If you have any unanswered questions please email info@bbscitt.co.uk
frequently asked questions
SCITT stands for School Centred Initial Teacher Training. BBSCITT is an accredited ITT provider which works in partnership with local schools to run its training course to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). It also works in partnership with the University of Worcester to offer its trainees a PCGE with up to 60 credits at Masters level.
Training with BBSCITT enables you to:
- achieve QTS with a PGCE and up to 60 credits at Masters level.
- train with a local provider, committed to its partnership and the region.
- gain extensive school experience from day 1.
- train with and learn from the very best teachers, watching their expert modelling in the classroom from day 1.
- train with us and stay with us. The vast majority of our 2023/24 cohort gained a job as an Early Career Teacher (ECT) in our SCITT partnership.
- train under the expert guidance of one of our Lead Partners (Barr Beacon School, Ryders Hayes School or Manor Primary School).
All of our Lead Partners have extensive experience of training and supporting trainee teachers.
The course costs £9,250. Funding for this may be available through Student Finance England and further information can be found HERE.
Secondary trainees require a GCSE Grade C/4 or above in English and mathematics. Primary trainees additionally require a GCSE Grade C/4 in a science subject.
You can submit an application to our programme, however, it will be an automatic condition of offer that you will be required to complete before you begin the course.
We accept equivalency tests and can talk you through which ones we accept at interview.
You can submit an application to our programme, however, it will be an automatic condition of offer that your qualification is equivalent to our standard entry criteria.
You should ensure that you have checked that your qualification is equivalent to our standard entry criteria before you submit application. You must present an ENIC certificate and certified translation if your certificate and transcript are not written in English. We may verify your qualification with our HR and/or the admissions team at our partner university.
The DfE may be able to assist you in gaining an ENIC certificate: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/non-uk-teachers
We publish our official calendar nearer to the start date in July and inform trainees of the official course start date. All of our courses start with a pre-course induction in school on Tuesday 2nd September 2025.
Trainees will be required to attend their placement school on this date. The course will start officially at Barr Beacon SCITT a few days later. The course lasts nearly the full academic year and finishes in July 2026.
We are proud of our success rates on our programme. In 2023/24, for the eighth consecutive year, 100% of trainees on programme at the end of the course were assessed and moderated to have met the minimum standard for QTS at the end of their training years.
Employment rates are strong with 100% of 2023/24 completing primary trainees securing a position as an ECT in September 2024 and 95% of completing secondary trainees secured a position as an ECT in September 2024.
Join us in our schools and you will see our former trainees leading our schools as Assistant Headteachers, faculty leaders and pastoral leaders.
Our Lead Partners are Barr Beacon School (secondary partnership), Ryders Hayes Primary School (Walsall primary partnership) and Manor Primary School (Wolverhampton primary partnership).
Barr Beacon SCITT is proud to work with its Lead Partners, which play a crucial role in shaping the training experience for our trainee teachers. Their expertise and commitment to high standards, innovation and support ensures that our trainees are well-prepared for their teaching careers.
Our Lead Partners take responsibility for aspects of recruitment, course design, delivery and quality assurance under the shared values, policies and curriculum of Barr Beacon SCITT. Through these valued partnerships, Barr Beacon SCITT is able to foster a collaborative, local and supportive approach to teacher training.
Your timetable will be bespoke to you and your placement school and will build sequentially across the year.
During Term 1 you will build up to teaching 6 solo hours. During Term 2 this will increase to 12 and by the end of the programme you will be teaching 18 solo hours.
Alongside your solo teaching you will have training and observations of expert colleagues to support your development.
There is a wealth of support available to all trainees through our success and wellbeing menu.
This is in addition to the support provided by your mentor, your professional mentor and your course leaders. Subject-specific support is provide by our team of expert Subject Course Leaders.
At secondary you can choose the school in which you would like to be placed in. This is explored further and confirmed at interview. You can view our partnership schools on our website – in applying to Barr Beacon SCITT, you agree to be placed in one of the schools within our well-established partnership.
At primary you can choose which Lead Partner you would like to be placed in. Ryders Hayes runs our Walsall partnership and places trainees within Walsall. Manor Primary School runs our Wolverhampton partnership and places trainees within the Wolverhampton region.
In all cases, contrasting placement schools are arranged by Barr Beacon SCITT and the decision around placements of trainees remain with Barr Beacon SCITT.
Our course brings the PGCE qualification to you. PGCE sessions are hosted at Barr Beacon SCITT and online. Trainees on our primary and secondary programmes will attend one day towards the end of the course at the University of Worcester presenting their final assignments.
Trainees have access to the University of Worcester’s Hive facility and may choose to use these facilities at Worcester if they would like to.
Applications are submitted through the Department for Education’s Apply website HERE.
At primary there is no requirement to have a degree in a particular subject or a national curriculum subject.
At secondary there is no specific requirement to have a degree in the subject you wish to train to teach in, however, you must have the subject knowledge to train to teach in your chosen subject. This may have been gained though part of your degree being in your subject, industry experience or other means. We do not auto-reject based on your degree subject, but do assess your subject knowledge at interview.
Whilst we would always say that school experience is a bonus to future teachers and their applications to ITT, it is not an essential.
We have many applicants who select Barr Beacon SCITT because they are then able to complete school experience in one of our partnership schools before the course starts.
We would recommend visiting a primary school and a secondary school in our partnership. Through your conversations with staff and interactions with pupils and children, you will be supported to make your decision before you apply.
We would recommend arranging school experience and letting us know that there are two subjects that you are interested in training to teach in. We may be able to organise a school experience day that allows you to see both of these subjects and speak to staff from these disciplines. This will help you choose the subject you have the most expertise in and are most passionate about for your application.
We have partnered with the University of Worcester to offer the PGCE qualification with up to 60 Masters level credits.
Trainees are assessed against the SCITT curriculum. This is a list of strands and components that make great teaching. You will be expected to demonstrate all of the strands and components by the end of the course.
You are continually assessed through leaning observations, weekly mentor meeting targets and your own reflections.
You are formally assessed at the end of the first and second term as well as a final assessment at the end of the course.
QTS stands for Qualified Teacher Status and enables you to teach as a qualified teacher in England and Wales.
A PGCE is a Professional or Post Graduate Certificate in Education and is an additional qualification that allows you to complete credits at Masters level.
We are unable to sponsor visa applications.
We do accept applications from overseas applicants. Please note, however, we are unable to sponsor visa applications.