutors, staff and parents alike.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees for both the Primary and Secondary school-centred (School Direct) PGCE programme are £9,250. York St John University graduates receive 10% reduction off the tuition fee. You may be eligible for a tax free bursary or scholarship to support your training.

Further advice can also be provided by York St John University Funding Advice Team: fundingadvice@yorksj.ac.uk

For more information on the Funding Advice Team, click here: www.yorksj.ac.uk/students/your-finances

How to apply

We welcome all applications for both Primary and Secondary programmes. To check the availability of Ebor Hope Teaching Schools Alliance School Direct places click here. Applications for both Primary and Secondary programmes must be submitted via the UCAS website. To submit your application click here, the training provider code for Ebor Hope Teaching Schools Alliance is 1DH.

The School Direct courses that we are running for 2021/22 are detailed below.

Selection and assessment

Selection is based on evidence provided throughout the application process including your personal statement, references, a detailed breakdown of degree content and details of other academic, professional or vocational qualifications. Interview days usually take place at Manor CE Academy in York, however until further notice, interviews will be conducted online. Interview days will typically include:

• a short teaching activity
• an individual personal interview
• a literacy based task
• an opportunity to ask questions and engage in self-reflection

At the interview stage your personal qualities as well as your academic qualifications will be considered in helping us identify and meet your training needs. Interviews are designed to enable EborHope Teaching Schools Alliance and York St John University to assess the suitability of candidates for training and to appoint the best candidates for the places available. All successful applicants will also need to obtain an enhanced DBS check and the successful completion of a medical questionnaire.

Meet our Teachers

Case study of an MFL Teacher

Case Study of a Maths Teacher

Case Study of a Geography Teacher

Career Development Opportunities Case Study

Case Study of an East Coast Trainee

Meet our Mentors

Case study of a Mentor

Want to find out more?

If you have any questions about the programme, please don't hesitate to contact us using the form below.