Lauren Davies is Strategic Lead for School Improvement at The Romero Catholic Academy. A former primary teacher and senior leader, she has extensive experience in curriculum development, teaching and learning, school improvement, and teacher development. Prior to her current role, she was NITE's Director of Partnerships, strengthening relationships with partner schools and supporting initial teacher training. Lauren is passionate about developing the next generation of teachers and helping schools create clear, accessible routes into the profession.
Some of the best future teachers are already working in our schools
They are the teaching assistants who know our children inside out. The support staff who instinctively know when a child needs encouragement, challenge or simply somebody in their corner. They are people who have spent years developing strong relationships with families, understanding the communities we serve and becoming valued members of our school teams. For some of them, however, becoming a teacher has always felt just out of reach. Not because they lack the ability, commitment or potential, but because they did not follow the traditional academic route when they were younger.
At The Romero Catholic Academy, working in partnership with the National Institute of Teaching and Education (NITE) at Coventry University, we are beginning to change that.
Looking beyond the traditional route
For many years, the pathway into teaching has been fairly linear: gain the necessary qualifications, complete a degree and then undertake teacher training. That route works well for many people, but it does not reflect everybody’s journey.
We have colleagues in our schools who may not have achieved the qualifications they needed at 18, but who have since spent years developing professionally. They have significant classroom experience, strong relationships with children and families, and a deep understanding of school life.
Previously, some of those colleagues could find themselves stuck. They might have the potential to become excellent teachers, but the financial and academic barriers involved in returning to university made that next step feel unrealistic.
Apprenticeship routes are giving us another option
Depending on an individual’s qualifications and prior experience, colleagues can access either the Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship or the Level 6 Teacher Degree Apprenticeship through NITE.
For those ready to begin at Level 6, the Teacher Degree Apprenticeship provides the opportunity to work towards a degree and Qualified Teacher Status while remaining employed and earning a salary, with training costs supported through the apprenticeship levy.
For others, the Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship, which includes a Foundation Degree in Professional Practice, can provide an important first step. Rather than the conversation ending with, “You don’t have the qualifications to become a teacher,” it can become: “What is the right next step to help you get there?”. This feels like a real shift and allows us, as an employer, to support talented people already working in our schools to take that next step and realise their potential.
Nurturing potential
What is particularly powerful is that these colleagues do not have to make that journey alone. They continue developing in schools where people know them, believe in them and understand their strengths, while also benefiting from the academic and professional support provided by NITE.
For someone beginning at Level 5, that might mean building confidence in academic study alongside developing specialist classroom practice. With successful completion, and with the continued support of their headteacher and NITE, there is then the potential to progress further towards the Teacher Degree Apprenticeship and ultimately Qualified Teacher Status.
It is not about lowering expectations or finding a shortcut into the profession. Teaching remains a graduate profession and these programmes are rightly demanding. It is about recognising that people develop at different points in their lives and that qualifications achieved at 18 should not necessarily define the opportunities available to someone many years later.
Realising potential with multiple pathways
The traditional route into teaching will always remain important. But it should not be the only doorway. Through our partnership with NITE, we can increasingly start with the person: their experience, their qualifications, their potential and their ambitions and then consider which pathway might help them move forward.
Some of the people who could become exceptional teachers may already be working in our classrooms today. They may simply never have imagined that teaching could be possible for them. By creating clearer pathways and investing in the people we already have, we can help change that.
