MDX launches new teaching degree apprenticeships to help primary schools meet skills needs and teacher shortages

Vital new programmes will upskill teaching assistants into fully qualified teachers

Middlesex University has launched a new primary teacher degree apprenticeship to upskill teaching assistants in London and the South East into fully qualified teachers.

With the University having provided teacher training for more than 60 years, its new Primary Teacher Degree Apprenticeship, which is delivered over four years, combines school and university learning.

The university is also launching a 12-month Post-Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship, focused on employment-based initial teacher training for both primary and secondary schools.
Both programmes begin in September and can be funded through the Apprenticeship Levy, a sum paid by employers to invest in apprenticeship training.

Meanwhile, Middlesex University is also launching digital degree apprenticeship programmes to address the growing employer demand for digital skills in the workplace. Designed to bridge the digital skills gap, promote social inclusion and increase productivity across sectors ranging from hospitality to legal, the six programmes span cyber security and data science through to digital marketing and user experience.

The launch of the teaching training programmes is timely, with research from the National Foundation for Educational Research showing that London has the highest rate of teacher shortages in primary schools.

Middlesex University has worked with more than 500 schools, colleges and settings in most London boroughs and across the South East. Many of these partnerships are connected to its Initial Teacher Training provision and others involve training teachers on the School Direct scheme, which allows schools, working with an accredited provider, to recruit and select their own trainees.

“Our new teacher degree apprenticeship programmes are launching at a pivotal time for the profession, with a growing number of schools across London and the South East experiencing teacher shortages or struggling to attract and retain top talent."

Professor Darryll Bravenboer, Director of Business and Civic Engagement at Middlesex University

“The apprenticeship programmes enable schools to nurture and grow their own workforce and mould apprentices to their exact needs. The Primary Teacher Degree Apprenticeship is specifically designed for schools that want to retain talented teaching or learning support assistants by training them to be fully qualified teachers. Those apprentices benefit from the financial security of being able to earn while they learn," added Prof Bravenboer.

“The new teaching apprenticeships are also proven to increase social mobility, providing apprentices from underserved communities with the opportunity to qualify as a teacher, have a clear career pathway and realise their full earning potential within the profession.”

Schools and Local Education Authorities interested in Middlesex University’s new Teaching Degree Apprenticeship programmes starting in September can register there interest.

Find out more about studying for a Degree Apprenticeship at Middlesex University.