Teaching Assistant Leading to Apprentice teacher (PGTA) from June 2026

Overview

Teaching Assistant - Sept 2025

Learn how we teach and understand all of the policies and procedures of the school, a year to ground you in Church Cowley St James preparing for access to the Post Graduate Teaching Apprentice (PGTA) in year two. We will give you feedback throughout the year with regular catch ups and if we think you have gained the knowledge and skills to complete the course we will then help you to apply for the OTT SCITT PGTA in June 2026 at our school. - Sometimes candidates may complete another year as a TA to help them maximise their chances of being successful as a PGTA student.

Apprentice Teacher - June 2026

From July 2026 once you pass the skills tests and meet the requirements of the application procedure, you will start The Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA). It is a salaried, employment-based route to QTS. You receive the benefit of being paid approx. £22,000 in your training year and having all of your course fees (£9,000) paid by the school through the Apprentice Levy.

We will fully support you fully through the course. The benefit to you is that CCSJ pay all of your salary, fees and you'll recieve high quality training and mentorship with our experienced teachers - there is NO cost to you.

We are looking to recruit two colleagues to the PGTA programme in June 2026.

The PGTA role is:

Suitable for individuals with classroom experience (you may already have this or you will get this during your first year with us), it combines practical, on-the-job training with tailored professional development.

The specific course requirements for your second year at CCSJ can be found here:

OTT SCITT Website: www.ott-scitt.org.uk - information and guidance for applicants.
You need to ensure that you meet the course requirements for PGTA in July 2026 before you apply for the Teaching Assistant role in September 2025.

The Course:

Church Cowley St James has a history of training teachers to be great practitioners, almost all of all those trained go on to teach at the school - several with now 10 years + experience are still teaching at the school.

â— Duration: Minimum of 12 months, starts end of June 2026

â— Salary: Minimum UQ1 scale (approx. £22,000 in 2026), course funded by CCSJ using Apprentice Levy.

â— Mentoring Support: Weekly mentor meetings and one observation per week

â— Second Placement: A six-week contrasting placement and ITAP period to broaden experience

â— Completion: QTS awarded in July 2027, followed by a 3-month End Point Assessment (EPA) period

OTT SCITT being the provider;

PGTA is Post Graduate Teaching Apprentice course.

Personal Attributes

You may have many years of experience in classes and want to take the next step in your career, be a recent graduate looking to go into the teaching profession or a wish to have a career change. You need to hard working, positive and willing to receive and enact on feedback and meet all of the requirements of the PGTA SCITT course.

Salary & Benefits

Salary from £ to £ per

Year Two: Post Graduate Teaching Apprentice (OTT SCITT), UQ1 (approx. £22,000 - actual) June 2026

Location

Church Cowley St. James School
Bartholomew Road
Oxford
Oxfordshire
OX4 3QH

Supporting Documents

Deadline and How to Apply

Applications are accepted on the completed Oxfordshire County Council application form, download above

Completed applications should be sent to Kate Dew, Assistant Head for Inclusion. kdew@church-cowley-st-james.oxon.sch.uk

The final date for applications is Sunday 29th June

We will be interviewing applicants as they apply for positions and therefore may withdraw the position before the closing date.

We welcome you to look around the school - please contact Kate Dew. Assistant Head for Inclusion. kdew@church-cowley-st-james.oxon.sch.uk

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer

Job reference:

CCSJTA/PGTA2025-27