Join the Cardiff Partnership and empower tomorrow’s teachers to realise their potential as a Clinical Partner School.
What is a Clinical Practice School?
Clinical Practice Schools will offer student teachers the opportunities to develop excellent pedagogical practice via a clinical practice model of ITE. Clinical Practice is different from ‘school experience’ in that it is the place where student teachers draw upon research findings, information and different sources of expertise from university and school-led training, interrogating these against one another in developing their own personal theories of teaching and learning.
Clinical Practice Schools will facilitate student teachers’ education and training by providing opportunities for them to:
engage in independent and team teaching;
receive support and feedback;
have opportunities to observe;
gain access to appropriate work space and ICT resources (ideally at a level provided for full-time members of staff); and
receive time and space for mentoring, small group enquiry work and seminars.
Clinical Practice placements would be for a minimum of 3 student teachers (Primary) and 6 student teachers (Secondary) from the same ITE programme at any one time. For specialist SEN schools, a minimum would be 3 student teachers from PGCE programmes. Each Clinical Practice placement will last approximately 52 days, except for BA Primary Year 1 student teachers who will need just 15 days in their first year. Cardiff Metropolitan University will provide funding of £10 per day per student teacher to the Clinical Practice School.
Requirements of Clinical Practice Schools
Appoint a senior mentor with protected time allotted for the role
Ensure a commitment to the full mentoring experience including facilitating student teacher research and enquiry activities
Support the principles of clinical practice that complement the work undertaken by student teachers during Lead Partnership Schools/Alliance school-led training
Ensure a collaborative and collegial approach to planning and delivering the programme
Release key staff with ITE roles (senior mentors and mentors) to undertake CPD related to their roles
Make a whole-school commitment to research-informed practice
Provide clinical practice placements for a minimum of 3 (Primary) and 6 (Secondary) student teachers from the same programme in clinical practice 1 (approx 52 days) and 3 student teachers in clinical practice 2 (approx 53 days). For specialist SEN schools, a minimum would be 3 student teachers from PGCE programmes.
Where relevant, provide clinical practice placements for 3 student teachers during Year 1of the BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS programme (15 days)
Commit to joint accountability and quality assurance
Criteria to Become a Clinical Practice School
The criteria for Clinical Practice Schools are:
- Track record of commitment to initial Teacher Education and high-quality provision
- Proven record of high-quality support for student teachers
- Appropriate Estyn outcomes
- The capacity and resilience to drive improvement within the school
- A commitment to contribute to school-based research
- Offers a curriculum that will provide experiences for student teachers to teach across the six Areas of Learning and Experiences within the Curriculum for Wales
- Offers a curriculum that will provide experiences for student teachers to teach their chosen specialist subject up to GCSE at a minimum (for Secondary ITE programmes)
- Sign up to the Cardiff Partnership for ITE Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Applications to become a Clinical Practice School will be considered by a selection panel comprising representatives from the Cardiff Partnership Strategic Board, including representatives from school, regional consortia and university. We aim to construct a community of Clinical Practice Schools that demonstrate best practice whilst representing regional diversity in school type, language and location.
Any further enquiries should be sent to:
ccplacements@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Panel meetings of the Cardiff Partnership for ITE Strategic Board to discuss partner school applications take place once per term during the academic year. Therefore, depending on the timing of your application submission date, we will let you know the outcome of the application status as soon as a decision has been made by the panel.
Please note the information in your application will be shared with the panel members in order to reach a decision. The panel is made up members of the Cardiff Metropolitan Senior ITE academic staff, Headteacher representatives from Lead partner schools and representatives from the regional consortia. The majority of the information requested in the application is available in the public domain and all panel members are required to adhere to GDPR regulations in relation to this selection and recruitment process.