The UK’s second biggest nursery chain has been awarded ten funded places by the National College for Teaching & Leadership (NCTL) to create this specific course with the IoE.
The partnership means successful Bright Horizons 2016/17 EYT applicants will benefit from a unique education environment at the IoE, with lecturers including Iram Siraj, Bernadette Duffy and Guy Roberts-Holmes.
Paul Davies, director of Initial Teacher Training at the IoE, said, ‘As a large faculty of UCL (University College London), we have expert staff and fantastic resources to support student learning. Staff are research active and use their findings in their teaching to present students with the most up-to-date thinking in education. Bright Horizons provides varied and interesting settings for the students and, in doing so, means they have exciting opportunities to link their developing practice to theoretical perspectives on teaching and learning.
‘The IoE-based aspect of the programme is delivered by early years experts, in terms of their experience and research interest. In addition, we have been lucky to have had Iram Siraj, Sue Rogers and Bernadette Duffy give keynote lectures or half day workshops this year, which we expect to repeat. In the summer term, students will learn from the expertise of Peter Earley and Guy Roberts-Holmes.’
The collaboration follows the termination of Bright Horizons pilot course with Kingston University due to a lack of uptake last July.
The university and nursery chain are currently finalising their recruitment plan, which will utilise digital and online methods. The IoE already has existing partnerships with other private, voluntary and independent providers, children’s centres, and nursery and reception settings.
School Direct courses are designed by providers or schools in partnership with a university or college based on the skills they are looking for in a newly qualified teacher (NQT).
Nicola Amies, director of early years at Bright Horizons, said, ‘School Direct is a unique route for any aspiring Early Years Teacher. It is a blended learning programme, providing graduate trainees with a mixture of classroom-based learning and practice placements.’
The Schools Direct Early Years Teacher Training programme launched in 2015/16 with six pilot providers.
With School Direct, teacher trainees can take up either tuition fee or salaried places. Tuition fee places are open to all graduates and salaried places are aimed at early years’ workers with three or more years’ experience.
With salaried places, trainees are employed as an unqualified teacher and NCTL provides funding to lead schools and providers to cover training and salary costs.
There are currently 44 accredited early years initial teacher training (ITT) providers and School Direct early years lead organisations across England.
- A full list is available here
