Bids open for early years School Direct programme
Monday, November 3, 2014
Nurseries can now tender for the School Direct programme, an initiative to train Early Years Teachers by giving nurseries more control over the training of their workforce.
Multinational chain Bright Horizons and early years teaching schools were part of a pilot programme last year. From Monday, the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) is inviting more nurseries and schools to join the scheme.
Under the early years arm of School Direct, which was introduced by Michael Gove, a nursery or school joins forces with a university or other training provider to deliver Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT). The nursery will help recruit the candidates, and provide placements and any other training it wishes, and has the chance to work with the university over aspects of its teaching. The idea is to help workplaces get the trainees they want.
Tenders must include evidence of the following:
- birth to five teaching experience
- signed Partnership Agreement for delivery with an accredited initial teacher training (ITT) provider who has been allocated places for the Graduate Entry Early Years ITT route leading to the award of Early Years Teacher Status for September 2015, or you are a School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) offering Early Years ITT leading to the award of EYTS for September 2015;
- ability to offer placements throughout the birth to 5 age range and at Key Stage 1;
- delivery plan showing how the programme will enable trainees to meet the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years);
- how the lead school/nursery will manage the programme from recruitment of suitable trainees through to expectation of employment at the end of training.
EYITT is open to graduates and is Government-funded. Candidates have to meet the same entry qualifications as trainee schoolteachers, but are not given qualified teacher status or equal pay to teachers, though the Government says the qualification is equivalent.
Information will be provided at an online conference call on Thursday 13 November at 2pm. To register click here
The tender will close at 9am on Monday 1 December 2014.
The NCTL are undertaking an evaluation of the test phase, which will not be completed until September 2015.
