A new, accessible route into teaching is set to be offered by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The university has won funding from the Office for Students (OfS) to develop a new Teaching Degree Apprenticeship (TDA).
The course will be developed in collaboration with The Mead Education Trust, which supports schools across Leicestershire, and the partnership will combine DMU’s academic and teaching expertise with the Education Trust's practical insights and extensive school network.
Jill Cowley, Pro Vice-Chancellor Skills and Training at DMU, said: "DMU has a long history of successfully delivering apprenticeships and we were recognised for this when Ofsted inspectors gave us a Good rating for our programmes last year.
“The new apprenticeship is designed to provide an accessible route into the teaching profession, particularly for individuals who may face financial or other barriers to traditional teacher training programmes.
“It encourages applications from all backgrounds, to work towards a local workforce that more closely reflects the local demography found within the schools.
“Apprentices will be straight into paid roles in the classroom, gaining practical teaching experience whilst undertaking their academic study in the off-the-job training.”
The money for the course is part of an overall £12million fund from OfS, designed to boost degree apprenticeships across the country.
It is the second time DMU has successfully bid from the fund.
In January, it was announced that DMU had been awarded £315,000 from the fund to support the development of new apprenticeship programmes in the faculties of Health and Life Sciences and Computing, Engineering and Media.
The university will work with employers to help provide a supportive route for under-represented students, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds and those from areas with low participation in higher education.
Posted on Thursday 10 October 2024