School Centred Initial Teacher Training 

Strive4 SCITT

Teach First Partnership

Strive4 Academy Trust SCITT is working in partnership with Teach First 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 and allows you to train to teach in a Strive4 school.

As a trainee teacher at Strive4 Academy Trust SCITT, you will train in one of our schools and gain second placement experience at another of our contrasting schools; have opportunities to apply for relevant ECT roles in all of our schools and further develop your career across our growing Trust.

This is ideal for people who are eager to learn on the job and make a difference in their community from day one. As a trainee, you will be interacting every day with pupils and working as a member of teaching staff in a school local to you. 

School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)

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 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 to develop as a teacher. Your main placement will be in either a Strive4 school or a school we work in partnership with. You will spend your time with other expert teachers, observing their lessons and learning how to teach and plan lessons and practise your own teaching. You will work closely with a highly skilled and knowledgeable mentor.

You will have one day a week 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, gain your Qualified Teacher Status and your PGCE.

Courses we offer

Primary 3-7

Primary 4-11

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply you will need: 

• An undergraduate degree or equivalent.  
• Grade 4 (C) or above in English and Maths GCSEs, or equivalent qualification. To teach Primary, you will also need Grade 4 (C) or above in Science GCSE.  

We will not consider candidates with pending GCSEs. Functional skills qualifications are not equivalent to Maths and English GCSEs. Most equivalency test providers are accepted. You will need to have passed your GCSE equivalency test before applying to our programme; we will not be able to process your application until you have passed.

Fees and financial support 

• The course fees for UK students in 2025 to 2026 are £9,250.   

You will be registered as a full-time student throughout the programme so have access to lots of student benefits. If eligible, you can  apply for a tuition fee loan of up to £9,250 to cover your teacher training, so you do not need to pay course fees upfront and a maintenance loan of up to £13,022 to help with living costs. You can still apply for a tuition fee and a maintenance loan if you already have a student loan, and regardless of whether you get a teaching bursary or scholarship. You will only have to make loan repayments once you’re earning. To find out visit this website Scholarships and bursaries | Get Into Teaching GOV.UK (education.gov.uk)

We encourage potential applicants to check on the Department for Education’s website to find out more about funding options getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support  

How to apply 

Applications for September 2025 places are now open.

Visit http://www.gov.uk/apply-for-teacher-training and choose Strive4 Academy Trust as a provider. We will then contact you directly with information about the next steps in the application process. All offers are subject to satisfactory results from necessary pre-employment checks. 

For further information please contact Fiona McGrath, Course Lead

email: fmcgrath13.317@raylodge.org.uk 

Tel: 0208 504 7301