Titan Teacher Training Open Day Information

Professional skills tests The professional skills tests (skills tests) for prospective teachers assess the core skills that teachers need to fulfil their professional role in schools, rather than the subject knowledge needed for teaching. This is to ensure all teachers are competent in numeracy and literacy, regardless of their specialism. All current and prospective trainee teachers must pass the skills tests in numeracy and literacy before they can be recommended for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS).When to take the professional skills tests All applicants to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) must pass the professional skills tests for prospective teachers (skills tests) before starting their course.How to register Before booking a professional skills test for prospective teachers you will need to with learndirect. (www.skillstestbooking.com)Paying for your test Your first attempt at each numeracy and literacy skills test is provided free of charge. If you cancel a test within 3 days of your test date, you’ll need to pay for your next attempt.Book a test You can take the skills tests at centres across the country. The booking website will show the 5 centres nearest to your chosen location. More test slots are offered all the time, so check the booking website for availability.Materials that you must take with you to the test centre Candidates must provide 2 forms of identification and evidence of their initial teacher training application. Test centre staff will not allow a candidate to take their test if they have not seen these. More details areTest results The skills tests are computer marked. When you finish a test you will be provided with a printed score report. Certificates are not issued and it is therefore strongly recommended that you keep the printed score report for your own records. Test results are uploaded within 48 hours to the ‘My account’ section of the candidate booking system. You don’t need to contact your training provider as they can access your results, see how many attempts you have had, the scores achieved and your overall results.Resits Candidates may take no more than 2 resits per subject. If you fail 2 resits (3 tests in total) in either numeracy or literacy you won't be able to book any further resits for 24 months from the date of the second resit (last failed attempt). Once the 24 month lock-out period is complete, 3 further test attempts will become available to candidates.

NUMERACY Test content The numeracy skills test is divided into 2 areas: mental arithmetic section written section (written arithmetic and written data) You will not be tested on your knowledge of the mathematics national curriculum or on how to teach it. The standard test will last approximately 48 minutes, unless specific arrangements have been granted. Each test contains 28 questions made up of 12 mental arithmetic questions and 16 written questions (written arithmetic and written data), plus a practice question that is not scored. All questions carry 1 mark regardless of the number of required responses. Mental arithmetic questions The mental arithmetic section is an audio test which you will listen to via headphones provided for you. It tests your ability to carry out mental calculations using: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division time fractions, decimals and percentages proportions involving fractions, decimals and percentages measurement, including money, distance, area and volume conversions Each question is individually timed. You are not allowed to use a calculator for the mental arithmetic questions. Written section (written arithmetic and written data) Written questions are presented in a series of on-screen questions. You may use an on-screen calculator. You are tested on your ability to interpret and use written data to: identify trends correctly make comparisons in order to draw conclusions interpret information accurately You’ll be tested on your ability to solve written arithmetic problems which include: time money fractions, decimals and percentages proportion and ratio measurements (eg distance, area) conversions averages (including mean, median and mode) range using simple formulae

LITERACY Test content The literacy professional skills test is divided into 4 sections: spelling, punctuation, grammar and comprehension You will not be tested on your knowledge of the English national curriculum or on how to teach it. The test must be completed within 45 minutes, unless you have been granted specific arrangements. Spelling section You must complete the spelling section first. This is the only part of the test that may not be revisited once you have finished it. The spelling section is an audio test which you will listen to via headphones provided for you. If you are sitting the non-audio version of the test you will have to select the correct spelling from a list. The words tested are those that you could reasonably be expected to use in your professional role as a teacher. The words are not especially obscure or technical and are used frequently in professional writing. You will not be penalised if you adopt American English usage when asked to spell a word which has an -ise or -ize suffix. In all other cases you are required to use standard British English usage. Punctuation section This section tests your ability to understand and apply punctuation rules. The correct and consistent use of punctuation is an essential aspect of a teacher’s literacy. You will be asked to insert punctuation into a piece of writing. You are not required to remove or rewrite any sections of the passage. The passage may contain instances where punctuation is acceptable although not essential. Any non-essential punctuation that is added to the passage will not be scored. Grammar section This section tests your ability to identify text that doesn’t conform to good grammatical practice. You will be expected to distinguish between text that makes sense and clearly conveys its intended meaning and text that does not. You will not be tested on your knowledge of grammatical terms, but on your knowledge of how to use grammar correctly. The grammar section requires you to construct a short, continuous prose passage. At 4 or more points in the text you will be asked to select the most appropriate choice for insertion to complete the passage. Comprehension section This section tests your ability to: identify main points in a text distinguish between facts and opinions retrieve facts and key points make inferences and deductions evaluate meaning and status You will be asked to re-work, organise and structure information. The test uses texts such as documents published by local and national government bodies, schools and the educational press. Extracts from websites and national newspapers are also used.



