Why Us? 

You may have made your mind up about becoming a teacher, but with so many providers and courses on offer how do you choose the right option for you? So, why us?

Our ITT course provides the best subject experts in their fields and exceptional classroom practitioners. 

The course centres around learning on the job in school, observing experienced mentors first-hand and engaging in professional dialogue in order to develop your own practice. 

Why train to teach at St Polycarp's?.

Choosing the right placement schools for our trainees is often central to their success on the course; our close relationships with our partner schools enable us to offer the right environment for learning on the job. With the option of four placements throughout the year, the course offers you the opportunity to progress across the full primary phase, including bespoke SEND placements and Early Years if so desired. To further enhance their primary experience, our trainees also spend some time in a PRU and a KS3 setting. 

We are proud to be a strategic lead school for the Xavier Teach SouthEast, responsible for the training and support of early career teachers and their mentors. 

Choose to train with St Polycarp’s Educational Partnership and we will provide…

ENCOURAGEMENT We guarantee you will be given continuous support and guidance during each stage of your school-based training. Expert teachers and subject teachers will be with you every step of the way, mentoring and steering you towards a positive final result.

EXPERIENCE You get to be part of a teaching team from day one. We will ensure that you gain invaluable ‘on the job’ training in at least two of our alliance schools so you get the most varied experience to help you succeed in your teaching career.

EDUCATION Get a fantastic grounding that will see you train in specific teaching methods in line with the national curriculum. Alongside training in general primary schools, we also offer the opportunity to spend some of the training in Special Education so you get to experience the full spectrum of primary education.

Finally, our unique ETHOS. Every school in the alliance is committed to a strong ethos which is to place the child at the centre of all that we do. Throughout each day of your training you will see first-hand the importance of developing children in a very nurturing and caring environment.

What our students have to say

Training to be a teacher was the best decision I have ever made! I have thoroughly enjoyed my course and owe an awful amount of thanks to the lovely people that made this training happen. I received unbelievable amounts of support and was never alone. I am so glad I decided to go down the School Direct route as this meant I spent more time in school; I definitely learnt more on the job! For anyone considering this as a career path I would highly recommend going for it. I have no regrets and am very excited to begin my early career years!

St Polycarp’s Educational Partnership has gone above and beyond to provide personalised support to each trainee; you never feel alone and are encouraged to always go to your mentors for help and support. No matter what it is that you need, they’ll be there to guide you through it! The SPEP has played a massive part in developing my confidence and equipping me with the knowledge and skills I need to carry out my role as a fully qualified teacher. If I were to carry out my training all over again, I would 100% choose St Polycarp’s Educational Partnership.

This course is a personalised one, enabling you to really work on those aspects of your practice that need developing. The support is exemplary and the flexibility in coverage, tailored to requirements makes it ideal. I am so happy I chose to do my training through SPEP - I feel ready for my own class and my Early Career years.

The amount of support and guidance that I have received over the course of my training with SPEP has been second to none. I have grown as a person both professionally and personally and everybody I have encountered over the course of this year have been a part of this. I couldn't recommend SPEP highly enough to anyone with ambitions of becoming a teacher.

What do our students say?