Train with us
School Direct
Below you will find information about training to teach at Holland Park School.
You can find a list of all of our courses here:
SECTIONS
1. Why train at Holland Park School?
2. What to expect of your training
3. Testimonials
4. How to apply
5. Visit the School: Events
WHY TRAIN AT HOLLAND PARK SCHOOL?
Training providers are by no means all the same. To choose to begin your training at Holland Park School is to choose a school twice rated outstanding by Ofsted, in possession of one of the finest and most sought after written reports by an inspectorate. With examination results consistently in the top 5% of national performance and involved as extensively as we are in teacher training, this is a driven, tireless and ambitious institution in which to begin your teaching career.
Teachers at Holland Park work hard. To commit to student achievement is to provide rich commentary on students’ work once per week, to design lessons that brim with imagination, passion, rigour and efficacy, to cultivate a classroom persona that exudes warmth, care, expectation and determination. Our relationships with students need boundaries and formality – but it is a formality that needs to be carefully blended with intimacy and a level of appropriate mutual affection.
Developing these characteristics is by no means straightforward and only for very few do they come quickly. Just as when we work with students, we understand that people are different; some take months to develop qualities that others enjoy at the beginning of their practice. To that end, professional training and career development is highly individualised. For the most talented and driven of teachers, we do not shy away from rapid promotion; one of our Leading Teachers is in the second year of her career. Talent sometimes is not acquired with experience and we do not seek to ignore this fact in the different career pathways of our colleagues.
Training teachers is an inherent part of our identity and, as a DfE designated Teaching School that has worked with towards 70 schools across the country in the last few years, staff training and professional development are central pillars of the school’s ethos. Every teacher is a reflective practitioner and openness to guidance and criticism is one of our foremost professional standards. Colleagues training with us, then, are fortunate to receive guidance from practitioners who continually strive to be better practitioners. Trainees benefit from a collaborative and corporate environment driven towards self-improvement. A shared ‘teaching idea of the week’ (it can be a pack of cards; 10 meter wall paper; newspapers; a ball of string and pegs) drives a culture of innovation and creativity, as teachers seek to make their mark on novel stimuli for teaching.
TopWHAT TO EXPECT OF YOUR TRAINING
Holland Park School is pleased to offer the School Direct training route in collaboration with e-Qualitas. We are seeking to recruit trainees to commence training in September 2019 in the following subjects:
School Direct (non-salaried)
English; Mathematics; Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Modern Foreign Languages (French or Spanish); Classics (with Latin language); Geography; History; Religious Studies; Art and Design; Design and Technology; Business Studies; Music and Physical Education.
School Direct (salaried)
English; Mathematics; Biology; Chemistry; Physics.
Information regarding all of the School Direct Training Programmes that will be running in September 2019 is available on the UCAS website. The DfE’s ‘Get Into Teaching’ website also provides definitive information about ITT (www.getintoteaching.education.gov.uk). If potential applicants have any further questions after consulting both of these websites, contact with the school should be made by sending an email to Amy Chapman, whose email address can be gleaned from the bottom of this link.
The School Direct programme at Holland Park School has been running since 2010. In that time the school has, in partnership with training provider e-Qualitas, maintained a 100% pass rate with the majority of trainees qualifying as ‘outstanding’. All trainees have gone on to find employment in their NQT year with many beginning to build a career with us. The training is delivered by a Lead Trainer who is a talented and dedicated teacher and who has worked with trainees for a long duration in her career at Holland Park. She therefore has first-hand experience of what is required to be successful on the programme.
Your year will begin with a week of preparation at Holland Park towards the end of August, which will induct you into the IT system, to colleagues and the schemes of work you will be teaching. This will help you feel prepared for the start of the school year in September. At this point and during the process of making your application you will meet the Lead Trainer with responsibility for delivering the course; later, you will be introduced to your dedicated Subject Based Tutor (SBT), who will mentor you throughout the year; the member of the Leadership Team responsible for leading your curriculum area and your fellow trainees will also be a useful source of guidance and direction. During this period of time you will be given: an induction to the school; support with the first steps towards planning outstanding lessons; training to assist with setting expectations with students; and practical guidance to help your first days in the classroom run as smoothly as possible.
