Your Career, Our School, One Horizon
INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING & EARLY CAREER TEACHERS
At Horizon Community College, we are passionate and committed to training the next generation of teachers. We have a rigorous programme of support in place, underpinned by the Early Career Framework and led by a dedicated team of staff, that ensures that Early Career Teachers are supported and developed into highly effective practitioners.
The Offer
As a trainee teacher at Horizon, you can expect the following provision:
- A timetable compliant with your HEI provider’s requirements
- Support from a dedicated Early Career Teachers’ Team.
- An experienced subject mentor
- One-hour weekly meeting with your mentor
- Regular drop-ins and learning walks to support your development
- Regular 1-1 coaching via our “Teacher Sprints”
- Weekly CPD opportunities based on the most recent and effective research, which follow your HEI provider’s requirements and the ITT Core Framework Standards.
- The opportunity to observe experienced staff from within and outside your subject area.
- A range of developmental opportunities such as Teach Meets, shadowing a Learning Support Assistant for a day, peer observations focusing only on what you’re doing well and working with our Careers and Enterprise team.
Exchange Teacher Training
Inspiring tomorrow’s teachers today
We are delighted to formally introduce our newly accredited provider of school-led Initial Teacher Training (ITT), Exchange Teacher Training.
Our Partnership
Horizon Community College works in partnership with a range of existing SCITTs, School Direct partners and multi-academy trusts to create a compelling vision for teacher training in Yorkshire and the Humber the Northeast and down to Lincolnshire.
We were one of only eighty providers that were successfully accredited through round 1 (May 2022) with a further 99 providers accredited through round 2 (September 2022).
Our partnership is united by a shared moral purpose of improving the quality of education through great teaching and encompasses over 200 strong placement schools.
Exchange Teacher Training offers an ambitious, evidence informed programme to develop lifelong, reflective practitioners. Our teachers will inspire the next generation and improve the life chances of all learners.
We provide local support and expertise within the Barnsley area, managing the recruitment processes and coordinating placement opportunities in local credible schools. We will ensure you receive a high level of personalised feedback and support locally which places your progress and well-being at the heart of your training.
Our Offer
Exchange Teacher Training provides both primary and secondary programmes, fully listed on our website. On successful completion, you will be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with 60 Master’s-level credits.
Sheffield Hallam University, selected by our partnership, deliver and award the PGCE. They are a highly credible provider and a national centre of education, recognised for their excellence and innovation in teaching and learning.
Our curriculum has been developed by outstanding serving school leaders in partnership with Evidence Based Education, utilising the Great Teaching Toolkit and Model for Great Teaching. You will be inspired by a rich, fresh approach, rooted in the best available evidence and delivered by national and regional experts. You will be equipped with the skills you will need to succeed in tomorrow’s classrooms and our changing world.
Our recruitment window opens on 10th October 2023 for programmes commencing in September 2024.
For further information about Exchange Teacher Training and how you can apply please visit our website www.exchangeteachertraining.com or contact Simon Benson on 01226 704230.
School Direct Links
Are you looking to secure your first teaching post as an ECT1
Whether continuing at Horizon after gaining your Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with us or just starting out, you will find the following support will be on offer as an ECT1:
- High-quality research driven CPD provided by our Lead ECF Programme Provider – University College London
- 10% reduction in timetable (20 lessons per week).
- Support from a dedicated team of experienced teachers.
- An experienced subject mentor.
- A one-hour weekly meeting with your mentor.
- Regular drop-ins, learning walks to support your development.
- A 30-minute observation per half term with a class of your choosing.
- Weekly CPD opportunities which are underpinned by the Early Career Framework and current educational thinking.
- The opportunity to observe experienced staff from within and outside your subject area.
- A range of developmental opportunities such as Teach Meets, Department Bingo and peer observations focusing only on what you’re doing well.
- Regular 1-1 coaching via our “Teacher Sprints”
- Front-loaded CPD in the first Term to enable you to really hit the ground running with your teaching.
- Peer-support through regular “Teacher Rounds” – triads of ECT1s who work together to develop common areas of development.
Are you looking to secure your first teaching post as an ECT2
At Horizon we are committed to maintaining your support and development as you enter the final year as an Early Career Teacher. You can expect the following provision moving forward:
- Support from a dedicated team of experienced teachers.
- An experienced subject coach.
- A meeting every 2 weeks with your coach where you will set short term targets, that can be worked upon and actioned before the next meeting.
- Regular drop-ins and learning walks to support your development.
- Regular CPD opportunities which are underpinned by the Early Career Framework and current educational thinking.
- A range of developmental opportunities such as Teach Meets, peer observations focusing only on what you’re doing well and supporting ITTs and ECT1s as “buddies.”
- Support with an ECT2 Enquiry in the 2nd and 3rd term which allows you to develop your role as a leader and self-direct your CPD to focus on a specific area of development across your Department.
Regular 1-1 coaching via our “Teacher Sprints”
Meet the Team
Meet the Team
The Early Career Teaching team at Horizon is dedicated to providing all trainee and early career teachers with high quality, research informed support and development to ensure that they are expertly equipped to challenge every student, in every lesson, every day.
MR S. BENSON: ASSOCIATE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL – QUALITY OF EDUCATION
My key area of focus and expertise is the support and development of trainee and Early Career Teachers. Since joining Horizon in 2012 I have held several positions, all of which in some way have focused on this area. As Subject Leader for History I developed a versatile Department that has since gone from strength to strength, whilst in 2017 I became ITT Coordinator and then quickly became the lead for the whole Early Career Teacher provision. More recently, I have also taken on the role of planning Whole-College CPD, developing teaching beyond the ECT years. The strength of our Early Career Teacher Programme at Horizon has meant that I have become a Specialist Leader for Education for ITT & ECT Development, as well as a Facilitator of UCL’s Early Career Framework Programme for Barnsley & Doncaster.
MISS J. PARkinson: ASSISTANT LEADER FOR EARLY CAREER TEACHERS
I joined Horizon in 2016 as an English Teacher and shortly after that, I became Assistant Subject Leader for English. While at Horizon, I have also had the opportunity to support the development of a College reading strategy, and work within a pastoral team as an Assistant Head of Year. In my current role as Assistant Lead for Early Career Teachers, I am thrilled to be supporting and developing trainees and ECTs from the beginning of their careers.
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