A Step Up For Social Work Training?

On the lines of new in-service training programmes for graduates wishing to become teachers, there is now a similar on-the-job route open to would-be Social Workers.

Step Up to Social Work is a 14-month tailored programme for high-achieving graduates or career changers with experience of working with children and young people to train as social workers. The great news for those that fit this description is that they will have their tuition fees paid for and receive a bursary of over £19,000.

Students are work-based throughout their training and delivery arrangements vary according to agreements between the universities and regional partnerships running the Step Up to Social Work programme.  They may include formal lectures and e-learning, as well as internal local authority training provision and one-to-one support.

For more information 

Contact: susw@penna.com Step Up To Social Work Programme, Penna Plc (Tel. 0845 366 5557)

Meanwhile for qualified Social Workers, we are hearing the Cumbria Children's Services have started recruiting again following a long period of austerity and that Randstad Newcastle are providing them with contract staff.

Working Towards Management?

This week we are very pleased to feature a guest post written by Sean McPheat, MD of management training and leadership development specialists MTD Training. Sean has been featured on the BBC, ITV, CNN International and many more, and has over 250 media credits to his name:

Start Securing the Skills Now!

A management role might seem a hundred light years away from where you are currently, but the reality is, it might be much close than you think. Whilst management is often perceived as something that has to be worked up towards, something that requires you to climb ladders and tick boxes before such a position is awarded, there is every chance that, with the right mind set and knowledge, not only will you be able to secure a management role as a graduate, you’ll be able to flourish and succeed within that role. Here are three lessons you can take from your current environment and turn them into something positive for your leadership career!

Sidling Sociality

The first thing to know about any management role is that it’s a social one. Your ability to succeed will hinge directly on your people skills, your ability to converse and drum up a dialogue, your aptitude when it comes to building relationships and reaching out to people. As a manager, your team is everything, and forging and maintaining strong bridges to them as individuals will be the difference that makes you successful out in the field. Relationships are incomparably important and knowing how they work is one of the most prominent skills you’ll need!

Confidence Balance 

Believing in your own ability is something you won’t get far in life without, and that’s a general rule across the board. Having the confidence to trust your instincts and your decisions is a difficult thing to learn, but knowing where the balance lies is even trickier. In a management role, your confidence should never be overbearing; it can be authoritative and final, however it’s all too easy to let this become too domineering, so much so that you could cause dissent and disengagement amongst your team. Learn how to find the right balance between being a strong decision-maker and being overconfident. When you work in teams, think about how the project is being managed, what people tend to work with and what they work against.

Critical Thinking 

Of course, you can’t have the confidence to be a strong decision-maker without the ability to think critically. You currently find yourself in situations everyday wherein you must be reflective, responsive, analytical and methodical in your approach, even if you don’t realize it. If you start observing and analysing these situations, you’ll be one step ahead and better prepared to step right into the role you’ll aim for as a graduate. University is, essentially, one of the best environments for developing critical thinking, so long as you pay attention to your circumstances.

Emotional Control 

Emotions can delve deeply into the equilibrium of a social situation, and one thing a manager must be able to do, is know when to exercise control. Whilst this sounds like becoming a cold and calculated management machine, it’s simply more of a case of analysing situational congruence and knowing whether particular emotions you may be experiencing will be appropriate. You’ll need all your emotions to build relationships with your people, but knowing how and when to keep them under control is the key. Again, you likely already do this on a daily basis, you just don’t realize it. Think about when you decide to keep certain emotions hidden, and how that skill might be applicable in a professional environment.

Consider how you function socially and cognitively every day, things you do without even thinking; you’ll quickly find there’s plenty of opportunity to learn all you need to know to be successful right where you are!

Teacher Training - Latest Lessons

Here are the latest grains of wisdom from the quickly shifting sands of teacher training provision, as provided by University careers colleagues who are members of the Teaching and Related Professions Task Group.

Teach First

Recruitment to the programme has been brisk for 2013 entry and over 1000 applicants have already been accepted.  There are still 250 vacancies, but these are mainly for Maths and English.

The scheme now has its own dedicated website www.teachfirst.org.uk including vacancy details and a central application process.

To anticipate a couple of likely faqs:

• About 17.5 % of the 2012 intake ( a total of 997) are teaching in primary schools.
• 36% of 2012 entrants are male - well above the 25% in the profession overall.
• Teach First will accept Psychology graduates to teach Science - but only if they achieve a B.Sc. and have grade B in a science at A Level.

School Direct

News has also reached us that it will be possible to apply for School Direct vacancies through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry when the latest wave of applications for 2014 entry opens on 1st November this year. Application deadlines will for the first time be scrapped. 

Note: School Direct is already making its mark in Cumbria and North Lancashire, and we can expect Teach First to follow suit.

October Teaching Careers Workshops

Now is the time to start thinking about Teacher Training applications especially for Primary PGCE courses - and Secondary as well if you are thinking of applying for in-demand subjects like PE.  The deadline for Primary applications is 1st December.

With this in mind, Careers Adviser Joanne Watson will be delivering two sessions at Brampton Road campus this month for those who are or may be interested in teacher training.

You can find more details, dates and times on the University website

The TDA is dead - Long Live the TA!

The Teaching Agency (TA) opened on 1st April, replacing the abolished Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).  Information on becoming a teacher previously available on the TDA website is now available at www.teach.gov.uk including the flagship School Direct programme.

TV Training in Edinburgh with The Network

The Network offer free TV skills training and their next course will be held in Edinburgh on 22nd – 25th August 2012.

· NO qualifications are needed!

· Successful candidates will work with top producers who make shows for BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 and get the opportunity to question TV execs who have the power to give them a job.

