LSJS becomes first Jewish teacher training provider to offer teaching apprenticeships

The London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) has become an approved apprenticeship training provider, making it the only Jewish teacher training provider able to offer a Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship.

Working with its network of partner Jewish secondary schools, LSJS will offer apprenticeships across a range of subjects, including Jewish Studies, English, Mathematics, Science, History and Modern Languages.

The programme offers an alternative route into teaching, allowing aspiring teachers to earn a salary while working towards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in just one year, with training fees funded through the government’s Growth and Skills Levy (previously the Apprenticeship Levy).

The apprenticeship combines paid employment in a school with specialist training and mentoring from LSJS; participants will spend most of their time in the classroom, with dedicated weekly training sessions at LSJS’s Hendon campus to strengthen their teaching practice.

Jonny Atkins, Head of Initial Teacher Training at LSJS, described the development as “a really exciting and pioneering step forward for the Jewish education system”, explaining that the programme will open opportunities for talented people who might otherwise find traditional training routes difficult to access.

He added: “We know there are people already working in our schools, as well as others considering a career change, who would make outstanding teachers. Being able to earn while training opens the door to a much wider group of people, while giving Jewish schools a fantastic opportunity to invest in their existing staff and develop the next generation of teachers from within.”

• For more information click here or email lsjsadmin@lsjs.ac.uk.