Trainees on our iQTS programme will engage with a range of modules while completing school-based training.
Trainees will complete a combination of synchronous and asynchronous modules delivered by the iQTS team at St Mary's University. Access to this content and details of each module can be found on MyModules. Alongside taught content, trainees will complete 120 days of school-based training and 20 days of intensive training and practice.
Key dates
At the beginning of the programme, key dates will be provided to trainees. These will include:
- monitoring and quality assurance (M&QA) meetings
- progress reviews
- assessment points for academic assignments
- exit days at the end of the programme.
Weekly tasks
Trainees are provided with training plans for each phase of training, which outline a range of tasks to complete in their context. These will be reviewed at a weekly training meeting with their mentor and offer the opportunity to reflect on their areas of strength and focus on those for further development. SMART targets are set at these meetings to inform the following week's foci.
Mentor support
During the iQTS programme, trainees will be supported by an experienced mentor in their school. Their mentor will be responsible for monitoring their progress, providing opportunities for professional development, and engaging in regular meetings about the trainee's classroom practice. A member of staff in the school will also act as a training coordinator to
Tutor support
Trainees will be supported by a personal tutor, link tutor, and course lead throughout the programme. Personal tutors offer academic and pastoral support to trainees, which is complemented by the guidance of a link tutor, who will focus on school-based professional development and quality assuring the fulfilment of the training plan. The iQTS course lead oversees the whole programme and is available to offer guidance to trainees along the way.
Lesson observations and feedback
Mentors are required to formally observe trainees once a week, which will involve providing developmental feedback. Informal feedback is also provided for any other observed lessons and to support the development of wider professional practice. Lesson plans and feedback records will be uploaded to Abyasa by the trainee on a weekly basis.
Monitoring progress
Throughout the duration of the iQTS programme, trainees will use the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework's areas of professional learning to monitor progress. This is recorded on a progress record, which will be reviewed at the end of each phase of training. Mentors are required to support trainees in completing their progress record and continuously monitoring their progress. Trainees will contribute to the completion of the progress record, provide a reflective comment at the end of each phase, and contribute to the setting of developmental SMART targets for the next phase of training.
Assessment against the iQTS Teachers' Standards
In the final phase of training, evidence is collected against the Department for Education's iQTS Teachers' Standards. Training coordinators will need to be familiar with these as trainees will require the relevant experiences in order to evidence that they have met these professional standards by the end of their programme.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding in England is centred around Keeping Children Safe in Education. While each trainee will be required to follow the protocols in their contexts, we require all trainees and staff supporting them to be aware of this important policy. This will be included in course content and also used to inform discussion around local statutory frameworks for safeguarding children.