· Previous trainees have gone on to successful careers in TV, including jobs on QI, Big Brother, Newsround and The X Factor.

If you would like more information contact The Network on 0207 278 9515 or thenetwork@mgeitf.co.uk

Teacher Training Bursaries for FE Teachers

We have been informed that a system of bursaries of £1,000 has been introduced from 2012 for trainees to take accredited Diploma courses in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS), or a level 6 PGCE qualification.

Bursaries of £1,500 will also be introduced for trainees who are taking accredited initial courses in teacher training and who are intending to teach basic Maths and English in the FE and Skills sector.

Hibernia College UK - More Information

Further to the previous post on alternative teacher training routes, here is some more information from the above organisation from the Training and Development Agency (TDA):

Hibernia College UK Limited (HCUK) was accredited by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) as a new initial teacher training (ITT) provider in September 2011 and has been allocated maths, chemistry and physics initial teacher training (ITT) and subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) places for both 2011/12 and 2012/13 academic years.

Its first cohorts of maths chemistry and physics ITT and SKE trainees started their training on 23 January 2012. HCUK has further cohorts starting on 16 April 2012 and is planning additional cohorts for July and September 2012 starts.

HCUK offers:

• “freestanding” maths, chemistry and physics SKE courses that are open to trainees accepted onto other accredited ITT providers’ maths, chemistry and physics ITT courses (conditional on them undertaking an appropriate SKE course); and
• “SKE integrated” maths, chemistry and physics ITT courses: postgraduate ITT courses that deliver SKE, integrated with ITT, within a two year in length course.

Although HCUK is based in London, it is a national ITT provider for the simple reason that its courses have been developed as interactive, online courses and are accessible to potential trainees wherever they might be located throughout England.

Want to Teach? New Developments in Teacher Training

School Direct

Schools are able to bid to the Training and Development Agency (TDA) for 500 training places on this new programme for 2012/13. The school (or group of schools) will recruit trainees directly and then purchase the training from an ITT provider.  Once the trainee has completed training and gained qualified teacher status, the school will be expected to employ the trainee for at least their Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year.
 
Trainees will be eligible for funding on the same basis as those completing university-based PGCEs (with the offer an additional payment, worth 25% of their bursary, to trainees based in schools where more than a quarter of pupils are eligible for free school meals).

In allocating School Direct places, the TDA will give priority to schools and subjects in greatest need.

TDA Premier Plus Service and School Experience Programme

The TDA is offering the Premier Plus Service to support prospective teacher of maths, physics, chemistry or Modern Foreign Languages (MFL).  Premier Plus includes one-to-one advice and guidance, special events, access to subject knowledge enhancement courses, reimbursement of the GTTR application fee and access to the School Experience Programme (SEP).

SEP itself offers classroom experience for one to ten days in a secondary school to applicants considering teaching maths, physics, chemistry, D&T, ICT or MFL.  The programme is available to final year University students and some others.

Distance Learning PGCE

The TDA have accredited Hibernia College to provide an e-learning based programme leading to a PGCE and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in secondary maths, physics or chemistry. The two-year flexible programme is delivered through a combination of online lectures and tutorials, locally delivered workshops and school placements organised through the programme’s national network of hub schools.  Subject knowledge enhancement is included as appropriate.

Studio Schools

Studio schools are a new option at age 14.  They teach both academic and vocational qualifications in a practical and project-based way, often in conjunction with employers.  Study is combined with work placements in the schools’ partner organisations.  Some schools will be located alongside existing maintained schools and academies and others will be separate academies. 


Source: AGCAS Teaching Task Group

Teacher Training News

Here are some latest highlights on developments in teacher training:

FE Teachers Able to Teach in Schools?

Subject to approval by parliament, schools will from April 2012 be able to employ teachers who hold qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS - the professional status for teachers in further education). Head teachers will have the freedom to employ the qualified teacher that best meets the requirements of the job, regardless of whether their background is in schools or further education. Currently, QTLS holders cannot take up posts in Secondary schools.

Plans for Primary Teacher Training

From 2012/13 the Training and Development Agency (TDA) will prioritise primary courses that offer a specialism, particularly in the sciences, mathematics or modern languages. For 2013/14 they expect to adjust financial incentives for trainees to favour trainees on specialist primary courses with a good A-level in mathematics, a science, or a language, over those on generalist courses. They will also require most trainees to hold a 2.1 or first to be eligible for a bursary.

PGCE Bursaries for 2012-13

In line with a new TDA strategy to prioritise trainees with the best qualifications, bursaries for 2012-13 will vary considerably according to the level of degree attained by the applicant as well as teaching shortage areas.

So a Secondary Maths, Physics or Modern Languages student will receive £20,000 if they achieve a first class degree but only £12,000 if they only get a 2.2. The comparative figures for Primary trainees with the same qualifications will be £9,000 and £0.

Information Source: AGCAS

Col's Comment:

Along with the proposal to allow former HM Forces employees to enter teaching if they can pass relevant skills tests, the new bursary structure may be the most controversial part of the new teacher training strategy. It has been well-researched that students from prosperous backgrounds are more likely to achieve high grades, thus entitling them to the de-luxe level bursaries. Some may therefore query the lack of an 'inclusiveness' element in the new strategy and feel it reflects the political preferences of current policy makers.

Possible Changes to Health Visitor Training

The Government's aim of recruiting an extra 4,200 extra Health Visitors by 2015 has led to some discussions about possible accelerated training routes for the job.

Currently, potential Health Visitors usually need two years' experience in Nursing before applying for training. However, new ideas include the possibility of on-the-job training or a direct entry training course.