1. School Direct Information and discussion
Portswood Teaching School Alliance
11th September 2012

2. Background
School Direct is a new programme proposed in the DfE ITT Strategy paper to be introduced 2012/2013
Schools Direct is intended to help schools take a leading role in ITT where they can offer ITT places and work with accredited ITT providers to deliver training.
Priority will be given to subjects with the greatest need

3. Training Places
The School Direct Training programme open to all graduates and funded by tuition fees paid by the trainee, who may receive a bursary from the Teaching Agency
The School Direct Training Programme, salaried, which is an employment based route into teaching for highly qualified graduates with three or more years career experience. The trainee is employed as an unqualified teacher by a school. The Teaching Agency provides funding, which the school can use to subsidise the trainee's salary and/or training

4. Difference between School Direct and GTP
School Direct salaried training programme replaces the GTP, which will close an there will no longer be a supernumerary requirement as with current GTP
Consider how this would affect your school? How would you use an unqualified teacher? How do we train them?

5. School Direct is designed to:
Give schools ability to influence the way that ITT is delivered, creating more school-led training programmes that better meet the needs of schools and trainees.
Enable schools to recruit and select trainees that are most suitable for them and their partnerships needs, with the expectation that these trainees will go on to work in the group of schools they trained in.
Provide choice by enabling schools to negotiate with their chosen provider as to how they wish to use their School Direct places. The School Direct Training Programme also enables a school to negotiate their choice of accredited ITT provider and the way in which training delivered.

6. Requesting and receiving places
Schools need to register interest by 7th Sept (this has now been extended), we have done this on behalf of the Alliance
Schools will then request places in specific phases and subjects, this year the TA will ask schools to identify the accredited ITT provider with which they wish to work. Schools can use different providers for different subjects.
Accredited ITT provider remains accountable for quality of training, assessed through Ofsted ITT Inspection Framework, and for ensuring that training needs meet the criteria.
All requests should be submitted through a lead school, the lead school is the one to which the TA will allocate places and it is responsible for ensuring that School Direct criteria for places is met

7. Timescales Timescales are continually changing but in general
September register interest and request places by phase and subject
Mid October allocations agreed and announced
End of October Recruitment opens for schools

8. Criteria for allocations
School quality. The Ofsted rating of the lead school will be a key determinant of both whether the requests for places are successful and to what degree it is met in full.
They would like School Direct to stimulate alliance building for Teaching Schools.
A school in Special Measures may not request School Direct places.
If a school requires improvement it may be possible to be involved in the delivery of ITT dependant upon subjects or age range and where the lead school and accredited provider will need to be confident that trainee will not be disadvantaged.

9. Trainee quality Degree of 2.1 or above
High priority for 2012/2013 Physics, Maths, Chemistry and Modern languages
Other priorities are: primary and other Ebacc subjects (English, history, geography, biology and classics)
These priorities are reflected in bursary and funding levels for School Direct places

10. Recruitment and cohort size
Capacity will be discussed with lead schools to ensure appropriate allocation but no automatic penalties for under recruitment will be applied this year
TA encourages requests for several places in a subject. Groups of schools requesting a regular supply of places are likely to promote the development of high quality practice and sustainable relationships between ITT providers and schools
Self funded places (salaried) do not need to be agreed but TA needs to be informed
It is important that all requests and acceptance of places are a realistic statement of schools’ capacity to participate in School Direct because if schools retain allocated places and they are unilled this can affect future allocation decisions.

11. Finding an ITT provider
School Direct schools choose which accredited provider to work with, negotiate how training is structured and agree how funding will be divided between the school and provider.
Schools can choose HEI or school led accredited provider to work with
Provider is responsible for recommendation of the award of QTS
Roles and responsibilities for training should be set out in a partnership agreement between schools and the ITT provider

12. Secondary subject training
Any ITT providers approached by schools to train and assess trainees in secondary subjects, outside their allocated ITT portfolio, are advised to adopt risk mitigations exactly as when requesting an expansion into new subjects for mainstream provision
ITT providers cannot train and assess trainees in a phase or age range outside their allocated ITT portfolio

13. Recruiting School Direct trainees
Schools can recruit locally through own recruitment process, work with their ITT provider to use its marketing and recruitment process or use a combination of the two.
Recruitment processes must be open, transparent and subject to scrutiny by Ofsted
The recruitment period must be long enough to be fair but should pretty much be completed by January
From September 2013 the skills test must be passed before starting their course
Registration and booking system is on DfE website

14. School Direct Training Programme Salaried
Is only for high quality graduates with at least 3 years working experience.
If a school selects a candidate that the partner ITT provider does not wish to take then the provider can decline to take them
Schools should also ensure that candidates are aware of all fees
Information on School Direct has been signposted to potential applicants in the TA Graduate recruitment Brochure

15. School Experience Programme
This is for secondary schools to have prospective ITT applicants in school for up to 10 days to gain insight into the role and responsibilities of a teacher.
It targets high quality graduates and undergraduates who are interested in teaching maths, physics, chemistry and MfL

16. Funding ITT providers register trainee
Tuition fees paid by trainee who will be eligible for the standard student support package, including training bursaries, tuition fee loans and scholarships where eligible
Funding for salaried School Direct will be funded through TA to subsidise salary and training costs.
Funding ranges from £14,000 for primary non specialist to £20,99 for a High Priority subject in a school with high FSM

17. Training
School and provider should train the trainee in accordance with their partnership agreement.

18. Pros High quality teachers trained to suit specific schools
Quality assurance of training programme
Opportunities for schools to use the trainee in a teaching capacity
Ability to have teachers trained in subjects or phases relevant to the Alliance
Further opportunities for partnership development working

19. Cons Schools could be out of pocket if supernumerary
Unqualified teachers could be teaching classes
How do we quality assure that they are getting the best training if the above is happening?
The advertising, recruiting, selection and deciding which schools carry out training is exciting but who does it?