Spring has officially begun here at GORSE SCITT, and what a busy term it has been. Our recruitment events have been in full swing, with our team visiting Elliot Hudson College as part of their future focus week, a Step into Teaching event at our GORSE SCITT training base in Leeds, as well as visiting the Get into Teaching event in Sheffield. It has been wonderful to talk to so many prospective Initial Teacher Training applicants wanting to start their teaching career journey with us.

Throughout our March training, the focus has been on oracy, delivered through Intensive Training and Practice. The ‘Bercow: 10 Years On’ Report, 2018 stated that:

“Speech, language and communication skills are crucial to every person: for brain development in the early years and our attachment to others, for expressing ourselves and understanding others, for thinking and learning, for social interaction and emotional wellbeing, in school, as part of society and in the workplace. Yet despite their centrality, the importance of these skills continues to be widely underestimated.”

The GORSE SCITT Oracy ITaP will equip our trainees with the skills needed to create dialogic classrooms in which all students have the tools and confidence to express their opinions and debate the curriculum content. With oracy skills being the number one transferable skill that employers are looking for, this will ultimately open doors for the young people our trainees go on to teach. It has been wonderful to watch this first hand through our lead mentor observations in schools, as Monika (Social sciences) reflected:

“Oracy plays a crucial role in helping students articulate their thoughts clearly and confidently. Today, I stepped out of my comfort zone and played the Articulate game with my students, using psychological terms. To my surprise, they not only had fun but also delivered some incredible explanations of those concepts”.

We are also very proud of all those trainees who have secured jobs this month. Here at GORSE SCITT, we ensure that our trainees receive first class support during their preparation for employment with dedicated lead mentors running interview preparation and application support. We are now pleased to announce over 60 of our trainees have a job for September across Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Hull. Congratulations to all!