Ridgeway Education Trust SCITT (RET SCITT) is working in partnership with Teach First and Orchard Learning Alliance (OLA) to provide School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) leading to Qualified Teacher Status and a PGCE. 

The one-year, school based, research-led training will give you plenty of hands-on experience whilst also giving you time to complete the academic elements needed to be awarded the PGCE.

As a trainee teacher at RET SCITT, you will train in one of our schools and gain second placement experience at another contrasting school in either RET or OLA. You will also have opportunities to apply for any relevant teaching roles that become available in our schools and further develop your career across one of the partner trusts.

At the start of the programme in September, you will have two weeks of intensive training which will focus on the core areas of teaching such as inclusive practice, behaviour management and lesson planning. You will have a further two separate weeks of intensive training later in the year.

Following your two weeks of training, you will spend 4 days a week working alongside expert practitioners in one of our schools and developing your practice as a teacher. You will also spend some of your time with other teachers, observing their lessons and learning more about how to teach and plan lessons. You will work closely with a highly skilled and knowledgeable mentor.

The fifth day of each week is reserved for you to engage in training and development to support your teaching practice. This weekly training day is designed in collaboration with Teach First’s expert curriculum designers and sequenced to make sure you are focused on the areas of teaching that are most relevant to that point in the year. The training will include a mixture of online and face-to-face elements and will ensure that you develop the knowledge and skills you need to become a great teacher, gaining your Qualified Teacher Status and your PGCE at the end of the year. 

The six-week second placement will be in an alternative partner school. This experience will ensure you have a broad experience of teaching in different schools and further prepare you for your future career as a teacher.