Information for Irish applicants on SKILLS TESTS for Teacher Training in England.

Compiled by Bob Vertes (PGCE Secondary Admissions Tutor, St Mary’s University College) September 2012

On www.smuc.ac.uk please read the PGCE Secondary Brochure or PGCE Primary Brochure.

Core Issues:

·  Applicants for initial teacher training (ITT) courses in England which begin in 2013/14 and beyond are required to have passed 2 skills tests in Numeracy and Literacy before the start of the course.

·  ITT providers will use skills tests results to inform their selection decisions so applicants are strongly advised to take the tests as soon as possible after submitting an application, but to do so only after sufficient preparation and practice, as failures can be costly both in fees and to your chances. Those who have passed the tests before interview will be in a stronger position for selection.

·  These are additional requirements to other issues used by providers for consideration of applicants, including having appropriate qualifications, having sufficient appropriate school observation and, since September 2012, meeting new non-cognitive (personality) assessment requirements, details of which vary between providers.

·  The tests will only be available to be taken in an official Test Centre in the UK. There are none outside the UK.

·  The Teaching Agency www.dfe.gov.uk/get-into-teaching has a Teaching Information Line 0800 389 2500.

QTS Skills Tests generic information

This is available on http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/professional

It would be good idea to read this with care even before applying for a teacher training course in England. Numeracy involves not only mental arithmetic, but also interpreting graphs and statistical diagrams. Literacy involves spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Registration for and Booking of skills tests

Before booking a skills test you will need to register online. There are two registration systems (for current ITT students and for those applying for September 2013 entry). Registering on the wrong system will invalidate results. You can (only) take the tests after you have applied. In order to book test appointments online, you must have already registered for the skills tests. You must attend an officially approved Test Centre to take any test. There are approximately 115 Pearson Professional Centres (PPCs) in England and 150 throughout the UK (but none in the Republic of Ireland). The five Test Centres nearest to your preferred location will be displayed when you book. Further details, including directions and availability will be displayed to enable appointments to be made. It is possible to book a literacy and numeracy test appointment on the same day. A provider may choose to interview a candidate before they attempt the skills tests at a Test Centre in the UK later in the application process, but these must be passed before they start the ITT course.

Charges

The first attempt at each numeracy and literacy test is provided free of charge. Resits will be charged at £19.25 each; payment will be required by credit or debit card when booking. Failure to attend a test appointment may result in the loss of fees or your entitlement to a free attempt.

Results and resits

Skills test passes for applicants to ITT courses remain valid for three years. Applicants must start an ITT course within this period. If you apply for a course which starts beyond the period of validity, you will need to re-take the tests. The number of resits allowed will be limited to two per subject. Candidates who fail after two resits in either numeracy or literacy will not be able to book any more skills tests, in either subject, for 24 months from the date of the second resit. After a minimum of 48 hours since the previous test, you will be able to log into your account to book a resit.

Contact details for Skills test helpline

There is a helpline open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Email: . You can expect a reply within 2 business days. If your enquiry is urgent, please contact the Helpdesk by telephone on 0845 450 8867.

Special needs/arrangements

See http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/professional/b00211219/special-arrangements where you can gain all required information on special arrangements. If e.g. you have dyslexia or are a non-native speaker of English, it will be important to signal this when you register. Then, you can book tests with basic arrangements granted for your need (e.g. if you are a non-native speaker of English, you can request 25 per cent extra time). Certain special arrangements may not be able to be accommodated at all test centres.

Preparation

Practice materials for the QTS skills tests are available to all through the Teaching Agency website: Literacy: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/professional/b00211208/literacy/practice

Numeracy: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/professional/b00211213/numeracy/practice

Authorised Test Centres

Candidates can view all available Test Centres by using the search functions within the site linked below. .

http://www7.pearsonvue.com/Dispatcher?application=VTCLocator&action=actStartApp&v=W2L&cid=545 . You can change the “find the closest” from 5 to 10 or 20 centres to increase the results from your search. Test centres are open throughout the year, closing at weekends and bank holidays (although many open every other Saturday and at least one late night per week).

Additional information:

The nearest 5 centres to Dublin appear to be, from the official website, in Newry, Portadown, Belfast, Omagh (in N Ireland), and Bangor (Wales). Suggestions of nearest centres for those based in various universities in Ireland (all based purely on map distance) other than the above 5 locations include Londonderry, Ballymena (in N Ireland); Haverfordwest, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Rhyl, Builth Wells (in Wales); Penzance, Truro, Barrow in Furness, Southport, Blackpool, Liverpool (in England); Stranraer, Ayr, Tarbert, Dumfries (in Scotland). The closest 5 centres to St Mary’s University College, TW1 4SX are Kingston, Staines, Uxbridge, Holborn, and Croydon. Other London/SE England centres appear to be: Ilford, Southgate, Southwark, Slough, Watford, Guildford, Sidcup, Aldershot, Crawley; Reading, Harlow, Luton, Stevenage, Basildon, Chatham.

Applicants for initial teacher training resident at the time of application outside the UK may find it worth trying to organise combining an interview with taking the tests. Some providers may be flexible in interviewing before the tests have been taken but are likely to set time limits within which they must be passed as part of the condition of any offer. For some popular providers and competitive courses, it may be worth checking with providers to see if they will be flexible in this way, to avoid disappointment. Some likely repercussions of this development are that providers will need applicants to have the provider’s prerequisites met at the time of application. This means having GCSE English, mathematics, and where needed Science (e.g. for Primary). In addition, as making an informed decision is expected pre-interview by many providers, applicants should also have sufficient recent appropriate school observation detailed in their application personal statements.

There will be a drive for early application with careful selection of choice order required for 2013 entry, though the sequential nature of GTTR is likely to change for 2014 entry. GTTR is due to open 15 October 2012 for 2013 entry. There is pressure for providers to include non-cognitive (i.e. personality) assessments, as part of admissions procedures from September 2012.

TEACHER TRAINING UPDATE

PGCE Bursaries are available to Home and EU (including Irish) students as in the table below for September 2013 entry:-

Class of degree / High Priority / Medium Priority / Non- Priority
1st / £ 20 000 / £ 9 000* / £ 0
2.1 / £ 15 000 / £ 5 000* / £ 0
2.2 / £ 12 000 / £ 0 / £ 0
Examples / Mathematics; Physics; Chemistry; Modern Languages / Most other academic secondary subjects; Primary* (+£2000 for Maths) / Other Secondary
(especially non-GCSE)

The bursaries are automatically generated on registration. For English national high priority subjects, if you are heading for, or have, a 2.1 or above, you can have your own personal application adviser via the Premier Plus scheme 0800 389 2500.

The GTP (Graduate Teacher Programme) was abolished after September 2012 entry, replaced by two schemes, for which application is currently direct to schools. The School Direct programme aims to recruit mainly those with 2.1 or above degrees, and especially in the national high priority subjects. There is additional bursary funding for those on this route if they are training in schools with 35% or more of their pupils on free school meals. The School Direct (Salaried) scheme is aimed at well qualified graduate career changers with at least 3 years of work experience. Since School Direct schemes are not required to include a post-graduate element of study, i.e. give PGCE as well as Qualified Teacher Status, these routes may not qualify people to be recognised by the Teaching Council for Ireland, or outside England.

Irish trainees in England must also successfully complete an induction year in a school in England after training, to gain recognition by the Teaching Council for Ireland, and are advised not to apply to England unless this is their intention.

R N Vertes St Mary’s University College, London www.smuc.ac.uk