Head of Initial Teacher Education (ED3105-23-101-R)

The University of Brighton is seeking to appoint a new Head of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) to lead our extensive portfolio of ITE provision in the highly successful School of Education. We have a long history and a rich legacy of providing high-quality ITE, which dates back as far as 1898. Applications are welcomed from colleagues working in either university- or school-based ITE, with experience and evidence of successful leadership of ITE programmes, ideally across a range of different phases and routes. The School offers an extensive range ITE provision, including:

Early Years Initial Teacher Education (EYITT)Primary undergraduate and postgraduate provision for ages 3-7 and 5-11, with a range of distinct or integrated specialismsSecondary postgraduate provision across an extensive range of subject areasFurther Education and Training (FET)Employment-based routes for Primary and Secondary phases (Postgraduate teaching apprenticeships, School Direct)Subject knowledge enhancement courses in mathematics and science

We have a strong and well-established ITE Partnership, with over 600 schools, colleges and other educational settings, which provide training for up to 1200 student teachers. The School has a dedicated Partnership Office coordinating placements and partnership development work, and other professional services staff dedicated to supporting all our ITE activity. Our valued training partners contribute significantly to the strategic development of ITE and, as an institution, we are the sponsor of the University of Brighton Academies Trust. We were successful in round 1 of the national process of re-accreditation of all ITE provision and we are an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ provider across our primary and secondary programmes and ‘Good’ for our FET programme. Our strategic priority of  putting students at the heart of everything we do is consistently reflected in excellent National Student Survey (NSS) outcomes for our undergraduate Primary ITE courses.

The successful applicant will be the strategic lead for ITE, working closely with: the Dean and Associates Deans and our School Operations Manager in the School Executive team; our ITE Academic Subject Leads (ASLs); and ITE Partnership and Administrative leads. We have a wonderful group of internal and external colleagues working in ITE, who ensure that our student teachers go on to make a real difference to the life chances of young people they work with in schools and other settings. As a senior member of the School’s leadership team, we are seeking an outstanding leader with excellent interpersonal skills who has a track record of ITE innovation and partnership development work. The successful candidate will also demonstrate their firm commitment and ambition to ensuring the School retains its outstanding national reputation for teacher education in the next phase of our development.

We believe in principled and research-informed ITE and our staff are actively involved in a range of research and knowledge exchange activities. We achieved very positive outcomes from our submission to the Education Unit of Assessment in REF2021, in which 78% of our research was assessed as 3-4*, with 76.5% of our research outputs rated as internationally excellent or world-leading, and 100 per cent of our research impact rated as very considerable or outstanding. We welcome applicants who recognise and are committed to their own scholarship and promoting the scholarship of others in teaching and teacher education, or associated fields, and who can support and champion colleagues and our student teachers in this endeavour.

The School of Education is situated in excellent facilities at our Falmer campus, nestled in the beauty of the South Downs countryside, just five miles from Brighton’s stunning sea front and vibrant city centre. It is a friendly and welcoming environment in which to work, and we pride ourselves on being a truly inclusive School and university, creating a sense of both belonging and becoming for all our students and staff. We are fortunate to have dedicated specialist teaching spaces for teacher education, including an exceptional Curriculum Centre, in our well-equipped Checkland Building. We are a very friendly and welcoming team of colleagues, and we are excited to be appointing a new Head of ITE who can continue to shape and drive forward our evolving vision for ITE in a dynamic policy landscape in collaboration with our staff and external partners and stakeholders.

This is a permanent Prinicipal Lecturer contract with a secondment for 3 years to Head of Initial Teacher Education.

For more information on the School of Education and our ITE provision, please visit our webpages here. For an informal discussion about the post, please contact the Dean of the School of Education, Dr Cathy Gower at C.P.Gower@brighton.ac.uk.

Closing Date: 24 Apr 2023
Category: Academic