HOW TO APPLY FOR TEACHER TRAININGYou must apply for all teacher training courses via UCAS (www.ucas.com)When searching for our courses, enter the below codes to find them easily:Primary/Secondary SCITT programmes: T30Secondary School Direct with Aston Manor Academy: 1F2Secondary School Direct with Broadway Academy: 2EAPrimary School Direct with St Mary’s C of E Primary School: 1RVWhen applying for a course, you will need to complete an online application, including the following sections:Personal detailsPlease ensure that all contact information is completed correctly. Titan may contact you by post, email or telephoneso information needs to be accurate.Dates not available for interview – if you have particular dates in which you are unable to attend interview (e.g. youare on holiday) please include these here. Please note that interviews will take place during office hours from Mon-Fri and, in most circumstances, during term time only.Please remember to complete all fields and give as much information as possible!QualificationsYou must ensure that you include all relevant qualifications. You must include Qualification, Grade achieved andDate. You must also include the content of your degree (particularly if the title of your degree is not entirely relatedto your chosen subject). This will help Titan in understanding where you have gained your subject knowledge.If you do not have GCSEs Titan will accept equivalent qualifications. These qualifications must be at level 3 or betaken with www.equivalencytesting.com.Personal StatementSee next page for more details on what we look for in a personal statement.RefereesYou must include details for two referees. One referee should be academic (preferably from your degree awardinginstitution). If your study was a long time ago you may want to supply a work reference instead. If you have workedor volunteered in a school/education setting you should also use this as one of your referees.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN AN APPLICATION • Degree: For most courses, we would expect you to have a 2.2 classification or above. For some courses, a 3rd may be accepted if you have a strong A-Level in the subject you wish to teach. For Maths and Physics, a strong A-Level may be accepted, however contact us to discuss this. • GCSEs: For our Secondary courses, you must have a Grade C or above in English and Maths. For Primary courses, you must also have a Grade C or above in Science. Any overseas qualifications will need to be checked by NARIC. • Classroom experience: We would expect candidates to have at least 10 days experience of being in a school over the past year. This does not need to involve any formal teaching - we just want to ensure you have a good idea of what life as a teacher is all about. You should contact local schools to gain this experience. If you are having problems gaining this experience, please contact us for advice. • Other formal requirements: You will need to pass your numeracy and literacy skills tests, and complete a DBS and medical check before the course begins.Now, let's look at the specific personal qualities and skills we will be looking for in your application... • Strong communication skills: Teachers must be able to communicate effectively with a range of people. Therefore it is crucial that you take the time to check your application is accurate. Particularly when writing your personal statement, ensure your spelling, punctuation and grammar is correct. Ask someone to proof-read your application before submitting it. • A real desire to be a teacher: Within your application, we are looking for evidence that you have a real desire to work with children and make a difference to their education. You could show this through highlighting your experiences working with young people, or through expressing yourself effectively in your personal statement. • A passion for your subject: Particularly when we look at Secondary teaching applications, we want to see a love for the subject you want to teach. For example, if you want to teach PE, your application should demonstrate a passion for different sports and involvement in sports clubs. If you're excited about your subject, your pupils will begin to feel the same... • Other important qualities: We also look for the ability to work towards deadlines, the ability to accept advice and reflect on your skills, and resilience/determination. These will often become more apparent in our interview process, but you could begin to highlight any examples where you feel you have shown such qualities.In summary, ensure your personal statement shows your passion for teaching, your classroom experience and makesure somebody checks over your application for accuracy in communication.For further advice on writing your personal statement, please visit our website www.titanteachertraining.co.uk.







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