Your training provider will have put together a curriculum that will enable you to show how you meet the teachers’ standards at the end of your course.

They should give you all the information you need when you start your course, but it might be worth considering what would be useful to ask and things to be aware of.

Key milestones and assessments

Throughout your training, there will be key milestones where you’ll be expected to take on more responsibility and submit assessments.

If you’re doing a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) alongside qualified teacher status (QTS), you’ll have extra assignments, too.

These can sometimes come at the same time so it would be useful to know when these are so that you can plan and manage your time. For example, if you need to take into account things such as childcare.

I think the biggest challenge was trying to balance my university work with the increasing teaching load. I dealt with this my making a schedule that worked for me.

Geography trainee from 2024/25

Available support

You’ll have a mentor or tutor from your course provider who will not be specific to your placement schools.

They’ll explain how your provider requires you to gather evidence for qualified teacher status (QTS) and make sure you’re being supported on your placements.

Your training provider might also offer services like careers advisers or mental health support. It’s useful to be aware of what these are and how you can access them.

You can also find alternative ways to get support on your training or read Get Into Teaching’s information about funding for trainee teachers. This is an external link.

Absence procedures

If you’re ill during your training, it’s important to know how you should communicate this with both your training provider and placement school.

Access to technology

You’ll likely need access to technology during your teacher training, for example, a laptop or computer.

You’ll need to know what you’ll have to provide yourself and what your provider or school may be able to help you with. This includes any needs for assistive technology.

There will also likely be online platforms that you’ll be required to use for your training, such as virtual learning environments.

Reasonable adjustments

Talk to your training provider about any support or reasonable adjustments you may need in place before you start your training.

This includes support for neurodiversity, long-term physical or mental health conditions or other accessibility needs.

Providers could make adjustments such as:

  • providing copies of presentation materials before training sessions
  • printing or photocopying materials on coloured paper
  • providing you with contact details for support staff
  • making sure training and teaching areas are wheelchair accessible

You should also discuss this with your placement schools.

Read Get Into Teaching’s information about financial support if you’re disabled. This is an external link.