Online training for aspiring Moray teachers

Would-be primary teachers in Moray are being given the chance to fulfil their ambition by studying part-time for the necessary qualification.

Moray Council is working in partnership with Aberdeen University to offer an online postgraduate diploma in education beginning early in the New Year.

The course is structured in such a way that aspiring teachers will be able to study in their own time and fit their studies around their work schedule.

It will be delivered through e-learning, face-to-face Saturday workshops, self-study, collaborative group work and school placements to develop the academic, personal and professional skills necessary for teaching.

The course comprises an 18-month programme of study, which will include 18 weeks of placement experience in a Moray primary school with a guaranteed probationer year with the council at the end of it. Placements are normally in four-week blocks.

The closing date for applications is September 30 and course fees are expected to be £1820 over the two academic sessions, although applicants may be eligible for funding from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

Applicants must live within Moray and have competent ICT skills appropriate for online distance learning.

Councillor Anne Skene, who chairs Moray Council’s children and young people’s services committee, said the course provided an ideal opportunity for people to undertake teacher training while pursuing their current careers.

“It may well appeal to those who have some experience of the classroom environment – such as classroom assistants or school auxiliaries - and who would like to further their careers by joining the teaching profession.

“Similarly, the course is well suited to those with ambitions to be teacher but who, perhaps because of family commitments, have not had access to college training.

“The fact that there is a national shortage of teachers has been well publicised of late and I believe this sort of distance learning could go some way to increasing teacher numbers.”

A Moray Council spokesman said: “For a number of years the council has been working in partnership with universities to provide a range of opportunities to begin a new career in teaching.

“This new programme is complimentary to the programmes already available within Moray and highlights the continued development of the partnership working that takes place between the council and our local universities.”

Further details and application forms are available by contacting Moray Council education support officer Janet Cornall at janet.cornall@moray.gov.uk