School of Education news

Troops to Teachers in the THE

The Times Higher Education today features an article on the university’s lead role in the Troops to Teachers (TtT) programme which retrains former military personnel to become teachers.

THE journalist John Elmes visited the School of Education in Falmer to interview TtT trainee Mike Parry, a former Army Corporal, and Carol Plater, the university’s TtT Course Leader and a Principal Lecturer.

The university is leading the Government-funded two‐year, employment‐based ‘advanced standing’ programme which leads to an honours degree with Qualified Teacher Status.

The programme is delivered through a consortium of universities and lead delivery schools and operates across England. It includes pathways for those who wish to teach a specialist subject in secondary schools as well as those who want to teach in primary schools.

Trainees spend two years in their delivery school undertaking a range of employment‐based activities (Monday through to Thursday each week) as well as engaging in degree-level scheduled learning activities on ‘Study Fridays’ and participating in intensive residential study weeks.

They are employed by the delivery school as an unqualified teacher currently earning a minimum of £12,908.80 with additional allowances for London and London fringes.

Carol said the programme had proved highly successful and had received “fantastic” feedback from schools. One head teacher with one trainee on their staff called to ask: “Can I have a dozen more please?”

Mike Parry 2Mike Parry has been on the programme for 18 months, having spent four years in the Army. He’s following in the footsteps of his mother who has been a teacher for 30 years.

Before enlisting Mike was on a university course but dropped out after two years to join up. Those two years helped qualify him for the TtT course.

He said: When I left the Army I decided I wanted a solid career and something I enjoyed – I used to teach groups in the Army and it was something I really enjoyed – so this seemed quite a natural step forward.

“This course has made sense of the two years I spent at university and, frankly, I don’t know where I would be now if this (TtT) course didn’t exist. This has worked out perfectly for me.”

Mike said his life now involved a fair amount of juggling – working almost full time as a secondary school teacher and then one day spent at home on webinars and studying: “The uni’ side is brilliant and keeps me topped up with information– it’s a really relaxing way to work and a really good way of studying.”

There is a 50-50 split between males and females in the current cohort and they come from all ranks and skill sets – they included one Major and a pilot with 22 years’ experience flying Typhoons.

So how does Mike feel having spent four years in the Army and now going back to studying? He didn’t hesitate: “I love it.”

Read the THE article

The Troops to Teachers non-graduate programme is open to service leavers who are eligible for resettlement support.  Find out more.

Kerry Burnett • July 9, 2015


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