How to Apply for Teacher Training in 5 Easy Steps

If you have a passion for education and want to inspire young minds to become the next generation of hardworking members of society then a career in teaching might be right for you.

As a popular career choice among graduates from all backgrounds you’ll find that competition can be fierce, but there are plenty of jobs available for qualified teachers and applying for Teacher Training courses isn’t as hard you think.

Here are our five easy steps to apply for Teacher Training:

Step One: decide which age group and/or subject you want to teach

If you’re considering becoming a teacher then you’ve probably already done some work experience in a school and this can help you decide which age group you want to teach – primary or secondary.

If you want to teach secondary age then you’ll also need to decide which subject you’d like to teach. This would usually whichever subject your undergraduate degree was in.

Step Two: decide which training programme is right for you

There are two ways to become a teacher, either: a university-led training programme (usually a PGCE) or School Direct – school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT).

In both cases you’ll work in at least two schools during your training to get hands on teaching experience before gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

You can apply through UCAS for both training programmes.

Step Three: apply through UCAS

You can make up to three choices and these can be a mix of any age group, training programme, or subject so you don’t need to limit yourself unless you’re very clear on what you want to do.

If you’re making three choices, you have to make them at the same time, you can’t submit another application at a later date.

Remember, competition is strong so use your choices wisely and don’t waste them by applying for things you don’t think you have the skills or experience to get.

Step Four: interviews

As competition is so strong, and your personality is a big part of being a good teacher, many universities and schools interview candidates before offering them a place.

Leave a whole day free for each interview and prepare thoroughly. Interviews could be individual, as a group, a panel style interview, or a combination of all three. You may also have to role play and meet pupils if you’re going to a school.

Step Five: respond to your offers

Hopefully you’ll have offers from all of your choices, but you can only accept one.

You’ll have 10 working days to respond once you’ve heard from all of your choices, so you don’t need to make a rushed decision.

If you’ve changed your mind about all of your choices you can decline all offers. If teaching is still something you want to pursue then you can use the UCAS Apply 2 route to make additional Teacher Training applications – but you’ll only be able to make one application at a time.