School-Centred Initial Teacher Training Programme

Published 19th August 2022

We are delighted to be offering a Design and Technology focused School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme which kicks off on the 5^th of September, 2022 and concludes on the 3^rd of July, 2023  for The Pioneers Partnership.

Trainees at The Pioneers Partnership gain QTS on completion of the one-year school-centred programme.. Despite the focus being on secondary education, trainees will be looking at primary and post-16 education to give them a holistic view of the D&T landscape.

There will be an in-depth breakdown of the subject within the National Curriculum for both primary and secondary teaching and an overview of how to maintain positive relationships with students and manage discipline issues effectively.

Delegates will be introduced to design processes, theory, iterative design, problem-solving skills and creative thinking which will be embedded throughout the sessions. The course will additionally outline and identify leadership opportunities including how to lead a team of teachers and technical staff.

Delegates will be tutored by our excellent curriculum trainer Paul Woodward. Paul has been teaching D&T for almost 30 years with most of those years as a Head of Creative Arts Faculties or as Head of D&T. Following a degree in 3D design, Paul initially trained for the Post 16 sector so he has extensive experience of teaching A Level D&T but he has taught the subject from KS2 onwards in a wide variety of schools ranging from Pupil Referral Units to prestigious international boarding schools.

The SCITT sessions provide all aspects of training required, including academic assessment, classroom observations, development of subject knowledge, delivery of theory and trainee support.

The sessions will comprise a mix of 17 face-to-face sessions, 12 e-learning sessions and 13 live digital sessions and offer a range of useful resources to use in the classroom and to aid with future planning.

There will also be a session covering how to make use of the resources made available, managing equipment and budgets and utilising technical support. Practical skills such as maintaining displays, machines and resources will also be covered. In total, there will be over 40 sessions dedicated to important aspects of D&T education in the classroom, design studio and workshop. Many of these will be delivered face to face in specialist D&T departments to ensure that trainees get the very best grounding in the subject before embarking on their professional careers in teaching.

This is an activity we’re thrilled to be involved with to help develop new teachers to become hardworking and resilient practitioners and further the quality of delivery of design and technology. Proper training and support create a positive and supportive working environment with teachers increasing in confidence and feeling nurtured at the early stages of their career.

Teacher stress, workload and wellbeing is of utmost importance and SCITT mentors are able to support and impart their own teaching practice in working with trainee teachers on placement whilst providing access to enhanced training opportunities.

It is incredibly important to us to be involved and lead the initial teacher training in this area. We are able to help SCITT’s all over the country, so if you would like further information about what we can offer please email info@data.org.uk.