Teacher training
Train. Teach. Transform.
LJMU offers innovative approaches to initial teacher education, working with primary, secondary and other education providers across the North West of England and beyond. Step into teaching with LJMU and you could look forward to a starting salary of over £22,500, generous subject specific bursaries and salaried School Direct routes. And the opportunity to inspire, influence and transform future generations.
Ofsted Recognition
Our Initial Teacher Education courses are monitored by Ofsted - the Office for Standards in Education.
LJMU is the only university in Merseyside to have achieved the combined ‘outstanding’ and ‘good’ rating from Ofsted for primary and secondary initial teacher education. The inspections covered schools across the region, including Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, Crosby, Widnes, Runcorn and Warrington.
Ofsted ranked the LJMU primary teacher training partnership as ‘outstanding’, and our secondary teacher training partnership as ‘good’, noting that the University and our partner schools are dedicated to training a supply of ‘well-qualified, committed and socially engaged teachers who are prepared to make a positive difference to the life chances of pupils across Merseyside and beyond.’ Read more...
We caught up with Sarah Wright, one of the teacher trainees in the video above, to find out how her first year of teaching is going.
Qualified Teacher Status
Students who graduate from our Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programmes do so with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) as all our courses are accredited by the Department for Education (DfE). QTS is the essential accreditation for anyone who wants to teach in state-maintained and special schools in England and Wales. It demonstrates that you have acquired the competencies and qualities required to be an effective teacher as determined by the Government’s Teachers’ Standards 2011.
LJMU gives you more
Unlike most Initial Teacher Training providers, we offer a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE). Like the traditional Postgraduate Certificate in Education, the PGDE leads to Qualified Teacher Status but also incorporates 120 Masters-level credits.
Despite costing the same as a PGCE and running over the same time period, the PGDE makes it easier for you to top up your teaching qualification to a full Masters degree on graduation.
Links with schools
We have longstanding links with local authorities, schools and professional subject associations enabling our students to gain varied professional experience and forge useful contacts within the sector. Our educational partnerships provide vital insights into current practice which, when combined with ongoing research and consultancy undertaken by the School, helps to ensure our PGDE programmes and subject-specific curricula are up-to-date and professionally relevant.
Supporting newly qualified teachers
We believe that it is important to maintain strong links with our alumni as they enter their first years in the profession and to continue to support their development. We are doing this through the development of professional support and accredited programmes for NQTs and RQTs.
Find out more about our work to support newly qualified teachers.
An Initial Teacher Training Partnership that works
The LJMU ITT Partnership is making great strides in redefining the contribution of schools to its initial teacher training programmes. We engage schools at all levels from strategic planning to programme development and the selection of trainees.
We provide high quality support for school based training due to our strong relationships and support for mentors in schools.
Find out more about our ITT Partnership work and how your school might benefit from joining us.
Building a strong profession
We offer a variety of opportunities for teachers and school leaders to define and extend their skills through practice based professional learning programmes.
Our Masters programmes offer the opportunity to develop specialist knowledge and skills through study that is closely linked to the school and classroom. We are able to tailor programmes to partner’s specific needs with delivery of both Masters level programmes and shorter courses on school premises.
Find out more about the Professional Development Programmes we offer.