School Direct Recruitment (remote working advice)
We understand that colleagues may appreciate some guidance on how to continue recruiting to PGCE programmes during this challenging time. If you have any questions please do reach out to us via email or telephone.
The information on this page is to provide all School Direct partners with an overview and directory of information they might need under the new remote working arrangements in place due to government advice regarding Coronavirus (Covid-19). You can also find further resources on our School Direct Recruitment Workshops page.
We will keep this page updated as and when the guidance may change so it may be helpful to bookmark this page for ease of access.
Conducting a 'Mini Lesson' online.
Assessing the need for an SKE.
Conducting Online Interviews 25/03/2020:
We strongly recommend that schools use video-conferencing to conduct interviews for all applicants to the School direct route. This will enable you to verify the identity of applicants and can be done via Skype (or alternate video-conferencing software such as WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Zoom or any other platform you might be aware of).
The Centre for Teacher Education are using Blackboard Collaborate to conduct our interviews which is working well for us. Please do let us know which platform you are using and whether it is working for you so that we can share good practice!
We conduct our interviews on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and ask applicants to book on to a specific date so that we can send them the necessary arrangements and documents they might need prior to interview.
If you need any further advice on which platform to use please do get in touch.
Conducting a Mini Teach/Lesson online:
As we previously conducted our interviews at the Centre for Teacher Education and not in a school our approach hasn't changed here as we are still asking them to teach a five minute mini-lesson. This has worked okay for us online and still gives a sense of a candidate’s ability to communicate and how innovative or creative they are with the technology available.
Assessing the need for an SKE:
We would advise School Direct Partners continue to use the SKE Matrix to ascertain whether an applicant will be required to complete an SKE. We find that this is the best tool to determine this.
Verifying Documentation - 25/03/2020:
In advance of the interview date, applicants should be asked to provide a scanned copy (if not possible, a high-resolution photo) of their ID documentation and academic qualifications (GCSE English, Maths and Science** and degree certificates).
You can then process a decision in the normal way (via the Decision Form), uploading the scans of those documents as part of the decision.
Original genuine documentation, including qualification certificates, will still be required to be received by the University or school at a later date and these should be compared to the images previously provided.
Details of the timing and method for providing original documentation will be communicated as soon as this has can be confirmed.
Lead schools or their interviewing partner alliance should continue to verify the identity of those they are interviewing.
Please see the government's confirmed temporary arrangements (taken effect from 24th March) for the checking of ID documents.
- ID documents should be viewed via video link (using the same platform used to interview).
- Applicant should share scanned versions of the ID documents with SD Provider via email.
- Documentation should be saved and sent to us by SD provider in the following format SURNAME_Forename_ID VERIFIED VIA VIDEO LINK.
- Our disclosures (or employing schools if SDS) can use these scanned images to begin DBS process.
- Applicant will be required to provide original versions of these documents no later than the first day of induction (or on the first day of employment if applicant is SDS).
As usual, applicants are required to provide 3 items of ID as per the DBS Document Checklist. If they do not provide 3 items of ID to you then it will be requested by us later.
Late GCSE Results - 25/03/2020:
The government have recently provided an update regarding this summer's examinations.
Ofqual are working with exam boards to set out proposals for the calculated grade process. The calculated grades awarded will be formal grades and will have equal validity to grades awarded in other years. Again, we anticipate that there will be very many promising applicants to PGCE programmes to which this might apply.
Similarly, those applicants who are sitting International GCSEs (IGCSE) will be provided with a calculated grade.
Please be reassured that the University is doing everything we can to limit any impact this may have on our prospective trainees. We will publish more information surrounding our policies as soon as it becomes available.
Final Year Degree Results Summer 2020 - 25/03/2020:
We appreciate that some offer holders may feel their grades may be affected, either by missing sessions or by the alternative delivery of sessions.We are not yet able to say how this will affect the admissions decisions we make but can reassure you that we pre-empt that there will be very many promising applicants to PGCE programmes to which this might apply. We anticipate that the admissions criteria we apply for 20/21 entry may have to be adapted to these special circumstances, subject to the requirements of the Department for Education.
If, at a later date, an applicant can obtain a statement from their university detailing how their study has been impacted, it may be possible for us to take this into account when we are considering degree results.
Re-ordering Lost Certificates - 25/03/2020:
Guidance TBC
CTE Equivalence Tests - 25/03/20:
Guidance TBC