Headteacher/ Senior Leader (Primary mainstream and most Primary SEND schools) confirmation of suitability for AO

Notes from LSJS:

Accredited ITT providers are required to get written confirmation from the Headteacher of the applicant’s most recent employing school (or an alternative senior member of staff if needed) of the applicant’s suitability for undertaking the Assessment Only route to QTS. Some wording for this is provided overleaf but we have also added some notes below, in case helpful as clarifications.

For candidates whose background/ “day job” is being a specialist subject primary teacher eg teaching Music, PE or Jewish Studies in a primary school, please note that they will be assessed as regular primary teachers across the relevant curriculum subjects rather than as specialists. Typically they will therefore have arranged to get some experience first within school of teaching other primary subjects before we assess them for AO so that they feel suitably prepared, knowledgeable and confident about being seen teaching other subjects and so that they can gather evidence for their file. (For example, if we see them teach English, Maths and Science, they might show evidence from other curriculum subjects in the three internal observations that they send us before the process and/ or in their evidence file.) You are completing the letter below with this in mind, answering in terms of them being a regular primary teacher after they’ve done any extra preparation needed and at the point that we begin assessing them for the AO process.