Overseas Trained Teacher Programme

 

WHY DO YOU NEED TO QUALIFY? 

It may not be appropriate to work towards QTS if you are only intending to remain in this country for a short time.  

However if you either: 

§               want to work towards qualifications that confirm you are fully familiar with education in this country and your teaching has been verified as meeting the standards required on UK teachers

§               OR you are planning on working in this country as a teacher for a longer period

Then the overseas trained teacher programme will be appropriate for you.

HOW TO APPLY

      
Overseas teachers can only apply if they are working as a teacher in an English school.

You must have the necessary qualifications:

§           Degree or equivalent

§           GCSE grade C in English & maths (or equivalent)

§           GCSE grade C in science (or equivalent) primary only

 

Overseas qualifications must be verified as equivalent and this can be done by sending copies of your qualifications to NARIC  or if you work in an Essex County Council  school to Andrew Fairweather at County Hall tel: (01245) 436395 email: andrewfairweather@essex.gov.uk 

 

The application form will be sent on request to the school and this should be completed by you and your host school.

 

Applications can be submitted to the ITT Team at any time of the year.

 

The programme will normally run for 14 weeks.

THE TRAINING PROGRAMME

The programme is flexible and planned to meet individual needs.The only requirement is that an external tutor must visit the OTT twice. The first visit is to assess needs and complete an individual needs assessment and action plan. The second visit is to ensure that the OTT has completed the action plan and is fully prepared for the final assessment.

Some overseas trained teachers will have a great deal of experience working as teachers both in this country and abroad. There are therefore some instances when the school will consider that the overseas trained teacher is already meeting QTS standards. If the overseas trained teacher is experienced and has a post of responsibility then it is possible to request exemption from induction.

However for many newly arrived overseas trained teachers there will be some areas of the English educational process that will be unfamiliar or different from the processes in the home country. In these cases there will be a training need and an individual training plan which builds on your qualifications, skills and previous experiences will be compiled. This will include regular support form a school mentor and visits totalling 2 X 1/2 days from an external tutor.

The programme will ensure that you have all the opportunities you require to fulfil the standards leading to the award of QTS.

WORK PERMITS

Note on work permits for those teachers with a teaching qualification from a country outside the EA (EU plus Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway).
Currently work permits for teachers fully qualified in their home country (OTTs) are normally granted for four years. The four year period starts on the day the OTT first works as a teacher in a maintained or non- maintained special school in England and expires four calendar years later.
From 1st September 2008 all OTTs must have QTS in order to continue teaching beyond the four year period.

The four year period will only be extended to accommodate statutory employment rights such as maternity and paternity rights. In certain circumstances an OTT who has not achieved QTS after four years could be re – appointed as an instructor. However this will be subject to the existing policies for the appointment of instructors and the evidence to support such an appointment will have to be submitted as part of a new work permit application.
 Further guidance on obtaining a work permit may be found on www.workingintheuk.gov.uk In addition to a work permit an individual OTT needs to apply for Leave to Remain and the necessary information and documentation can also be found on this website.
Specific information for schools and for OTTs working in Essex can be found here.

In summary from September 2008 the Border and Immigration Service (BIA) will not renew work permits of virtually all OTTs after four years unless they have obtained QTS. Consequently any OTT who has not yet got QTS and wishes to stay for more than four years after 31st August  2008 will need to be successfully assessed for QTS before then.
As most OTT programmes last for one term it is relevant to note that under new arrangements introduced in September 2007 QTS will not be awarded until all the skills test have been completed.

 

ASSESSMENT

All OTT trainees must demonstrate that they have met the Standards for Qualifying to Teach (QTS) by the end of the programme.  OTT trainees on the Essex OTT programme do this by:

§           Building up a portfolio of evidence

§           Demonstrating competence in class teaching during regular mentor and external tutor classroom observations.

§           Completing a brief termly self review and short reflective logs

§           Passing the TDA skills tests in literacy, numeracy and ICT

FINANCE

 

The TTA pays the £1250 towards the cost of training and this is retained by Essex OTT for administration, the initial needs assessment, external tutor visits and a subsequent external tutor half day visit. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES/ANTI-RACIST POLICY

The active promotion of equal opportunities and race equality is a central consideration of this training course.  The Essex Graduate, Registered Teachers and Overseas Trained Teacher Programme is committed to promoting race equality and equality of opportunity for all in order to eliminate unlawful discrimination and to value and celebrate the diversity of its staff and trainees.  The staff team and partner schools are fully committed to implementing Essex LEA’s equal opportunity race equality policy in our recruitment, training and assessment procedures.

The course aims to train teachers who will be committed to the following aims:

§               to recognise all pupils’ entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum

§               to meet the needs of all groups of pupils and have high expectations of what they can achieve

§               to prepare pupils for citizenship in a multicultural, multifaith and multilingual society

§               to prepare pupils to value the abilities of all

§               to promote good relations between people of different racial groups

§               to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination.

In meeting these aims trainees will help to develop a curriculum that:

§               acknowledges, respects and celebrates diversity

§               promotes non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes and mutual respect between pupils

§               promotes inclusive education

§               challenges racism, sexism, bullying and all forms of prejudice where they occur within the school context

§               creates a safe and positive learning environment for all pupil’s that is free from ridicule and fear.

The course will demonstrate its commitment to this policy through:

§               course publicity

§               recruitment, selection and training procedures for trainees and staff

§               trainee support and guidance

§               the core training programme

§               staff training to tackle racial discrimination and harassment

§               consultation with staff and trainees on the impact of the DRB’s race equality and equal opportunities policy.

§               monitoring the success of the policy termly by the DRB Steering Group including the reporting of any racist incidents.

It is the right of all trainees to receive the best training that the DRB can provide.  The DRB will not tolerate any form of racial harassment which includes racist name calling, racist caricature based on prejudice, the stirring of racial hatred and use of racist materials.  Trainees are asked to report incidents where there is suspicion of racisim. 

The course has adopted the definition of a racist incident as recommended in the Stephen Lawrence enquiry ie) “Any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”.  Should a racist incident occur the Course Manager will act immediately as follows:

§               co-ordinate appropriate action

§               report, log and investigate the incident in line with LEA procedures

This course recognises that it has an important part to play in helping to create a fair and just society.  It is the responsibility of every member of staff and every trainee to support this Equality of Opportunity/Race Equality Policy.