During the 12 week assessment period you will be allocated a KNSTE Mentor. Your mentor will make scheduled visits to you in your school to monitor your progress. These will take place as follows:

Meeting 1 – in week 2/3 of the assessment period

  • A lesson observation either Maths or English and phonics/SPAG
  • A viva on the developing portfolio
  • Advice about preparation of the final portfolio
  • An interview with your school-based mentor to offer guidance and advice as appropriate

Meeting 2 – in week 6/7 of the assessment period

  • Two lesson observations either Maths or English (whichever was not observed during visit 1) and a foundation subject or topic lesson
  • A viva on the Subject Knowledge Audit
  • A viva to secure evidence of teaching across at least two consequence age ranges or for candidates on the 5-11 route, across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
  • An interview with your school-based mentor to offer guidance and advice as appropriate
  • Advice about preparation of the final portfolio
  • Advice about the preparation of your Transition to ECT Summary Document

Meeting 3 (virtual) – week 8/9 of the assessment period

  • The portfolio should be complete. It will have been read by your school-based mentor to ensure that it is completed correctly and that the candidate’s claims are robust and verifiable
  • The portfolio will be scrutinised by the SCITT mentor prior to the virtual meeting, who will provide feedback and advice in preparation for the Assessment Day
  • Discussion about your Transition to ECT summary document
  • An interview with your school-based mentor

Assessment Visit – week 10 of the assessment period

This visit will be from a KNSTE Mentor who has not supported you during your assessment period to ensure a rigorous, robust and objective assessment of your capabilities against the Teachers’ Standards.

The final assessment includes:

  • A lesson observation of English
  • A lesson observation of Mathematics
  • An examination of the final portfolio
  • An examination of your Transition to ECT Summary document
  • The assessor will meet with your Headteacher/Principal and other professional colleagues to confirm the demonstration of your capabilities

Submission to Strategic Board – Week 12

A report will be submitted to the KNSTE Strategic Board for moderation and confirmation of the decision to recommend you for QTS.

Recommendation for QTS

Once Strategic Board has confirmed your recommendation, we will submit this to the DFE and we will email you with your TRN number, your final report and ECT information.  You will also receive an email from the DFE.

After Achieving Assessment Only

The Induction Period

Once you have successfully completed your AO route and you have achieved QTS, you will then need to complete an induction period. Usually induction lasts for two years, however as someone who has achieved QTS through the Assessment Only Route, you may complete induction in as little as one term. You should agree the duration of your induction with your employer who will need to support you through this period.

Qualified teachers who are employed in maintained schools, non-maintained special schools, maintained nursery schools and pupil referral units in England must, by law, complete an induction period after gaining qualified teacher status (QTS). We would recommend that you seriously consider the full induction period as this enables you to further develop your practice, observe colleagues, and visit other schools and settings etc. in order to make you the best teacher you can be.

Further Guidance

Further guidance in relation to the induction period can be found on the Department for Education (DfE) website at the following url:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-the-early-career-framework-ecf-supports-induction

 

We would encourage you to be ambitious for your continuing professional development.  You can find details of our CPD opportunities on our website.