Initial Teacher Training admissions guide for 2020 entry
Congratulations on your successful interview and for receiving your offer from the University of…
Last updated: 1 February 2024
This guide is intended to help those who have been successful at interview and received a conditional offer with the additional checks that are required throughout the teacher training application process, as well as providing information about what to do if you wish to defer your offer of a place. Please read through the information carefully and contact us as soon as possible if you have any questions or need further advice at any stage of the application process.
If you choose to accept your offer of a place, there are further checks you will need to complete before you can enrol on the course. The table below gives an overview of these and the action that is required for each. More information about each check can be found in the further information section below the table.
With the exception of A Level and Degree results due in August, all other conditions should be met as soon as possible and no later than Wednesday 31 July 2024.
Please keep us informed (via [email protected]) of any potential delays in meeting conditions, so that we can advise and help you with alternative arrangements as soon as possible.
Delays in completing your conditions will impact on your eligibility to enrol, to access student finance and to access university/course resources. If you do not keep us informed of potential delays, you additionally risk losing your place on the course.
Clearance Check | Action Required | When |
---|---|---|
Valid Photo ID | Applicant: Copy of a valid form of ID to be provided to Admissions | At interview, or as soon as possible upon receipt of offer, and no later than 31 July 2024. |
GCSEs | Applicant: Copies of certificates to be provided to Admissions. Please read the information below for details of subject and grade requirements and accepted equivalency tests. | At interview, or as soon as possible upon receipt of offer, or completion of exam / equivalency test. |
Other qualifications | Applicant: Copies of certificates to be provided to Admissions. Please read the information below for specific qualification details depending on the course you are applying for. | At interview, or as soon as possible upon receipt of offer, or completion of the award if still in progress. |
Employment History form (BEd applicants only) | Applicant: An employment history form must be completed and returned to us | As soon as possible after submitting your application, and no later than 31 July 2024. |
Health Check | Applicant: Online health questionnaire to be completed | From the end of March 2024 and no later than 31 July 2024. No further action is required until we contact you about this check. |
DBS Check | Applicant: Apply for and obtain satisfactory enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list. | Please read the details below regarding the methods and timeframes for obtaining your DBS check |
Certificate of Good Conduct | Applicants who have previously lived, worked or studied outside the UK for more than three months while aged 18 or over: Full details on how to obtain this certificate can be found below. | As soon as possible following acceptance of your offer, and no later than 31 July 2024. |
Additional safeguarding checks | University: Additional checks will be carried out as part of our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Further information about these checks can be found below. | Before enrolment onto the course. |
References and reference verification | University: additional reference proformas will be sent to nominated referees. Upon receipt, referees will be contacted to verify the information provided. BEd Applicants: provide details of an additional referee. Please read the details below for further guidance. | Before enrolment onto the course. As soon as possible after submitting your application, and no later than 31 July 2024. |
We must ensure all applicants are who they claim to be by verifying their identity. In order comply with statutory guidance we need to retain copies of documents used to verify your identity, therefore, if you have not provided a copy of your valid identification (drivers licence or passport) at interview, please do so as soon as possible upon receipt of your offer, and no later than 31 July 2024.
We will also require evidence, where applicable, of any name changes you have had. If you have ever changed your name, please provide the appropriate form of evidence, for example marriage certificate or Deed Poll, to evidence the change as soon as possible upon receipt of your offer, and no later than 31 July 2024.
It is a government requirement that all entrants to teacher training have a grade 4 or above in GCSE English and Maths or equivalent, with those intending to teach pupils aged 3 to 11 also requiring a grade 4 or above in a science subject or equivalent.
For those intending to teach Primary, your GCSE science can be combined science or an individual science subject. Please note for a GCSE Double Award a grade of 4-4 or above is required. Should you have a grade of 4-3 or 5-3 or C-D, we will require you to undergo an equivalency test, as described below.
Should you have an alternative qualification to GCSE please provide a copy for our Admissions team at [email protected] so that potential equivalency can be assessed.
Please note qualifications in Key and Functional Skills at level 2 are not accepted as equivalent to GCSE.
Should you have international qualifications we will need to see Ecctis certification of equivalence. Please see the Ecctis website for more information.
Should you not have the required GCSE or equivalent grades, please note we accept equivalency tests through www.equivalencytesting.com
BEd: we will need to check your A Levels or equivalent qualifications. If you are sitting your exams this year, UCAS will usually confirm your results to us, but if you have already completed your qualifications you will need to bring your certificates to your interview.
PGCE: for all PGCE courses we will need to see your degree certificate. If you have already completed your degree, please bring this to your interview, otherwise please send it to [email protected] as soon as you receive it.
PGCE Secondary: we may need to see your A Level certificates if your degree is not in a subject related to the subject you plan to teach. We will let you know in this case.
