Teacher subject
specialism training
(TSST): secondary
maths and physics
Funding for the design and delivery of
school-led programmes
Guidance
Contents
Table of figures 3
Summary 4
About this guidance 4
Key dates 4
Guidance 5
Context 5
School-led teacher subject specialism training 5
Purpose of teacher subject specialism training 6
Criteria for grant funding 6
Grant funding 6
Lead school requirements 7
Certification, Masters Credits and professional awards 8
Table of figures
Table 1: Funding options 6
Summary
About this guidance
This guidance is to support schools to apply for grant funding to design and deliver teacher subject specialism training (TSST) in secondary maths and/or physics. Purpose of teacher subject specialism training:
• To improve the maths and physics subject knowledge of non-specialist teachers and those teachers looking to return to the profession and increase the number of hours taught, by offering school-led teacher subject specialism training
opportunities.
There are two grant funding opportunities available (see table 1). We recommend that before applying you meet with your strategic partners (schools, universities and others) to discuss and agree your plans for delivery.
Key dates
Application round opens: Friday 11 March 2016
Application round closes: 5 pm Thursday 28 April 2016 Outcomes communicated: May 2016
Start-up meetings: Monday 23 May 2016 - London
Wednesday 25 May 2016 - London Thursday 26 May 2016 - Sheffield
Guidance
Context
Teacher subject specialism training (TSST) forms part of a five year commitment to transform STEM teaching in England and is focused on existing teachers, with the aim of building the capacity of non-specialists who may be able to move into a maths or physics role. In addition, it aims to upskill non-specialists who are currently teaching maths or physics and those looking to return to the profession, thereby increasing the number of maths and physics hours taught. The aim is for a total of 15,000 participants to have undertaken the training by July 2020, at no financial cost to the participant.1
The first year of teacher subject specialism is underway with programmes due to
complete in June 2016. We are now moving TSST forwards into academic years 2016/17 and 2017/18.
School-led teacher subject specialism training
The recruitment of teachers in STEM subjects is a challenge for many schools and as a result they are deploying non-specialist teachers to cover their specialist recruitment gaps. This can cause disruption for pupils and schools and can impact on attainment. In March 2015 we launched the first year of TSST, a school-led model where lead schools design and deliver TSST in secondary maths and/or physics to meet local and regional needs.
Courses are designed to reflect the individual needs of the participant, so there is no definitive description of a course or fixed delivery model. Training being offered includes face-to-face, online, coaching, lesson observation and mentoring, and is embedded in teachers’ classroom practice.
Core strengths of this approach are:
• Lead schools’ understanding of, and responses to, the pressures on headteachers to release staff
• The bespoke, differentiated approach to meet teacher needs, and
• Schools’ ability to draw collaborative partners into the design, recruitment, delivery and quality assurance of programmes
TSST is a national offer, and whilst lead schools will target their training to meet the needs of their locality or region, it is expected that programmes will be open to all participants across the country, to ultimately ensure that all secondary schools have access to TSST.
1
Purpose of teacher subject specialism training
• To improve the maths and physics subject knowledge of non-specialist teachers and increase the number of hours of taught by offering school-led teacher subject specialism training opportunities. This includes:
o Non-specialist teachers who could potentially teach maths or physics in addition to, or as their main subject
o Non-specialist teachers who are currently teaching maths or physics (either full-time or in addition to the specialist subject)
o Teachers who are looking to return to the profession
Criteria for grant funding
We invite lead schools, on behalf of groups of schools, to apply for one of two grant funding opportunities to design and deliver teacher subject specialism training in
secondary maths and/or physics. We welcome applications from both lead schools from year 1 of TSST and new schools. The lead school is responsible for coordinating a single application form and will be responsible for the grant funding.
Lead schools must be graded ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ for overall effectiveness by Ofsted in their most recent inspection. Schools must demonstrate evidence of collaborative
working with strategic partners (schools, universities, professional bodies, subject associations) to design, develop and evaluate professional development.
We are looking for schools that can offer economies of scale in terms of their reach and cohort size. Lead schools should base their numbers on a realistic assessment of need, their ability to recruit participants and organisational capacity.
At a national level NCTL will support lead schools through a range of activity, including: • hosting a national directory of provision on Gov.uk to help teachers to find training
courses
• providing marketing guidance and templates
• sharing lessons learned, benefits and successful practice from year 1.
