TRAINING STRUCTURE

From the start of the 2025/26 academic year tuition fees for teacher training programmes will be £9,535 for full time teacher training courses and £7,145 for part-time teacher training courses. Please refer to the Finance page for further information.

Pre-Autumn Term

One-week “Flying Start” programme

A one-week programme for all NIoT new trainees, when we’ll ensure that you have the basic tools necessary to prepare you for entering the classroom.

Pre-Autumn Term

Autumn Term

Main placement

You will have one main placement for the whole of this term. The course is fully immersive, which means that you’ll be teaching from the very start – but your timetable will be very small to begin with, increasing as the year progresses. You will be in your placement school four days a week and training in your campus one day a week. This means that you’ll be able to learn new techniques, practise them and then apply them in school immediately.

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Second placement

You will spend six weeks of this term in a contrasting school placement. The aim is to broaden your experience and field of reference. This placement will be organised for you.

Spring Term

Second Half of Spring Term and Summer Term

Return to main placement school

You will return to your main placement school. This will help you to strengthen existing relationships and to deepen your teaching knowledge, as well as providing continuity for your learners.

Second Half of Spring Term and Summer Term

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

We’ll support you with the fundamentals: why you’re teaching an aspect of the curriculum, what’s the best way to teach it, and how you can do it most successfully.

How to plan effective, objective-driven lessons by observing expert colleagues, conceptualising and sequencing pupil progress over time, and creating opportunities for deeper learning and challenge.

How to nurture a culture of mutual trust and respect. How to create an inclusive and ambitious climate for learning, helping young people to achieve consistently high standards. How to provide a positive, predictable and safe environment for all pupils.

How to ensure all our pupils experience success at the highest level by teaching new content, building on their pre-existing knowledge, using explanations and modelling and diagnosing and implementing strategies for all. How to provide opportunities for practice and retrieval, so as to maximise the chances that pupils will retain new information. How to avoid overloading young people with information.

How to draw on the different forms of assessment, in order to check for learner misconceptions and measure the depth of their understanding. How to use data effectively to support the needs of the pupils in your class.

How to step into the role of a teacher. What will your professional obligations be? How can you look after your own wellbeing? How to reflect on your own teaching practice and make use of the support around you. How to use wider networks and communities in order to strengthen your own knowledge.

HOW YOU’LL BE ASSESSED

QTS

Assessment is ongoing throughout the year, and includes observation of your practice and evidence of your success from mentors, tutors and yourself. Trainees are assessed against the NIoT ITT curriculum as the year progresses, and against the Teachers’ Standards at the end of the programme.

PGCE

Assessment is by three master’s level assignments, which are both academically robust and grounded in your day-to-day practice.

NIoT works in partnership with the University of Birmingham. The University of Birmingham is the validating university and has responsibility for awarding the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) element of the programme.

Apprenticeship

You will complete an end point assessment at the end of your apprentice year.

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) currently works in partnership with the University of Birmingham (UoB). The UoB is the validating university, which means it has responsibility for awarding the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) element of the NIoT’s programmes. The NIoT has applied to the Office for Students for registration and for New Degree Awarding Powers (NDAPs). If granted, we will be able to run all elements of its programmes and award PGCEs ourselves.

If the NIoT is awarded NDAPs prior to the start of academic year 2025/2026, then all students will be awarded their PGCE by the NIoT (rather than the UoB). If the NIoT is not awarded NDAPs by such date, NIoT’s programmes will either remain validated by the UoB or where NIoT and UoB have ended their validation arrangement, the NIoT may use another validating partner and your PGCE will be awarded by that validating partner.

If the programme you have applied for is affected by any change in the validating partner, we will contact you as soon as possible to inform you of the change. If we do not notify you of any such change, the programme will remain validated by UoB.

The impact of a change of validating partner from UoB to an alternative validating partner or to the NIoT itself will be the institution who awards your PGCE element of the programme. If you accept an offer for a programme for the academic year 2025/2026, this is done so on the basis that you are aware of the validation
changes that might occur before your programme begins.