Eligibility Requirements for Training to Teach with Inspiring Future Teachers 

Department for Education minimum entry criteria:

• Applicants must have achieved a grade 4 (C) at GCSE in English and Mathematics and that all who intend to train to teach pupils aged 3 to 11 additionally have achieved a standard equivalent to a grade 4 (C) in the GCSE examination in a science subject
• All applicants must hold a first degree (comprising 300 HE credits of which at least 60 must be at level 6 of the QCF) from a United Kingdom higher education institution or equivalent qualification.
• Applicants must have taken part in a rigorous selection process designed to assess their suitability to teach.

Applications are welcome from candidates who hold alternative qualifications. IFT will require UK degree equivalency plus GCSE Maths, English and Science equivalency confirmed by ENIC before an offer can be confirmed.

If you do not currently meet the GCSE entry criteria you are still welcome to apply,  however, any offer will be subject to you achieving a Grade 4 (C) or above in a GCSE or equivalent qualification prior to the course start date. 

The following additional eligibility criteria for the ITT courses delivered by IFT are:

• Applicants are expected to hold a 2:2 degree classification, but we will consider applicants with a 3rd degree with significant relevant experience supported by references. Ordinary degrees will not be accepted.
• Degree Subject - In shortage subject areas (RE, Art and Design, Geography, English, Music, MFL, Biology, DT, Physics, Chem, Computing and Maths ) applicants may be considered they do not have a degree in the subject that they are applying to train to teach. In order to be eligible they must have an A level in that subject at C or above and other relevant experience/qualifications. NB Ordinarily applicants that fall into this category will also be required to undertake an SKE programme as a condition of their offer.
• At Inspiring Future Teachers Textiles is offered as part of our Art and Design programme not as Design Technology. Applicants applying for Art with a Textiles background will also need to have qualifications in other areas of the Art and Design national curriculum as the course requires trainees to teach across all disciplines in their chosen subject.
• In non-shortage subjects the applicant must have a minimum of 50% of their degree modules in the subject they wish to train to teach.
• Fluent speakers wishing to train as MFL teachers in their chosen language are not expected to hold a university degree in that particular subject but will be expected to demonstrate their subject knowledge in the language(s) they wish to teach. Subject knowledge enhancement may form part of the offer made to the applicant and any such offer will need to be sanctioned by the IFT Leadership team.
• Applicants to salaried programmes must typically have a minimum of one year experience working in an educational setting supported by references.
• All offers are subject to successful completion of an occupational health check: we have a responsibility to ensure our trainees have the health and physical capacity to teach and will not put themselves or any children in their care at risk of harm.
• All successful candidates are also required to confirm and awareness of, and commitment to safeguarding: inspiring Future Teachers is committed to protecting children in schools all offers be subject to a satisfactory disclosure barring service (DBS) enhanced disclosure check and other safeguarding checks.

Personal Qualities  

• Strong subject knowledge
• A genuine love of your subject
• Strong communication skills
• A commitment to a future teaching career
• The ability to interact with young people, in and out of a classroom environment
• A willingness to contribute to wider school life
• Confidence, resilience and the ability to work in a group and under pressure
• Time management skills
• The ability to self-reflect and accept feedback to support your development as a teacher

IFT are committed to making our education system more inclusive and diverse to reflect the communities and children we serve. This commitment applies to both the recruitment of trainee teachers in our hubs and within our own organisation. We know we can do better.