Declan Wayne, student teacher at the University of Nottingham

The education I am currently receiving from Nottingham has given me great confidence in myself as a beginning teacher. The level of support and dedication I have experienced has been amazing and given the current circumstances the team and the partner schools are doing an amazing job of offering us support and ensuring we are not missing out on our own education and being able to help those in schools who need it most. My school and the team at Nottingham have gone above and beyond to make sure I am getting a quality teacher education.

Having the opportunity to receive the highest level of teacher education from an established and well-regarded programme, and a team of highly qualified and experienced teacher educators has given me great confidence in incorporating academic theory into my own practice. Working alongside other trainee teachers from a range of disciplines has been invaluable during this process, especially when it comes to being able to understand the diverse and important roles which teachers play in society.

Working with the team at Nottingham, it is clear the level of care and attention they put into maintaining strong working relationships with their partner schools. This experience and knowledge of local schools has made transitioning into a teaching role seamless and has given me great confidence in my own ability to teach. Working with a variety of teachers across multiple schools, disciplines and areas surrounding Nottingham has been an incredible experience and learning resource and something that is truly unique to this style of teacher education.

Having experienced the importance of ITE partnerships first-hand I can say with confidence that they play a key role in preparing teachers to fulfil their roles, whilst also offering valuable local insight to student teachers.

Looking forward, I would like the Department for Education to continue to allow ITE to remain innovative without centralising the whole process. Local knowledge of schools is so important for beginning teachers and working with a range of experienced teacher educators has played a key role in giving me confidence in the classroom.