Teacher Degree Apprenticeship in Secondary Education fact sheet

How much time will I spend at university?

You will be at university/SCITT training for 40% of your time over the course of your degree apprenticeship. In practice this means you will have workshops on two consecutive days during block teaching (6 week modules). There are 4 blocks in each year with an assessment week and an enhancement week at the end of each one. 

Typically, workshop timings may look something like this:

Thursday: 10-12 and 1-2pm

Friday: 10-1pm

You would use the rest of your time on these days to do recommended reading, catch up with lecturers or your academic mentor, or work on your assignment for assessment.

How much time will I spend at my school?

Over the course of the degree apprenticeship you will spend 60% of your time in school. How this is spread out depends on the time of year and the year of study. During the university term time when you must attend workshops you will be in school 3 days a week (Mon-Weds). During this time in school you will be given time to plan your lessons, time with your mentor and time for marking and other school-related activities.

What does ‘off the job’ training mean?

Off the job training is an essential part of an apprenticeship. It refers to training, mentoring and other activities which you must undertake in order to meet the apprenticeship standard but which takes place outside of your normal school working hours. It will include time spent with the DMU team and Leicester and Leicestershire SCITT as well as all your university work and workshops.

View more information about what kind of activities this could entail

How do I apply for the TDA?

Applications will open in late September each year for the following September’s intake. They should be made through the DfE Apply website: Find teacher training courses.

Interviews will take place between January and the end of June.  Applications will close in early July.

How much will I be paid?

You are paid 52 weeks a year as a full-time employee. Schools will pay apprentices according to existing pay structures. The salary is likely to be similar to that of an unqualified teacher. 

Schools do NOT need to pay anything towards your university degree or ITT tuition fees.

Do I have to pay the fees for the course?

No, the apprenticeship levy will cover the cost of the fees for the programme and will be paid directly through your employing school’s apprenticeship service.

How much time will I spend with SCITT?

There will be training with the SCITT team at different points throughout the 4-year programme, with more intensive training periods in years 3 and 4 when you are only going to study 2 modules per year at DMU. Thursdays and Fridays throughout September in years 1 and 2 are spend exclusively with the SCITT team.

Will I be teaching classes on my own?

This will depend on your prior experience but most apprentices will not be teaching classes on their own at first. At the start of the course you and your mentor will audit your prior learning and assess your needs and experience. Your teacher training will be scaffolded to enable you to gradually build your skills and confidence. You may start by observing and reflecting on lessons, then teaching short segments of a lesson to eventually taking whole classes by yourself. At first you will always have another teacher/your mentor with you but it is the expectation that this won’t be necessary as you progress through to your final year. 

Will I have a mentor?

Yes. You will have 2 mentors. One is an academic mentor at De Monfort University who will be there to guide you through academic matters. You will also have a school mentor who will support you in your teaching. They will observe your lessons, offer feedback and meet with you for a minimum of 30 minutes every fortnight.

Your two mentors, along with the team at SCITT will communicate with each other regarding your progress in each part of the degree apprenticeship. They will all contribute to progress review meetings and a record of this will be kept on a central system accessible to all.

How will I gain the knowledge I need to teach my specialist subject?

In order to be eligible as a secondary TDA you must have an A level or equivalent (minimum grade C) in the subject you want to teach. The only exceptions are if you want to train as an MFL teacher and are already fluent in French, German or Spanish, practice or coach sport at a high level (PE), or have extensive professional experience in the Arts (theatre, music, art and design). If this is the case for you your subject knowledge will be assessed by the panel at interview and a contextual offer may be made.

You will build your subject knowledge throughout the 4-year course starting with an intensive Subject Knowledge Enhancement course during the first 4-6 weeks of the programme. You will learn ‘on the job’ from experienced teachers in school and will focus on different aspects of the curriculum with subject mentors at SCITT. It will also be your responsibility to support your learning and KS3 and 4 subject knowledge through wider reading and independent study.

Will I get feedback on my progress?

Yes you will receive informal ‘formative’ feedback through your mentor during your fortnightly meetings in school. Every 8-12 weeks you will have a Progress Review meeting where your DMU tutor and a lead mentor from SCITT visit you in your school. We will observe you teach and have collaborative conversation between all parties to discuss your progress in relation to the apprenticeship Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours. You will be asked to reflect on your learning and make links between the academic degree modules covered at DMU and your practice in school.

After each university assignment you will receive a summative grade but also written formative feedback against the assessment criteria. There will always be an option to have a follow up conversation with your DMU academic mentor.

Will I have an induction to the university?

Yes, you will have an orientation day in early September to which you and your mentor will both be invited. This will allow you to meet your academic mentor in the Education Studies team, meet the representatives from SCITT Leicester and have a tour around the DMU campus. You will also meet other teacher apprentices on your course on that day. You will have an introduction to the library and the services offered too. 

What will my responsibilities be at school?

This will depend both on your prior experience in schools and on the stage you are at in the TDA.

Schools must provide apprentices with the opportunity to experience all aspects of life as a teacher.

You will need to be involved in: planning, teaching across the KS3 and KS4 curriculum, assessment, marking, managing behaviour, SEND, extra-curricular activities, school duties and more. How your time is organised will be at the discretion of your employer. However, certain aspects of teaching will need to be experienced at different points in the apprenticeship as recommended by the team at SCITT. You will be regularly observed by your school mentor and will have a mentor meeting for feedback and discussion for at least 30 minutes every other week.

How will my progress towards QTS be assessed?

All parties are responsible for assessing you against the Teacher Apprenticeship Standard which encompasses both your degree and your performance in school. This is broken down into Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) and is identical to the Teacher Standards.

You will need to demonstrate and provide evidence for the KSBs in order to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) at the end of the 4 years. Progress is evidenced in an online portfolio and which will build familiarity with the KSBs (year 1), developing the KSBs (year 2) to implementing and demonstrating the KSBs (years 3 and 4).