Initial Teacher Education Partnership

Aspiring for all trainees to become outstanding teachers.

As one of the largest providers of initial teacher training in the UK, and the largest in the region, our school-led Initial Teacher Education (ITE) partnership works to ensure that trainee teachers receive the best possible support and education.

Through our partnership we work closely with 600 schools, colleges and early year’s settings in the region to provide Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes in:

  • Primary and Secondary (including School Direct) leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
  • The Teacher Apprenticeship leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
  • Further Education and Training leading to Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills Status (QTLS)
  • Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) leading to Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS)

The teachers we train are:

  • dedicated to implementing effective safeguarding and child protection procedures to promote the welfare of young people, keep them safe and practice in a way that protects them
  • highly committed to their pupils’ learning and progress and ambitious in what they want to help them achieve
  • inquisitive, critically reflective and motivated to keep learning and improving their own practice
  • quick to adapt to different learning contexts and confident to challenge inequalities
  • an asset to the profession, willing to share their knowledge and experience and to collaborate with others
  • well prepared for the realities of teaching, with the confidence, resilience and skills to be innovative, to take risks and be creative.

Governance of our ITE partnership

Our Partnership in Education Strategic Committee (PiESC) consists of primary, secondary and special school heads and other representatives from across the partnership. PiESC was formed in 2012 and continues to meet on a termly basis to lead the strategic development of the partnership.

Chair of PiESC: Kay Taylor, ITE Lead, Millais Teaching School Alliance and Assistant Head, Davison High School
Deputy Chair of PiESC: Sarah Fitzjohn-Scott, Deputy Head of School (Partnership and Engagement): ITE Partnership, University of Brighton.

Alongside the Initial Teacher Education Strategic Committee (ITESC) and ITE Programme Management Boards, this structure helps to ensure high levels of consistency across the partnership, and facilitate the sharing of good practice and the identification of common areas for improvement.

Our approach

We believe that equipping the next generation of teachers to be outstanding is only possible through an equal and close collaboration between schools, colleges and universities. Within our partnership we collaborate from initial trainee recruitment, through the delivery of teacher training, and beyond qualification to the continuing professional development of teachers.

Read the School of Education's vision statement.

Our ITE Partnership Vision

The University of Brighton Initial Teacher Education Partnership aspires for all trainees to become outstanding teachers.

The fact that the new programmes are so well conceived, designed and structured in order to provide training programmes which meet the current needs of the profession is due to the fact that the programme development was a joint venture between university staff, partnership school, current and former trainees.

PGCE Primary 3-7 and 5-11 External Examiner

ITE partnership achievements

What we’ve achieved

In our most recent inspection in 2018, Ofsted judged the overall quality of our initial teacher training for primary and secondary trainees to be Outstanding.

Our initial teacher training for trainees in further education and training was judged as Good.

Read our Ofsted report.

 

Primary education class

ITE partnership priorities

Overview

The University of Brighton ITE Partnership aspires for all trainees to become outstanding teachers.

Working towards the aspiration for all trainees to become outstanding teachers, the partnership is unrelenting in its drive to continually improve all aspects of its ITT provision.

Building on our success, and arising from our rigorous self-evaluation, the following priorities for improvement have been agreed for 2022–23 across all our age phases:

  • Improve recruitment, retention and completion across all ITE courses
  • Ensure our ambitious, sequenced and progressive curriculum is understood and enacted by all stakeholders
  • Develop trainee confidence and competence in effectively adapting teaching particularly in relation to SEND and EAL
Initial teacher training partnership priorities at the University of Brighton

School-based Training Partnership

Each year we place approximately 1,200 trainee teachers in school-based training that varies from two to 12 weeks.

Find out how your school can benefit from joining our ITE Partnership and offer school-based training to our trainees.

More about school-based training

School Direct Partnership

Overview

We are a training provider for the School Direct programme. This one-year programme enables primary and secondary schools to recruit and select their own trainees, with the expectation that these trainees will go on to work within the school, or group of schools, in which they are trained.

Trainees spend the majority of their time within their schools, but receive academic teacher training through the university.

Want to offer a placement or the Cert-Ed course?

If you are based in the south-east and would like further details about offering placements, or if you are interested in offering a Cert-Ed course in your college, contact Alexandra Fry 01273 643397 or  a.fry@brighton.ac.uk.

School Direct Partnerships

Training options

There are two separate School Direct training options:

School Direct Training Programme is available to high-quality graduates. Trainees may be eligible for a bursary or scholarship of up to £29,000 to support them while they train.

School Direct Training Programme (salaried) is an employment-based route available to high-quality graduates with at least three years’ work experience who are paid a salary while they train.

School Direct Partners

A number of schools have chosen the University of Brighton as their School Direct partner. Trainees are awarded QTS on successful completion of the programme; those on the non-salaried programme are also awarded a PGCE.

Primary partners

  • Eastbourne Area School Direct Alliance (1J5)
  • Millais Alliance (1BK)
  • Swale Academies Trust (14H)
  • Torfield School (1YE)

Secondary partners

  • Bohunt Education Trust (1DP)
  • Brighton, Hove and Sussex School Alliance (1KN)
  • Eastbourne Area School Direct Alliance (1J5)
  • Millais Alliance (1BK)
  • Oriel ITT Partnership (2LR)
  • Surrey Downs Partnership (3F2)
  • Swale Academies Trust (14H)
  • Torfield School (1YE)
  • Valley Invicta Teacher Training (1CU)
  • Wealden Partnership (1Z2)

To see School Direct vacancies with these partners visit the find postgraduate teacher training website and search using their three-digit code.  Find more about School Direct on our course page. 

Further information

Colleges and training organisations

Partnerships for post-16 education

We work with a number of FE colleges, sixth form colleges and private training organisations in the learning and skills sector. They provide our trainee teachers with valuable placement opportunities, and we also work with them to provide part-time courses for trainee teachers.

Want to offer a placement or the Cert-Ed course?

If you are based in the south-east and would like further details about offering placements, or if you are interested in offering a Cert-Ed course in your college, contact Alexandra Fry 01273 643397 or  a.fry@brighton.ac.uk.

Working with colleges and training organisations

Setting-based training for Further Education and Training teachers 

Full-time trainees enrolled on our year-long Further Education and Training PGCE and ProfGCE courses must all spend a significant part of their course on placement in colleges or other training environments.

We provide mentor workshops and ongoing support to your staff throughout the placement. We view teacher training as a partnership and are keen to support staff in our partner colleges as much as possible.

Trainee teachers usually spend two days a week from October through to January at their placement, and in some circumstances the placement is extended to May. Initially trainees only observe classes, but they are expected to assist in teaching and then to lead classes as their training progresses.

Read more about the Further Education and Training PGCE and ProfGCE courses.

Partnership for part-time PGCE/Certificate in Education courses 

We currently work closely with five local colleges that offer part-time Certificate in Education and PGCE courses.

We developed the courses in partnership with the colleges and they are validated by the University of Brighton. We continue to meet regularly with college staff and to work closely together to improve the courses and address any challenges that arise.

The colleges we currently work with are:

  • Bexhill College
  • East Sussex College Group
  • Greater Brighton Metropolitan College
  • Plumpton College
  • Reigate College.