Recruitment & Assessment Process

Assessment days will take place with Ryders Hayes School. Our assessment days allow us to assess whether you have the potential to train with Barr Beacon SCITT. You will complete:

Primary National Curriculum Knowledge

A 60-minute assessment of your primary national curriculum knowledge, which includes an assessment of your written English skills.

A Teaching Episode

A 15-minute teaching episode, during which you will present a walk-through of a lesson for a Year 2 or Year 3 class that you have pre-prepared.

Fundamental English and mathematics skills

A 60-minute audit of your Fundamental English and mathematics skills will be completed by successful applicants at the start of the year.

Pre-prepared Presentation

A 5-minute pre-prepared presentation on a given topic with a short Q&A session.

An Interview

An interview encompassing all aspects of becoming a teacher.

What are we looking for?

You will be judged against the following criteria:

  • Appropriateness of qualifications and knowledge and relevance to primary teaching
  • Capacity to extend subject knowledge
  • Awareness of the role and responsibilities of a teacher and school environments
  • Resilience
  • Enthusiasm for and commitment to teaching
  • Awareness of personal strengths and areas of development
  • Ability to engage and enthuse students
  • Ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the students and manage the learning environment
  • Ability to communicate effectively in standard spoken and written English
  • Awareness of the provider and our programme

Fundamental English and Mathematics

Entrants to teacher training courses are no longer required to pass the skills tests before starting teacher training. Trainees are expected to be competent in and demonstrate their competence in Fundamental English and mathematics by the end of their training before being recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The Department for Education defines Fundamental English and mathematics skills as the following:

  • Speaking, listening and communicating are fundamental to a teacher’s role. Teachers should use standard English grammar, clear pronunciation and vocabulary relevant to the situation to convey instructions, questions, information, concepts and ideas with clarity. Teachers should read fluently and with good understanding.
  • Writing by teachers will be seen by colleagues, pupils and parents and, as such, it is important that a teacher’s writing reflects the high standards of accuracy their professional role demands. They should write clearly, accurately, legibly and coherently using correct spelling and punctuation.
  • Teachers should use data and graphs to interpret information, identify patterns and trends and draw appropriate conclusions. They need to interpret pupil data and understand statistics and graphs in the news, academic reports and relevant papers.
  • Teachers should be able to complete mathematical calculations fluently with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages. They should be able to solve mathematical problems using a variety of methods and approaches including: estimating and rounding, sense checking answers, breaking down problems into simpler steps and explaining and justifying answers using appropriate language.

An applicant’s competence in these areas will be audited at interview and, if successful in the assessment day process, a targeted plan will be drawn up for your training year. It is the trainee’s responsibility to secure these fundamental skills in order to be awarded QTS.

Disclosure and Barring Service Checks

At Barr Beacon SCITT we are guided by the Department for Education’s guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education (September 2023) and all offers to Barr Beacon SCITT are subject to enhanced DBS clearance prior to the commencement of the course.

Health and Physical Capacity to Teach

Barr Beacon SCITT has a responsibility to ensure that trainees have the health and physical capacity to teach. This will take the form of a questionnaire prior to the commencement of the course.

Background Checks

At Barr Beacon SCITT all trainees are subject to a TRA prohibition to teach check, a disqualification check and a right to work check. In addition we may contact references from a trainee’s application for further information if required. There is an opportunity at interview for applicants to discuss all statutory checks in more detail.

Equality and Diversity

Barr Beacon SCITT is committed to promoting and practicing equality of opportunity, valuing diversity and eliminating harassment and discrimination. We are an inclusive organisation which welcomes and treats both staff and trainees fairly and equally regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnic origin or nationality. Our workforce should be representative of the communities we serve. Legislation designed to eliminate unfair discrimination and promote equality of opportunity is in place and is adhered to by the SCITT, which include:

The Equality Act (2010) Race Relations Amendment Act (RRAA) (2000) The Disability Discrimination Acts (1995 and 2005) The Protection from Harassment Act (1997) Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001)

The SCITT provides opportunities for applicants to identify any special arrangements that they may require. Applicants can find further information on Page 7 of their Assessment Day Information Pack.

Recruitment Appeals Procedure
Trainee Complaints Policy