What is School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)?

SCITT is a school-based, post-graduate teacher training programme, it is a full-time, 36 week programme. The Titan SCITT is based in Birmingham.  A group of schools take the lead in designing the training programme. A SCITT course offers a distinctive form of initial teacher training since it is based in schools and run by them. For trainees, one of the most significant advantages of SCITT training is that, from day one, they are in a classroom environment, acquiring the knowledge and skills required for effective teaching.

The Titan Secondary SCITT consists of nine secondary schools, single sex and co-educational. The schools offer a variety of contexts in which trainee teachers will be able to develop the necessary competences to meet the challenges of teaching effectively in a secondary school, now and in the future. Schools in our inner city provide an excellent learning environment for our trainee teachers to develop these competences and begin their careers as well prepared, confident and effective teachers. You must have no illusions about teaching. Teaching is a demanding job, physically, emotionally and intellectually. It requires a capacity for sustained hard work, commitment and enthusiasm. You will find the going tough at times, but by the end of the course you will be very confident in your ability to take up your first teaching post and make a success of it.

The course consists of taught sessions (subject specific and broader educational issues), practical classroom experiences, two 2-day primary school placements and a research week.

The course elements are assessed through four different forms of assessment:

• Structured mentoring – Profiling of trainee’s performance in relation to the QTS Standards (2007)
• Subject Application and Assessment – Twilight sessions take place on Wednesdays. Trainees will be assessed through two written assignments.
• Broader Educational Issues (BEI) – sessions take place on a Friday morning (in the Autumn and Spring Term). Trainees will be assessed through two written assignments.
• Reflective Evaluative Evidence Portfolio – The REEP provides an opportunity for the trainees to submit evidence that demonstrates their competence in the TDA’s QTS Standards (2007).

SCITT is offered in the following subjects:
We anticipate that the following subjects will be available for 2012-12:

Information Communication Technology, Design and Technology, Religious Education, Physical Education, Science and Mathematics. Other subjects, including English, are available through the Graduate Teacher Programme.