Initial Teacher Training (ITT) at Dorothy Stringer
Dorothy Stringer School has an excellent and long-standing reputation for high quality Teacher Training. In partnership with the Schools of Education at Brighton and Sussex Universities, we train up to 36 Trainee Teachers a year, across most subjects following various routes. Our trainee teachers consistently rate their experiences here as good or outstanding.
Our intention is to instil a lifelong passion and enthusiasm for teaching and learning in all our trainee teachers. As a city school, Dorothy Stringer has a comprehensive intake of students. As such we are able to provide our trainees with a wide range of pedagogical and classroom management skills necessary to engage and challenge all pupils with a variety of learning needs.
Establishing the conditions in which pupils are happy and enthusiastic about learning is central to our practice; skilful, committed and vibrant teaching is at the heart of our school. We believe trainee teachers, who are continually supported by experienced mentors and classroom practitioners, bring a vitality and enthusiasm to our school and our students. We offer a rich and diverse programme of Professional Studies, drawing on the experience of many experienced practitioners in the school, both teaching and non-teaching staff.
We strive to promote excellent practice through example. This, together with sustained mentoring and support, enables our trainees to become confident, knowledgeable and skilful teachers. Trainees are also expected to participate in the varied and dynamic fabric of school life beyond the classroom. They take part in our rich extra-curricular programme in order to understand the benefit and joy of educating the whole child. Under supervision our trainees also provide care for our students as co-tutors in the pastoral system and work with the SEND department, providing nurture and additional support to our most vulnerable students. This element of their work ensures they are well prepared for the myriad of roles they are expected to play in their NQT year. It also allows trainees to establish an understanding of a range of whole-school issues, the values and assumptions that underpin them, and their application to school and classroom practice.
Our commitment to excellence and aspiration for all whilst developing the whole young person is the foundation for our student teachers to go forward to inspire and educate the all pupils they will have the privilege to teach over the coming years.
The diverse and dynamic training programme on offer at Dorothy Stringer, alongside the skilled and professional mentoring trainees receive, mean we produce teachers who are ready and excited to gain employment. This is of great value when we seek to recruit staff: indeed over a third of our current teaching staff was trained at the school.
Routes into teaching
Traditionally, most of our trainees have taken the Post Graduate Certificate of Education route into teaching. This is a year-long course currently run as a partnership between schools and universities (Brighton and Sussex) in which trainees undertake two placements in different schools.
We are involved in a successful partnership with all the other secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for the School Direct programme. The main aim of School Direct is to allow schools to recruit and select the trainees they want with the expectation that they will then go on to work within the school or group of schools in which they were trained. It is an exciting route into teaching which allows schools to shape and influence the way ITT is delivered that better meets the need of the school..
We work in close partnership with the universities of Sussex and Brighton. Details about local and national recruitment events will be published on the home page of the school website.
We welcome many visitors throughout the year who wish to experience life in a vibrant, popular comprehensive school and to find out whether teaching is the right career for them. Anyone who wishes to gain experience in this way will be subject to safe-guarding scrutiny and DBS checks. If you have any queries please email the pertinent Head of Department.
If you would like any information about training at Dorothy Stringer please contact:
Hannah Richards
T: (01273) 852222
E: rch@dorothy-stringer.co.uk
Schools Direct - Brighton and Hove partnership
The Brighton & Hove and Sussex School Alliance is a large partnership of schools from Brighton & Hove and the surrounding area. We are committed to initial teacher training, we feel that training with us is a highly rewarding and innovative experience that will provide you with an excellent training ground in your first steps to becoming an outstanding practitioner.
The Primary, secondary schools and Sixth form Colleges in our alliance have had consistently good and outstanding OFSTED grading for their teaching and learning in recent years.
Our schools are very experienced in both university and school based teacher training routes, and mentors and coaches are well trained to support you through your training year. We also have a network of very supportive and experienced professional tutors and in-school mentors that will stretch and challenge you, so that you become the best practitioner that you can over the year. All our mentors are themselves outstanding practitioners.
Schools in the partnership include primary, maintained secondary schools and academies as well as Sixth Form Colleges. There are also a number of faith schools, special schools and a bilingual Spanish school which provide our trainees with a diverse range of schools in which to train and undertake their first or second placement. The diversity within the partnership enables you as a trainees to engage with a wide variety of teaching methods and styles of learning.
Each year we have a large selection of trainees in our schools, including PGCE, so you will not be alone but will benefit from the peer to peer support that is so important when learning new skills.
The School Direct route into teaching is for people who are graduates. The entry criteria also requires a GCSE pass in maths and English. The school and university are involved in the recruitment process. Whilst similar to the |PGCE you will spend the majority of your training year in your home school and a 6 week complementary placement elsewhere in the spring term. This route can be tuition based or salaried.
Our training is supported by both the University of Brighton and the University of Sussex which have a long and successful tradition in teacher education. The universities work with us to provide quality inputs on how to teach and assess in different secondary subjects or across the curriculum in primary schools.
The Universities also provide a comprehensive programme of professional studies which complements the sessions offered across our partnership. University sessions take place on campus and include a mix of lectures, workshops and tutorials led by faculty, excellent teachers from partnership schools and other educational experts. These sessions also allow you to share your experiences with other trainee teachers and reflect upon the learning and teaching you do in schools. Additionally both Universities give you the option of gaining either QTS or PGCE, whichever you feel is more advantageous for your future career.
For further information about recruitment and funding go to: