A TEACHER training centre in Teesdale has been ranked as one of the best in the country.
High Force Education School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT), which is based at Green Lane Primary School in Barnard Castle, will receive a guaranteed number of training places for the next three years.
This comes after the Department for Education awarded the top 25 per cent of the country’s initial teacher training (ITT) providers multiple year allocations up until the 2021/22 academic year.
ITT lead Gemma Firmin said: “We have been informed that we are in the top 25 per cent of providers nationally and there are only five other providers in the North East on the list. This is the second year running that we have been on the list.
“I was really pleased when we got the news because it means we are in a position to have long term stability and plan.”
The award was based on the provider’s outstanding Ofsted rating, trainee degree class, recruitment performance and its employment rates. The centre usually offers places for between 28 and 33 graduates who are hoping to teach children between the ages of five and 11. As part of a ten-month programme, each trainee is given the opportunity to achieve Qualified Teacher Status and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. The training programme has also been developed with the support of partnership schools in the Darlington, North Yorkshire, Durham and Stockton areas.
Trainee Tilly Lanagan, 21, from Ingleton, said: “I called High Force Education like family on the second day. It has a lovely close-knit community feel.”
Ellie Burnside, 26, from Northallerton, said: “I had a teacher from one of the alliance schools recommend High Force Education to me. It was the amount of support that the course gives you that was a big thing for me.
“The record of employment was also a massive deal breaker.”
Green Lane Primary School headteacher Rob Goffee is also the facility’s course director.
He said: “What the Department for Education is saying is that this is a really good SCITT.
“We are one of the top 10 SCITT providers in the country. It is a small, supportive environment which means our trainees are more resilient.”
Ms Firmin added: “We can take as many people as we want now but we don’t want to be a huge provider.
“We still want to remain small and provide personalised training. I like to get to know every one of my trainees to see what they need to develop and become a teacher.”
There is already interest in next year’s course which will begin in September with 12 applications having been received.
For more details call 01833 630487 or visit www.highforceeducation.co.uk.
