Train to Teach
Train to Teach with St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust
We are incredibly proud of our Train to Teach Programme, and our Training and Development Lead is delighted to share all about it with you.
St Thomas Catholic Academies Trust is excited to have recently launched its Primary School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) arm earlier this autumn, in collaboration with Xavier Teach SouthEast (XTSE). This exciting initiative brings new opportunities for aspiring teachers to train within a supportive, faith-based environment that values both educational excellence and personal development. Whilst we are proud of our Catholic values and identity, our pathway is truly inclusive, and trainees of other faiths apply to - and thrive - on the course.
In light of the national challenges around teacher recruitment, this program represents a positive step forward, places excellence at the centre of all it does and embeds our SCITT trainees’ wellbeing within the heart of the training curriculum. 
Across the UK, schools face increasing difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified teaching staff, whilst at the same time there is an ever-growing need for passionate and well-prepared teachers. The trainees in our cohort are entering the profession at a time when their role is more crucial than ever. What has been greatly heartening is that from the outset of their training in late August, their fresh perspectives and enthusiasm have been evident and will be instrumental in shaping a positive future for the children in our schools and local communities.
St Thomas’ commitment to their training directly addresses this challenge through a comprehensive curriculum, mentoring, and classroom experience throughout the academic year to ensure our SCITT trainees are confident, resilient, and ready to make a meaningful impact in their future schools.
To achieve this, we provide a weekly training session, held and delivered centrally, for the trainees to learn on the General Professional Studies programme (on topics such as pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, metacognition etc). This is further enhanced with a broad range of subject specific training, delivered by experts in each subject from across our family of schools. Additionally, each trainee is assigned a pastoral coach, and they also work regularly work as pastoral buddies to one another as part of the organised training curriculum, as well as the more informal support they provide one another as colleagues. Training is further enhanced throughout the year with the newly introduced ITAPs (intensive training and practice sessions) focused on establishing routines, questioning and scaffolding and now we are nearly a whole term in, the elements identified have been increasingly evident week on week through the regular observation feedback support each trainee receives.
Taking our first steps into providing teacher training, including recruiting and latterly launching the course, has not been without its challenges. However, whilst we have started small, we have been well supported by our colleagues at XTSE who provide guidance, human and physical resource alongside regular meeting time with their team to assist new training hubs deliver the quality required.
St Thomas is committed to supporting each trainee's growth, nurturing their skills, and fostering an environment that promotes high-quality teaching and continuous professional development – from qualification, through the ECT Induction process and onwardly into NPQ and leadership, supported by our wider Trust CPD provision. With some of our training cohort already being successfully employed within our Trust schools for a start in 2025, the investment is beginning to pay off after 12 weeks – and further motivate the team for the onward recruitment for the 2025/6 cohort!