Course overview
Our teacher training programme starts this September.
- Length: 12 months.
- Location: You’ll do most of your training in one of our 350+ partner schools across England, in a location suited to you, followed by shorter placements in local contrasting schools.
- Qualifications: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
- Support: One-to-one guidance from your dedicated mentor, including protected time to discuss your wellbeing.
You can choose to train to teach primary pupils (ages 4-11). Alternatively, you can train to teach secondary pupils (ages 11-16) in one of the following subjects: Art and Design, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, English, French, Geography, History, Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics, and Spanish.
After you’ve qualified
Earn a decent salary
Once you’ve qualified, the world is your oyster. You can work your way up the teaching ladder into a leadership role, or travel the world as your qualification is recognised internationally.
In England, teachers earn a minimum and maximum starting salary of the following depending on location. With head teachers earning upwards of £140,000 in some schools. Teachers are also entitled to a substantial pension, generous holidays and annual salary reviews, with most teachers moving up the pay range on annual basis.
- England, excluding London: £31,650 - £49,084
- London fringe: £33,075 - £50,471
- Outer London: £36,413 - £53,994
- Inner London: £38,766 - £60,092
Qualified teacher status (QTS)
You’ll receive QTS, which is a nationally recognised teaching qualification that allows you to teach in any school, run by a local authority in England.
Postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE)
You will also receive a PGCE accredited by Liverpool Hope University. This is an internationally recognised qualification, opening up opportunities for you to teach abroad. The PGCE is worth 60 credits towards a Master’s degree, should you wish to go on to further study.
Getting a job
Trainees often go on to work in their placement schools, meaning you may not need to apply for jobs elsewhere.
Early career teachers
Once you complete your teacher training, you’ll be known as an early career teacher (ECT) for the next two years of teaching. During these two years, you can receive an ECT package of training and support through Ambition Institute. We’re a Department for Education-approved provider of this programme. The benefit of completing your ECT training with us is that the repetition of concepts learnt during your teacher training is minimised, providing you with a consistent and stable foundation for you to continue your progression. Find out more about our Early Career Teachers programme.
Programme structure
Click here to see a visual breakdown of the structure. Note, this is for the full-time route across 12 months.
Summer term and starting the programme
Before your teacher training year begins, you’ll spend time getting to know your main placement school. This usually happens over the summer or in early September. You’ll have the chance to explore the school, meet your new colleagues, and start to feel part of the community.
At the very start of the programme, you’ll join a five-day conference with other new trainees. This is where you’ll connect with your peers, get support from experienced trainers, and begin developing the knowledge and skills you’ll use throughout your training year.
Your main school placement
After the conference, you’ll start working in your main placement school. Here, you’ll put what you’ve learnt into practice straight away, working with pupils in the classroom and getting to know teachers, support staff, and the wider school community.
Experience in different schools
To help you gain a broader view of education, you’ll also spend time in other local schools. These shorter placements will give you the chance to experience different types of schools, such as those with a different age group, religious backgrounds or urban/rural locations. This will help you see how schools can vary and build your confidence in different settings.
Your school partner will support you in finding placements that fit your needs and meet the requirements of the programme.
How you’ll learn
The programme week runs from Monday-Friday, where you will spend the majority of time in your main placement school.
Each week, you’ll focus on one key area of teaching. You’ll learn through a mix of independent study, group sessions with other trainees, and classroom practice. Education experts will guide you as you explore each topic and see how it works in real classrooms.
What you'll learn
Our training covers five key areas:
- Behaviour: How to create calm, safe and purposeful classrooms where every pupil can achieve.
- Instruction: How to help all pupils learn, from presenting information clearly to encouraging independent learning.
- Curriculum: How to design lessons and sequences that help pupils build knowledge over time.
- Assessment: How to check what pupils have learned and respond when they need extra support.
- Professionalism: What it means to be a teacher and how to prepare for your career.
Each module introduces the key ideas behind good teaching, then shows you how to apply them step-by-step. You’ll see great teaching in action, discuss what works, and practise these approaches yourself, with support from your tutors and mentor.
We’ve designed the programme so you:
- Build confidence in your subject.
- Focus on the areas of teaching that can be most challenging.
- Learn about key topics, such as pupil behaviour, right from the start.
- Revisit your learning regularly, so you keep improving.
If you’re training to teach a secondary subject, at least 50% of your weekly modules will focus on your chosen subject. This helps you develop real expertise. If you’re training to teach primary, your modules will cover a range of subjects, building your confidence across the full primary curriculum.
How you’ll be assessed
You'll be working towards both Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Every aspect of the programme can contribute as evidence to your development as a teacher, from observations of your classroom practice to activities completed in online study modules.
Your progress is continuously tracked throughout the programme, and you will have the opportunity to review this with your mentor in regular review meetings.
Postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE)
We've intentionally designed the programme so that the PGCE is integrated into it, as opposed to being delivered as a separate course. This helps ensure everything you learn is aligned and your time is spent effectively.
You will study two modules related to your PGCE during the programme and complete two written assignments for each module. You’ll be able to reflect on your classroom experiences in your assignments. Passing these assignments will also automatically contribute as evidence towards your QTS qualification.
Qualified teacher status (QTS)
The curriculum is designed so that you build the knowledge and behaviours you need to meet all the Teachers' Standards for QTS by the end of the programme. The evidence which you have shown through your written assignments and classroom observations will be used to award you with this.
Programme length and support
Length
This is a 12-month, full-time, postgraduate programme. You may also be able to do part-time training, spread across two academic years.
Support
Training to teach can be challenging, so we have incorporated several activities and services to help support you to look after your wellbeing during the programme, including:
- Mentor support: You’ll have one-to-one guidance from a dedicated mentor. Your mentoring sessions will include protected time to discuss your wellbeing, coaching for your classroom practice and support with planning for lessons.
- Programme structure: We have designed the programme so you are only focusing on one area of teaching practice at a time, ensuring your workload is manageable.
- Support plans: If needed, you will be provided with a support plan tailored to any specific learning, wellbeing or progress support you may require.
- Counselling services: If you’re studying the PGCE as part of the programme, you will have 24/7 access to specialist third party counselling provided by Liverpool Hope University.
- Affinity networks: You’ll have the opportunity to connect with other trainees who have common interests or characteristics and be provided a space to connect and share experiences.
The role of Ambition and our school partners
We, Ambition Institute, are the accredited teacher training provider by the Department for Education (DfE). This means that we are authorised by the DfE to design and deliver our teacher training programme.
Our school partners play a huge role in this delivery, as throughout the duration of the programme you will train in their schools. During this time, you will learn our curriculum, practise what you’ve learnt in a classroom and complete your relevant assignments, ready to achieve your QTS and PGCE.