As part of the process you will need to identify two referees which we will contact should your application be successful. One should be the head teacher of the school in which you will be completing the Assessment Only Route to QTS and one should be a mentor or academic tutor. We will contact them directly to ask them to provide a reference which will need to include information about your teaching experience, evidence of how you meet our success criteria and suitability to work with children. This is part of our safer recruitment processes.

If the application and reference process is successful, we will invite you to an interview at one of our partner schools. We usually see candidates demonstrate the following in successful applications and interviews:

• Evidence of meeting the Teachers’ Standards;
• A genuine desire to support young people and help them develop and succeed;
• Evidence of a commitment to and an understanding of a career in teaching;
• A proactive and reflective approach to their own development;
• The ability to relate to and engage with young people;
• A passion for their subject;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Effective communication skills including the ability to explain concepts clearly;
• Initiative, innovation and resilience.

The interview process includes:

• Teaching a lesson

You will be asked to teach a 25 minute lesson based on a given topic/learning objective and some class data which you will receive prior to interview. If you wish to teach the lesson in your own setting there will be an additional cost of £100 for our staff to come off-site.

• Presentation

You will be asked to present a 10 minute pre-prepared presentation to a panel of specialists working in our partner schools. This is designed to test your knowledge of the British education system and your oracy skills.

• Interview Panel

You will have a 30 minute interview with a panel of specialists working in our partner schools. The interview will cover the following areas:

• Your reasons for wanting to teach;
• The extent to which your existing subject knowledge equates to that needed to meet Teacher Standard 3;
• What you learnt from your experience teaching in at least two settings;
• Your understanding of the role of the teacher;
• Safeguarding;
• Your own skills and attributes and how these might support you in being an outstanding teacher;
• Current issues in education.

• Document check

A member of the YTCA SCITT team will check all of the documents which you have brought to interview.

• Subject knowledge audit (Primary Candidates ONLY) – sent prior to interview

This is designed to assess the breadth and depth of your knowledge across the Primary curriculum (in addition to the panel interview).

• Numeracy & literacy tests (Primary Candidates ONLY)

These are designed to test your literacy & numeracy skills in relation to the Primary curriculum. You are advised to bring a calculator with you to your interview.

• Subject knowledge and literacy test (Secondary Candidates ONLY)

You will complete a short test which is designed to test your subject knowledge (in addition to your teaching and the panel interview). This will include a question requiring a longer written response which is designed to test your use of written English and capacity to communicate in writing. This will be collected and marked and the outcomes presented to the Interview Team.
In addition to this, Modern Foreign Languages candidates will undertake a speaking test with a specialist to check fluency in their chosen language(s).

You are likely to be informed of the outcome of your interview on the day, although we will also contact you as soon as possible with a formal written decision.

If you are unsuccessful

If you are unsuccessful, we will send you interview feedback based on the selection criteria. You are very welcome to reapply next academic year. If you choose to do so, you should reflect upon the feedback provided in order to help you plan what to do so that you can improve your application.

If you are successful

If your interview is successful and you are made an offer, you will be notified in writing. The letter will include any specific conditions of your offer. If you have any queries regarding your offer conditions, you must contact the SCITT Programmes Lead immediately and certainly within 14 days of the date on the offer letter.

Please accept your offer as soon as possible via email: we are keen to support and engage with our incoming candidates prior to the commencement of NCTL registration.

If you agree to accept the offer of a place on the Assessment Only Route, it is essential that you ensure that all documentation in relation to you being legally able to train within educational settings is provided by you within 30 days of you receiving a conditional offer from the SCITT Administration Team.

You will not be able to begin your assessment period unless you are declared fit to teach, have paid your deposit and meet all the conditions of your offer.