Schools can recruit locally though their own recruitment processes, work with St Mary’s to use its marketing and recruitment processes, or use a combination of the two. Recruitment activities should be high quality, open and transparent and will be subject to inspection by Ofsted. Please ensure your recruitment requirements reflect those of St Mary’s University, as well as highlighting your own particular ethos and values. This would include the need to spend at least two weeks in a school within the age range you are recruiting for, in order to gain relevant experience of the role of the teacher.
The recruitment period must be long enough to allow open and fair access to places, and well-communicated to potential trainees through your own school websites, but schools should be aware that much recruitment, especially primary, tends to be completed before January.
Schools will be expected to take the lead in interviewing and selecting candidates, but all School Direct candidates will also have to meet the entry requirements of St Mary’s. If the candidates do not meet our criteria we will decline the opportunity to train them.
All School Direct candidates must meet ITT eligibility and entry criteria as set out in the ITT criteria and funding manuals.
Applicants to ITT courses are required to pass the professional skills tests before they start the course. Lead schools will be asked on the request for places form to nominate a member of staff, who will be given access to the online skills tests results to inform their recruitment decisions.
School Direct Training Programme (salaried) is only for high quality graduates with at least three years of work experience. Career changers can bring valuable skills and experience to the profession, which they have developed since leaving university. Schools should decide which skills and experience are important to them. This experience will normally have been gained since leaving university and does not have to be from an educational setting.
When recruiting, schools should ensure candidates for the School Direct Training Programme are fully aware of the fees they are likely to be charged.
What is meant by 'an expectation of employment?'
In determining how many School Direct places to request, schools should review their previous employment patterns and use any current knowledge on staffing/budgetary issues to make an assessment of future need.
This assessment should enable schools to request a number of places that broadly matches the future employment requirements within the school or partnership of schools where the trainee will be based. The NCTL expects the school or partnership of schools to have a clear capacity to employ the trainees when they successfully complete their training programme.
When assessing future requests from schools for School Direct places, the NCTL may consider how successful the school’s previous School Direct trainees have been in securing employment and prioritise schools that have high employment rates.