Train to teach: government announces support packages for trainee chemistry teachers
Apply for a £28k tax-free scholarship, with a tailored support package, to train as a chemistry teacher.
The government has announced the financial support available for people who want to train to teach in 2019/20.
You could be eligible for tax-free funding, either as a scholarship of £28,000, or a bursary of up to £26,000 while you train.
The scholarships, which we run on behalf of the Department for Education, provide increased funding as well as additional support and benefits throughout your training year.
Successful scholars will receive
- Free face-to-face chemistry professional development training courses with other scholars;
- Free online CPD courses to help build subject knowledge;
- Free Royal Society of Chemistry membership for two years;
- Mentoring by an expert chemistry teacher;
- Free classroom materials including books, posters and a lab coat;
- Access to national and regional networks for chemistry teachers and trainee teachers that include local meetings and online communities.
- Opportunities to engage with the Royal Society of Chemistry beyond the teacher training year
Unlocking potential
Royal Society of Chemistry director of education, Sarah Robertson, said: “Chemistry is crucial in understanding the world around us and it is inspirational teachers who will unlock the potential in the next generation of students.
"I am particularly pleased to see that going forward there will be a greater focus on retention support for the scholars, as another concerning trend in recent years has seen recently-trained teachers leaving the profession in significant numbers. We recently welcomed over 100 scholars for the 2018-19 teaching programme and I wish them well as they embark on their teaching careers."
What do our previous teaching scholars say?
There are all the books that you get, particularly the misconception books, and some of the strategies for the higher ability students. That’s always hard, even in sets of mixed ability, finding a way to pitch the lessons, so that’s been useful. Things like microscale chemistry support, which is something I didn’t know about before and actually not many schools know about, is very useful. I introduced it into my school and they really loved it. All the support you get from the mentors is really good as well.
I really enjoy the CPD days. It’s nice networking with people, hearing different people’s ideas; even things that you’ve heard of but a new way to do it in your class.
The financial support is obviously very beneficial and then all the hands-on practical support and the mentor meetings really help a lot. They gave me strategies for how to tackle some of the difficulties. We did a session on active learning – reducing the amount of time the teacher talks and letting the students engage in the activities. I used the techniques in my lessons and it turned out amazingly!
Find out more
Applications for our scholarships will open on 31 October and are assessed on a rolling basis at different points throughout the year. Register for updates on our scholarship website here.
Teacher Training Scholarships
We are offering scholarships to individuals with the potential to become exceptional chemistry teachers. Each scholar will receive a £28,000 bursary from the Department for Education. They will also receive mentoring, resources and CPD throughout their teacher training year.
We're looking for individuals who are passionate about teaching, have a background in chemistry and want to train to teach in England.
Find out more and apply to the Teacher Training Scholarships.
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