FAQ’s and entry requirements
What is the Catholic Teaching Alliance?
Where are you located?
Why should I train to teach with the CTA?
What is School Direct?
What are you looking for in a candidate?
How do I find out about your vacancies?
How do I find you on UCAS?
What should I include in my Personal Statement?
What are the entry requirements for School Direct?
Primary School Direct
Secondary Salaried & Non-Salaried School Direct
Do you offer the uplift for Mathematics and Physics?
I am currently living abroad, am I eligible for School Direct?
I completed some of my academic qualifications abroad, can I still apply?
Do I have to pay anything to train as a teacher?
Do you offer School Experience?
Can I visit my choice of school before applying?
What Continuing Professional Development opportunities do you offer?Early Career Development
What is the Catholic Teaching Alliance?
The Catholic Teaching Alliance is a group of schools and colleges in the Southwark Diocese (South East London and Kent) committed to offering learning opportunities of the highest possible quality, enhanced by our distinctive Catholic ethos.
Where are you located?
The CTA comprises of schools in SE London down to Chatham in Kent. Please see our map and Strategic Partners pages for further information.
Why should I train to teach with the CTA?
We believe that the single most significant factor of a child’s success in school is the quality of their teachers. The Catholic Teaching Alliance is, therefore, dedicated to developing staff with high expectations and a clear understanding of how to create a learning environment in which their students can flourish. Our focus is on developing teaching and learning through innovative ideas, creativity and intelligent collaboration. Our strong and supportive network is based on the shared values of our schools and colleges.
We offer excellent teacher training through School Direct offering both the traditional PGCE and QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) only routes. School-based research and reflection, along with the sharing of outstanding expertise within a business-like model form the heart of our work.
What is School Direct?
School Direct is an exciting new training route for top graduates. The Catholic Teaching Alliance, in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University, Goldsmiths University, King’s College London and St Mary’s University has been allocated a number of School Direct placements for 2015-16.
School Direct is a programme where schools recruit trainees directly and select them to train and work within their partnership of schools. There is an expectation that trainees will go onto work within that partnership of schools after their training year has been completed.
Further information can be found on the Department of Education Website here or on this factsheet. The Get into Teaching website is also very useful as is the Get into Teaching Helpline 0800 389 2500.
What are you looking for in a candidate?
We are looking for individuals who have the capacity to develop into outstanding teachers. This requires a combination of personal and academic skills.
A key factor in our selection process is looking for those applicants who have invested in exploring if teaching is right for them before they apply. You can do this by spending time in a school in a number of capacities. One way is to take part in the School Experience Programme.
How do I find out about your vacancies?
All of our current vacancies are listed on our School Direct Vacancies page and on our UCAS provider page.
How do I find you on UCAS?
The online application form for the year 2015-2016 can be found on the Teacher Training section of the UCAS website
You will find us listed as Catholic Teaching Alliance (South East London) or by our centre number: 134
What should I include in my Personal Statement?
You should ensure that your personal statement covers why you want to train as a teacher. Where possible you should include examples of what you have learned from appropriate school observation in state schools and, as far as possible, your school experience should be at a school other than where you attended as a pupil or have subsequently been employed. In addition, you should demonstrate that you have made an informed decision about teaching your subject in English schools and provide evidence to support this. Finally, you should approach two supportive references, preferably one being academic and one from an employer. Further information is available on the UCAS website
What are the entry requirements for School Direct?
We work with four Higher Education Institutions and each has their own specific requirements, these also differ depending on whether you are applying for the Salaried or Non-Salaried School Direct routes. Please see the tables provided for further information.
Primary School Direct
Secondary Salaried & Non-Salaried School Direct
Do you offer the uplift for Mathematics and Physics?
Yes, all of the Schools within the Alliance with Mathematics and Physics School Direct allocations for 2015/16 are offering the uplift in salary.
I am currently living abroad, am I eligible for School Direct?
School Direct is only open to candidates who have the right to work in the UK. We are not able to support any visa applications and you must already have Home or EU status or the necessary work permits.
I completed some of my academic qualifications abroad, can I still apply?
We are happy to accept qualifications from candidates who have completed some of their education abroad. Before we are able to take your application forward for interview you must have evidence of equivalence and this must be sought from UK NARIC.Copies of all qualifications and your NARIC certificate will be requested prior to the vetting process and you will be expected to bring the originals along if invited for interview.
Do I have to pay anything to train as a teacher?
All applicants interested in the School Direct Non-Salaried (Fee paying) route are required to pay the course fees. Bursaries and scholarships are available for some subjects.
The course fees for the non-salaried route are between £6,000 and £9,000 depending upon the provider. Further information on funding can be found here
Do you offer School Experience?
The School Experience Programme is only open to Secondary Applicants. A number of our Schools offer School Experience Days in the Summer Term for those intending to apply the following Autumn. If you are interested in attending one of these days please contact us for more information. (hyperlink to direct email)
Can I visit my choice of school before applying?
All of the Primary and Secondary schools with School Direct vacancies through the Catholic Teaching Alliance would welcome the opportunity to meet you in advance of your application. We are happy to arrange a tour for you and this will give you the opportunity to find out more about your chosen school.
Unfortunately, we cannot arrange School Experience or lesson observations this way. Please see our School Experience question for further information.
What Continuing Professional Development opportunities do you offer?
We at the CTA are passionate about developing a generation of outstanding teachers and want to provide as much support as we can to ensure committed, enthusiastic and capable people make it on to our teacher training scheme. To fulfil this commitment we offer a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) Programme.
The CTA NQT Programme has been developed in conjunction with head teachers and NQTs to meet the particular needs of teachers embarking on their careers. In listening to the needs of NQTs, we have developed a bespoke programme which embraces the distinctive Catholic ethos of our alliance. In addition to sessions on areas such as Creative Learning Techniques, Emotional Intelligence and Assessment for Learning, NQTs undertake a short research project to ensure that their own love of learning and development is fostered.
Early Career Development
At the CTA we understand that a teacher’s career trajectory can be shaped by their experiences at the beginning of their career, which is why we invest heavily in developing our new teachers.
Through our Early Career Conferences emerging professionals are able to build a network beyond their school, attend targeted workshops matched to their development needs and pursue their own specialisms through action research. Many local authorities run a one size fits all NQT programme. We saw two issues with this: firstly, that teachers need significant development opportunities beyond their NQT year and secondly, not all new teachers have the same needs. Our approach is open to any teacher at the beginning of their journey, whether they are a School Direct trainee, and NQT or a teacher a couple of years into their career who would benefit from the programme.