Getting school experience
Having school experience will help you make a strong application, but don’t worry if you don’t have any – it isn’t a mandatory requirement. When preparing your personal statement, make sure you demonstrate the great qualities you have that would make you an effective teacher, highlighting any experience you’ve had with children. There’s still time to apply to teacher training over the summer – register with us and we’ll support you to get a place for September.
Get a taste of school life with our School Experience Programme (SEP). There are hundreds of schools across the country participating, so you should be able to find an opportunity local to you.
During your placement you’ll have the opportunity to:
- talk to teachers about day-to-day school life
- observe teaching and pastoral work
- watch a range of lessons and age groups being taught
All of this will give you valuable insight and a great focus point for your application and interviews.
SEP will allow you to book a day’s worth of experience; any further days needed should be negotiated with the school once at your placement or you could book further days once each placement has been completed. As part of your placement, a Disclosure and Barring Service check may be required – this will be organised by the school.
How to take part
Once you’ve registered with us, you’ll be able to book school experience online through our School Experience Programme. Simply follow the link from your personalised checklist. If you can’t find a local school, we’d suggest you check back from September - this is when schools will start adding further placements.
If you’ve already registered, log in to your checklist to book school experience through our online portal.
Arranging school experience independently
You can also arrange your own school experience directly with a school. There are lots of ways to do this – find out how.
Related content:
Read how Hannah was more determined to teach after accessing the School Experience Programme