BEd Applicants only: If you need to send us your employment history, please use this form and return it to us by email. You will need to show what you have been doing since the age of 16 to now. If you were not working at any point, please say what you were doing, e.g., studying, travelling, career break, job search etc.
The health check process will take place from the end of March. If you have firmly accepted an offer from us, we will contact you then with all the necessary information about completing the check. You don’t need to do anything until we have been in contact with you.
Teaching is a regulated activity with children and, therefore, an enhanced DBS including children’s barred list information is required for entry to a Teacher Training Programme. In order to comply with statutory guidance, we need an enhanced DBS check to be completed in the three months before the course starts. There are three possible methods for this (please note method one is strongly recommended):
Apply for a new DBS check through the University, following the guidance below, following your receipt of your conditional offer and register it with the update service. The benefit of this method is that DBS checks can take considerable time and therefore this method will ensure you get your DBS back in plenty of time before the start of the course. Please note if you apply for and receive a DBS before 1 June that you do not register with the update service, you will need to obtain a new one.
Apply for a new DBS check through the university, following the guidance below, between the 1 June 2024 and 31 July 2024. Should you choose this method it is advised that you apply as soon as possible after the 1 of June 2024 to ensure there is sufficient time for all the checks to complete. Please note that the DBS checks do not begin until your documents have been verified and the payment has been made.
Send us a copy of an enhanced DBS including children’s barred list information certificate that is already subscribed to the update service that you have received for another job or course. If you send us a certificate that we cannot use, you will need to complete a new check through the university, following the guidance below, so if you choose this method please provide the certificate by 28 June 2024 to allow time for a new check if necessary.
To apply for a DBS through the university you will need to make an application via https://app.knowyourpeople.co.uk/register using the details below:
Organisation ID: ORG-W44QS5KQ
Access Code: SportEdu
You will then need to complete the DBS application. Please select position ‘Teacher’ in the relevant section of the application process.
Once you have completed the DBS online application form, you will need to make the required payment and visit a designated Post Office in order to have your documents verified. The cost of the DBS check is £54.40 which is paid upfront before you verify your documentation at the post office. Please note that this cost is payable by you. The University of Gloucestershire regrets that it cannot accept liability for the costs of student DBS clearance checks.
Having a criminal record will not always prevent you from studying at the university, this will depend on the nature of the position, and the circumstances and background of the offence. Should your DBS check return a conviction, you will be contacted for a copy of the certificate and further information in line with School of Education and Science Safeguarding and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Procedures.
More information about the Disclosure and Barring Service may be found on the Government website.
How to register with the update service:
If you wish to register your DBS with the update service, you must register within 30 days of your DBS certificate being issued. You will need your certificate number. However, you can also register for the update service while your DBS check is still in progress using your application reference number (called ‘form ref’ on your application form). For this method the DBS must receive your application form within 28 days. Further information on how to register with the update service is available on the Government website.
If you have previously lived, worked or studied outside the UK for more than three months while aged 18 or over, you will need a Certificate of Good Conduct or a Police Check (similar to a DBS in the UK) from the country you were in. Details of how to get this can be found on the Government website. The process is different in each country.
If you are not able to complete the check or have any questions please contact [email protected]
The University of Gloucestershire is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all our trainees to share this commitment.
The university will conduct additional safeguarding checks to ensure you have not been prohibited from the profession, do not have any sanctions imposed against you or have not been prohibited or restricted from taking part in the management of any independent school (including academies and free schools) or from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor in a maintained school.
While these checks do not require you to do anything, please note they are a condition of your entry and until they have been completed satisfactorily, we will not be able to confirm your place.
Please be aware that we have to follow up and verify your references with your referees to ensure that you are suitable for a career in teaching. A reference proforma will be sent from the university to your referees. Please note this is in addition to any references they may have submitted on your application.
If it is difficult for us to contact them using the contact details supplied, we will let you know so that you can update us. If we cannot contact them at all we will get in touch with you again because we must speak to/ correspond with a minimum of two referees.
BEd Applicants
As your UCAS application only includes one reference, we will require you to send us details of a second person we can contact to support your application. They should be a professional person, for example, a teacher or a manager and you should have professional contact details for them (i.e. a work email address rather than a gmail, yahoo, outlook etc.)
Please send this information to us by email at [email protected]
We can only defer unconditional places; therefore, you will need to meet all your conditions as if you were starting in September. With the exception of A Level and Degree results due in August, all other conditions should be met as soon as possible and no later than Wednesday 31 July 2024. Should you wish to defer you will need to inform us at [email protected] as soon as possible. Should you wish to defer or are thinking about deferring, we advise that you use method one below for your DBS and register it with the update service. Please note you will need to redo some checks, such as the suitability declaration and health check, the summer before you start, however, if you do not register your DBS with the update service this will also need to be redone.