Teacher Training

Welcome to United Teaching

If you’re passionate about making a difference to the lives of children and young people and are looking for a career that will not only change their lives but yours too, you’re in the right place.

We can help you to begin your teaching journey through our postgraduate programme, specifically designed to maximise your time building experience in a school environment.

Who we are

We are the initial teacher training (ITT) programme for United Learning, a group of more than 90 academies and independent schools whose purpose is to positively influence the lives of children and young people.

Our priority at United Teaching is making sure that our trainee teachers are provided with excellent professional support and development. You will complete your training with the confidence to run your classroom and teach effectively and inspire and bring out the best in your pupils.

There are a few options to choose from. You can train for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) on its own, or you can opt to complete a PGCE as well, which will earn you 60 Masters-level credits along the way. There are various ways to fund training, from salaried to self-funded, which you can find out about here.

If you choose to train with us, you will be placed in a placement school for most of the year for hands-on training. This means you can develop strong relationships with children and colleagues as you work towards achieving your teaching qualification. As well as time spent in your placement school, you will also spend at least three weeks completing a second school placement in a contrasting school. This structure lets you build experience of different teaching environments and have the opportunity to work with a broader range of colleagues, increasing your exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking. Your placements will make you an even more effective teacher - not to mention helping you build a supportive network of colleagues.

What we offer

During your time with us you will be fully supported by your school, with the first step of your programme starting with the one-week summer institute in July. This will help you to prepare for your September start by introducing you to key ideas around teaching, learning, behavior, safeguarding and curriculum.

As well as this, there are two induction days either side of the summer institute which will give you time in your school to observe lessons, meet students and spend time with colleagues. Your training year will be spent in your host school, with Friday afternoons set aside for your dedicated training every week.

You will be supported through weekly observations, meetings and termly review points, culminating with assessment against the Teachers’ Standards at the end of the year. If you choose to also complete the PGCE, you will complete two academic assignments. These will be assessed by our university partner: Goldsmiths, University of London.

Most teachers who have trained with us go on to stay with United Learning, working in one of our many schools across the United Kingdom. Once you have finished your training, you can then progress onto the ECF (Early Career Framework) programme. This is a structured programme of support and mentoring, in partnership with Ambition Institute, where you will continue to receive training, mentoring and professional development opportunities.

Why us?

Teaching is truly a career that changes lives. If you want to help shape future generations, then this is one of the most rewarding careers you could choose.

There are so many reasons to choose us. We can offer you a salary up to 5% higher than a maintained school; a dedicated and expertly designed curriculum with resources available to support your lesson planning throughout the academic year, saving you valuable time; opportunities to progress your career within the United Learning group of schools; and a wealth of continual professional development opportunities that are available to you throughout your career with us.

We’d love to hear from you.

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Take a look at what some of our students had to say:

United Teaching

United Teaching is United Learning’s groundbreaking Initial Teacher Training Scheme, the UK’s first of its kind. Delivered in partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London, our programme is designed to help you become the senior teacher you have the talent and passion to become. Here, teacher training is a path to leadership roles across the country.

We offer you the opportunity to train while you teach, so you can get the teaching qualifications you need without going back to university, and without delaying the start to your career. You can train for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) on its own, or you can go for a PGCE as well, earning 60 Masters-level credits along the way.

Training with United Teaching gives you real teaching exposure in a choice of schools, a mentor system, a support network, professional qualifications, as well as continuous professional development throughout the duration of your career with United Learning.

About the Course

The course starts with a two-week summer school in August based in our lead and host schools. You will then spend your academic year in the host school with additional training one afternoon each week at the lead school, complete a second placement, and attend up to three conferences. Assessment will continue throughout the course, based on your classroom experience and achievement measured against the DFE Teaching Standards, while your academic PGCSE study will comprise of two academic assignments, assessed by Goldsmiths.

From day one, you could be teaching with a reduced timetable. There may even be an opportunity to join your school before September to work as a teaching assistant and gain more experience. By accessing our collective expertise and support, you’ll have the resources you need to teach by yourself. So expect to be a valued member of your teaching team, empowered to lead your own classes from the start, but with the backing you need from our network.

Your time with United Learning doesn’t stop after a year. To us, teacher training is a path to a long-term career: our schools seek to employ our trainees after completion of the programme as Newly Qualified Teachers – with the potential for rapid promotion to middle and senior leadership in our schools or a Group-spanning position. Within just a couple of years or less, some of our trainees have gone on to become heads of year or faculty.

Through training with United Teaching, you would access:

Professional qualifications – every trainee works to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), and you can also work towards a PGCE with 60 Master’s level credits;
World-class training led by outstanding schools, with sessions delivered by national educationalists;
Individual support and mentoring from our teachers of excellence;
A wide range of experience gained with your choice of primary, secondary, state and independent schools;
Competitive pay (when taking the salaried route);
Access to continuous professional development beyond your initial training period with the United Learning Institute;
A structured pathway throughout your career with us at United Learning.

At the heart of our success is our lead school: Paddington Academy. A National Support School and judged outstanding, Paddington holds the Gold award for staff development and training and the results at GCSE have been amongst the best in the country for progress over the last five years. The staff who deliver the teacher training at Paddington are the very best classroom practitioners, with many training at Paddington themselves. Paddington Academy is supported by our Northern Hub school, Stockport Academy. Primary training is led by Guildford High School and Hanwell Fields Community School

Why train with us?

The answer is our guiding philosophy: the best in everyone. It enables us to set the standard for excellence in education that we expect in United Learning schools. Just as importantly, it brings out the best in you as a teacher. We value you, work with your talent and passion, and challenge and stretch you. Which means that together, we can provide genuinely excellent education. Our schools, leaders and colleagues progress. And our students leave us with the qualifications – and the character – that they need to succeed.

The environment we have created across United Learning matters too. Bringing out ‘the best in everyone’ starts with sharing: because by sharing resources, and by working together we can achieve more as a group than any single school could. It means you can draw on the expertise of peers, tutors and leaders alike. One person’s idea becomes everyone’s idea, and you fulfil your potential.

About United Learning

At United Learning we’re an ambitious and growing group of junior and secondary, state and independent schools across England. Our focus is simple and unswerving – to provide an excellent education to all our pupils. We believe there should be no barriers to learning. Every child should be cherished and challenged to achieve their very best, in a stimulating and positive environment. We create the foundations for successful lives. Our schools share our sense of dedication, passion and integrity. And they share too our commitment to high quality teaching.

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