Grant funding
Lead schools who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for one of the following options:
Table 1: Funding options
Delivery period Participant numbers Funding Option 1 Grant funding for
delivery in academic year 2016/17 only. (To
note, this option does not preclude a further
Lead schools should apply for the minimum number of participants they aim to recruit based on their capacity to deliver and identified
Lead schools should apply for grant funding based on their projected costs to deliver to their identified minimum number of participants. Lead schools are expected to
Delivery period Participant numbers Funding
application in subsequent years).
local need. demonstrate how they will secure value for money, economies of scale or offer ‘in kind’ funding as part of their application. TSST should be delivered at no financial cost to the participant.
Option 2 Year on year grant funding for delivery in academic years 2016/17 and 2017/18.
Lead schools should apply for the minimum number of participants they aim to recruit in each year, based on their capacity to deliver, projected growth and regional need.
Lead schools should apply for grant funding for each year based on their
projected costs to deliver, to their minimum target
number. Lead schools are expected to demonstrate how they will secure value for money, economies of scale or offer ‘in kind’ funding as part of their application. TSST should be delivered at no financial cost to the participant.
Lead school requirements
Successful lead schools will be required to:
• Attend a start-up meeting with other lead schools in May 2016
• Design, implement, quality assure and evaluate effective teacher subject specialism training for teachers
• Ensure a minimum number of participants have undertaken teacher subject specialism training in secondary maths and/or physics
• Coordinate a process to offer programme certification, Masters Credits or
professional awards for those participants who complete the training. This should be at no additional cost to the participant or their school
• Advertise their programme in the TSST national directory on the Gov.uk website (template will be provided)
• Submit monthly recruitment updates, termly progress reports including participant data with teacher reference numbers2 and an impact and benefits evaluation report
2
The data is required by DfE in order to understand the take up and success of the provision. The data will be matched to administrative datasets held by DfE for analytical purposes. All analysis will be aggregated at headline
• Participate fully in the external evaluation commissioned by the Department for Education
• Report against spend through the NCTL collaborative fund evaluation process • Notify us of any change to their overall Ofsted grading
• Join the TSST Knowledge Hub
• Complete delivery of programmes by the end of the academic year 2016/17 and 2017/18
Grant funding will be released upon receipt of signed grant Terms and Conditions and dependent upon submission of satisfactory progress reports. All grant funding is subject to NCTL Collaborative Fund Grant Funding Agreement Terms, available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/collaborative-fund-grant-funding-agreement-terms-and-conditions
Certification, Masters Credits and professional awards
It is a requirement that lead schools coordinate a process to offer programme
certification, Masters Credits or professional awards to those participants who complete the training. This recognition can be an important consideration for participants and is an important part of the validation and quality assurance of the training. It is up to the lead school to determine the award that is most appropriate to their training. Lead schools that are applying to design and deliver physics training have the opportunity to work with the Institute of Physics (IOP) and other physics lead schools to secure IOP-enabled,
community-approval for their TSST courses.
IOP-enabled community approval process
In year 1, IOP worked with lead schools to develop a community approval process for TSST physics programmes, whereby the schools audited each other’s courses to a standard agreed during a community consultation. This was an important part of the overall quality assurance process and validation of programmes. The audit tool devised by the IOP’s education department was used as a basis, and was usefully adapted based on feedback from various TSST school representatives. Approved courses were
subsequently marketed on the IOP website. IOP will also be facilitating the community approval process for TSST physics in year 2. All schools that take part in this process are expected to engage fully in the community assessment process. Lead schools who wish to take part in this process or find out more about it, should register their interest on their application form. Successful lead schools will then be contacted by IOP with further details of the requirements and detailed process.
Application guidance and ‘look fors’
• The lead school is responsible for coordinating a single application form with details of all schools and strategic partners involved in the delivery
• Applications must be submitted on the application form and emailed to
tsst.mailbox@education.gsi.gov.uk
• Applications must adhere to the word count of 250 words per answer • Incomplete applications will not be accepted and will not be returned
• The deadline for receipt of all completed applications is 5pm Thursday 28 April. Any applications received after this deadline will not be accepted even if the delay is due to technical difficulties
• Applicant schools will be notified of the outcome in May. Notification will be by email so please ensure you supply a correct email address
• Lead schools are responsible for the grant funding and for delivery of all activity and reporting requirements.
An assessment panel will mark each application form using a pre-defined scoring matrix. Should the number of applications exceed the funding available, we will make decisions based on the balance of the overall set of applications including:
o Geographical spread
o Balance between maths and physics
Where applicants assess that the addition of a cross-phase (Y6-Y7) maths element will support the transition of pupils to secondary school, this can be included in their
application. The programme is prioritising secondary maths and physics however and where overall applications exceed the funding available, decisions will be made on this basis.
Applicant schools should provide evidence against the following questions:
Table 2: Evidence ‘look fors’
QUESTION: EVIDENCE LOOK FORS:
1. Please provide a breakdown of your overall costs and an estimated split of set-up costs and ongoing delivery costs. How will you achieve value for
money?