Once term has started you will begin a schedule of observing experienced practitioners teach. You will also have the opportunity to teach the first lessons of your career. Across the course of the term, your timetable will increase gradually depending on your training requirements. Throughout the year you will be closely mentored by your SBT, with whom you will meet weekly. They will observe you teach and provide you with feedback regularly to enable your practice to develop. You will also be given weekly training sessions by the Lead Trainer or other senior colleagues on various aspects of teaching, from planning outstanding lessons to elements such as behaviour management and using assessment. You will also be provided with a dedicated e-Qualitas tutor who will work with the school and visit you every few weeks to check on your progress and assist in devising personalised targets to assist your development.
Your year will include a second school placement at another, contrasting, outstanding school. This will enable you to broaden your experience whilst still receiving the support of an outstanding training provider. Successful completion of training will result in Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and credits towards a postgraduate certificate at master’s level. Since we have operated School Direct, 100% of our trainees achieving QTS have gone on to be employed by us or by other schools of quality.
TESTIMONIALS
Building a career
It is our aim to develop teachers who feel they can build a career with us. Our School Direct programme has a history of developing colleagues who have gone on to experience significant success with the school; in 2016, for example, one former trainee achieved results positioned within the top 1% of GCSE results in the country for his subject. Those who train with us become fully integrated members of staff with a profound sense of belonging.
Joe Holloway, former trainee and current SENDCO with responsibility :
“I feel hugely grateful to have completed the School Direct training route at Holland Park. The support I was given was wide ranging and comprehensive: I had weekly meetings with my subject based tutor at which we would reflect openly on my successes and development targets; I was welcomed into my subject team by exceptional teachers who were generous with their time and advice; and I was given frequent opportunities to observe outstanding teachers deliver inspirational lessons. The experience as a whole led not only to qualified teacher status and an offer of employment, but a sense of belonging to an institution which cares deeply about my own development.”
Carla Bromhead, former trainee and talented teacher of Art:
“I have no doubt that had my School Direct training not been at Holland Park School, I would not have realised the excellence that can be achieved in the career of a teacher. The candid and warm mentoring and guidance, accompanied by inspiring yet tangible examples of teaching in action, provided a rich and varied training experience. The immersive programme gave me a palpable insight into the role of a teacher, with both challenging and rewarding moments, but Holland Park School ensured support throughout. I was touched by the generosity of the school’s Leadership Team including the investment they make in all trainees; I feel exceptionally lucky to have been able to complete my training here.”
Robert Orr, Deputy Head and former trainee:
“I will always be indebted to Holland Park for the training I received. From day one it was clear that I was in an institution that would help develop me, not only as a teacher, but also as an individual. The progress I have been able to make over the last year has been due to the unerring support of the extremely talented and committed colleagues I have found myself working with. On a daily basis I have found my own understanding of the teaching profession expand as a result of learning from staff of the highest calibre.”
HOW TO APPLY
Please do see UCAS for routes to apply to the school.
You will find the school listed under Royal Borough Teaching School Alliance (institution code, 15O). We work closely in partnership with Cardinal Vaughan to manage and run our teacher training. Our 'Campus Code' is 'H' for Holland Park.
You can search for available courses on UCAS here.
To arrange the school for an initial training visit, fill in our form here.
Link to funding page, Get Into Teaching
https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview
VISIT THE SCHOOL: EVENTS
We have various events coming up this year, all of which will give you a sense of the school and what it would mean to train and work here. Below there is a brief description of each type of event.
Introductory School Experience Placement day
w/c 1st October
w/c 12th November
w/c 28th January
w/c 1st April
These include the opportunities to: observe outstanding teachers in the classroom; meet them and discuss teaching as a profession so that you know what to expect; meet the Lead Trainer with responsibility for delivering the School Direct programme at Holland Park School; ask experienced professionals for guidance with your application.
Open House Recruitment day
Saturday 19th January
You will be given: a talk by a senior leader of the school, giving you an understanding of the school itself including the values, ethos and aspirations replete within; a tour of the school by a senior colleague; the opportunity to speak to Lead Trainers and/or SBTs, helping you to envisage how your training year with us would unfold.
If you are interested in taking part in this event, please complete the form here.
