Working with other Teacher Training Providers in Buckinghamshire
At Insignis Academy Trust, we launched our Insignis SCITT Teacher Training provision in partnership with Teach First with our first cohort graduating in July 2025, and we continue to work very closely with several key local Training Providers, as well as others from further afield.
At IAT we recognise that attracting future teachers is a challenging endeavour. We do not believe that this is an issue that any one agency can solve on its own. This is why we have a close, positive and productive relationship with other local training providers.
We are proud to work with our key partners: Astra, The Buckingham Partnership, Buckingham University, the Maths and Physics Hub, NITE: Coventry University and Teach First. We also host PGCE trainees from universities including Bucks New University, Brunel, Roehampton, and Brighton.
Insignis Academy Trust works closely with key partners to offer a range of initial teacher training (ITT) routes and professional development:
1. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Providers
Insignis SCITT (in partnership with Teach First): Launched in 2024/25, this is our priority unsalaried, 12-month tuition fee route. Trainees are supernumerary (hosted, not employed) and we prioritise trainee placements for this programme in our schools.
Astra and The Buckingham Partnership: These local providers have a strong reputation, and many of our current teachers are graduates of their salaried and unsalaried programmes. Both partners also support eligible unqualified teachers pursuing the Assessment Only route to QTS.
NITE: Coventry University (Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship): This salaried route requires prior teaching experience and 3+ years of UK or Irish residency. We fund the training costs through our Apprenticeship Levy and have successfully supported several teachers via this programme.
Teach First (Traditional Model): This is a separate, highly selective two-year salaried graduate scheme with direct university recruitment. It requires candidates to teach unaccompanied from day one and is only hosted at a few of our schools that meet the specific criteria.
2. Early Career Teacher (ECT) Support
We ensure robust support for new teachers by partnering with established providers:
Year 1 ECTs: Supported by Teach First/ Northamptonshire Teaching School Hub
Year 2 ECTs: Supported by Best Practice Network / Astra Teaching School Hub
3. Subject Specialist Training
Maths and Physics Hub (High Wycombe): A key partner for specialised teacher training and Conversion Courses. These courses help maths and other science teachers gain the skills to teach Physics to A-Level standard.
Interested in Training with a Partner?
While we prioritise our Insignis SCITT trainees, we are open to hosting trainees from our local partners.
General ITT Enquiries: Please email scitt@insignis.org.uk to check our capacity for hosting trainees on these routes.
Postgraduate Primary Apprentice Teacher (PGTA) Enquiries: Please email scitt@insignis.org.uk , as we have a network of primary partners who may be interested in hosting a Primary PGTA trainee.