All grant funding is subject to NCTL Collaborative Fund Grant Funding Agreement Terms and Conditions, and there are restrictions on a number of areas of spend. For the purpose of this project, any marketing costs should be low cost/no cost and detailed in your application. A full copy of the
collaborative fund terms and conditions can be found at this web address; https://www.gov.uk/government/publica
tions/collaborative-fund-grant-funding-• The assumptions underpinning your costings and why you think these are realistic
• In-kind funding (e.g. venues, staff delivering training, coaches, mentors, materials)
• How your delivery model will enable you to achieve value for money
• Set-up costs which may include (depending on your programme model):
o Staff time for planning, content development, resource development
o Securing expertise from HEIs or strategic partners
o Buying in externally produced
resources/access to online resources o Identification/development of process for
certification, Masters Credits or professional awards
QUESTION: EVIDENCE LOOK FORS:
agreement-terms-and-conditions • Ongoing delivery costs which may include
(depending on your programme model): o Staff time and personnel to deliver the
programme
o Continued online access o Course materials
o Certification, Masters Credits or professional awards
o Ongoing recruitment activity o Venue/travel/hospitality costs
o Minimum and maximum delegate numbers for training sessions to be viable
2. What infrastructure and capacity do you have in place, or do you have planned, in order to successfully deliver TSST and ensure the longer term
sustainability of your programme?
• Sufficient dedicated project lead and project support capacity
• Supporting systems and processes
• Roles and responsibilities agreed with your strategic and delivery partners
• How you will collaborate (and avoid competition) with other schools and strategic partners to recruit to and deliver your programme
• Contingency plans to ensure continuity of provision in the event of staff changes
3. How have you identified the need for TSST in your region, and how will your programme design address that need?
• A strategic approach, working with other schools, to
address recruitment shortages in maths and physics in your region
• A clear evidence base or audit of need underpinning
the identification of your target audience and their training needs, with supporting data and information: Consider:
o Number of teachers teaching maths/physics who
have not undertaken ITT in maths/physics
o Number of teachers teaching without a
maths/physics degree
o Number of teachers who could teach maths or
physics in addition to their main subject
o Vacancy rates and high re-advertising rates
o Turnover of maths/physics teachers
4. How will you recruit and retain participants?
A recruitment strategy to ensure that you:
• Identify and engage participants including those from
lower attainment schools where capacity issues are impacting attainment in maths and physics
• Promote the benefits for participants and head
teachers
• Secure head teacher support for the programme to
the ensure release time for participants 5. What is your experience of
designing, delivering and quality assuring effective professional development?
• Capacity to create a joint team and work
collaboratively with other schools and partners to design and develop high quality professional
development, in response to identified needs of staff
• All staff directly involved in the development, and
delivery of training:
QUESTION: EVIDENCE LOOK FORS:
subject and pedagogic area
b. are experienced in designing and delivering high quality professional development
c. have a deep understanding of the specialist subject knowledge required for high quality teaching of the subject and understanding of how teachers develop this knowledge
• How you will identify and draw on effective practice from within and beyond the school sector, in order to inform the design and delivery of your provision
• How you will work with strategic partners such as
universities, subject associations such as the Institute for Physics (IOP), National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (CIMT), Joint Mathematical Council (JMC), Maths Hubs or Science Learning Centres/Partnerships
• How you will quality assure your provision; • A quality assurance framework that draws on
existing procedures or expertise of partner universities and other groups such as Science Learning Centres/Partnerships
• Lead quality assurance roles for subject leaders,
headteachers and other leaders (Specialist Leaders of Education, Maths Hubs leads, university staff)
6. What is the structure and content of your TSST programme?
• Your programme design, content and length and delivery model; eg face to face learning, online, blended learning, coaching
• How you will coordinate and offer the opportunity for certification, Masters Credits or professional awards for those participants who complete the training at no cost to participants or their schools
7. How will you evaluate the training and demonstrate impact?
• Collaborative working with other schools and
partners to evaluate the impact of professional development on staff, and pupils
• Processes to gather participant feedback during and
beyond the programme and measures to assess the overall impact and benefits to participants, pupils and schools. Consider:
o the use of diagnostic tools or initial baseline assessments
o participant self-assessment
o pupil and headteacher feedback on impact or quality of teaching
o evidence of exam/key stage progress and improved pupil outcomes
o making use of externally developed and/or existing evaluation tools.
8. What is your delivery plan, including key milestones?
• Activity, timelines and key milestones that will enable you to plan, design, recruit to, deliver and evaluate your training by June 2017
• Contingency planning to manage the risks including delays or shortfall in recruitment.
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