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Andrew’s career journey

Andrew's school journey spans 26 years with 13 years in various leadership roles. He started out in post as a secondary history, economics and business teacher.  

Moving on to become head of history, he then took on the roles of assistant headteacher covering teaching and learning, and deputy headteacher in charge of teaching – before becoming a headteacher.

“The beauty of this experience is I know what teachers and leaders are experiencing on a day-to-day basis, at every stage, so I’m able to really empathise with that and the challenges they are facing.”

Andrew joined Tes so he could continue to be involved in education and “give something back”. He remains incredibly passionate about teaching and supporting other teachers.

Teaching ethos

“My focus is entirely pupil centred. Good teaching has got to be adapted to children’s starting points. So, they're challenged and supported, so they can access the learning and thrive.”

He believes that good teaching is also very much about the relationships you build as a teacher with the children and their parents.

“It’s about saying, ‘I'm in this for you. I want you to succeed. How can we best help you?’ And that only comes by giving something of yourself."

For this reason, Andrew encourages teachers to show their personality and enthusiasm in the classroom.

“Teachers are not cardboard cutouts. Think about, what do you bring? What can you offer to the children in your classroom?

“We are a positive part of the local community who care about our pupils and want them to succeed. I think that’s what we as teachers need to be.”

Aims of the Assessment Only programme

The Tes Assessment Only route helps people working in schools to become employed as fully qualified teachers.

“We work with teachers to help them build a picture of their experience so they can gain their QTS and be qualified in front of the children in the classroom in their school.

“Often, for various different reasons and in many different contexts, they are working as unqualified teachers. For me,” Andrew continues, “it is important that we recognise the skills of our teachers and support them to become qualified.”

“All we want you to do is present your best self to us. But we're not just going to come out once and assess you. We’ll ensure you and your school understand the process, make sure you know what is expected. And then, within the assessment period, when you are ready, one of our assessors will come to your school and complete the assessment.”

Why learners love Tes Assessment Only

Many of the learners on the Tes Assessment Only route didn’t follow a “traditional path” to teaching, such as via initial teacher training. The Assessment Only programme team helps learners “piece together their teaching journey” to gain QTS.

“We will personalise and tailor the Assessment Only journey to you as an individual. The feedback we get about this from those on the programme is really positive.”

Tes Assessment Only gives learners an avenue to gain QTS while they stay working in their current school setting – which is great for learners and their schools, Andrew explains.

“As a school, you get to keep your brilliant staff member – and they get to stay. Many schools continue to work with us to qualify their staff because of the results they’ve seen for their learners and their school.”

What support is available for learners on the Assessment Only programme?

From the minute they apply, all learners are supported all the way to QTS, Andrew explains.

“At the start, we will talk with you and tell you about the process so you're aware of how it all works. At the end, we want to leave you feeling that you're going to be an amazing asset to the profession.”  

Every learner, whether they are in the UK or working internationally, will have a UK pathway tutor working with them.

“The initial six weeks of the program are all about the pathway tutor supporting you to prepare for your assessment. The pathway tutor has an online meeting with you, and then goes into school and observes you, meets your colleagues and creates a report. And then we move you to the assessment phase.”

For international learners, live lesson observations are facilitated by online tools and dedicated pathway tutors who can be available day or night. Andrew explains that, whether you're a UK or international learner on the programme, you are then guaranteed a face-to-face assessment.

“We've got assessors in China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and across Europe, for example. All of our learners are seen in their school.”

Impact in the classroom

Every month, Andrew leads a moderation panel of school leaders from UK and international schools, along with Tes programme leaders.

They rigorously review each assessment and ensure the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) Assessment Only standards are met and learners can be recommended for QTS. These are also overseen by an external moderator. He says this is the highlight of his month.

“At that point, I know that 48 people [the number awarded QTS last month] are going to get an email in the next 48 hours that says, ‘well done, you've got QTS’. So that's the nicest day.

“On average, in any given year, we probably support around 300 brilliant people and their schools on our Assessment Only route, so that they’re qualified in front of children in classrooms.”

Andrew’s advice for a learner on Assessment Only

Andrew suggests following the Five-step guide to Assessment Only for support at each stage of the process, which can be found in the final FAQ on the course page.

“Ultimately, my best advice is to contact us if you’re unsure about anything – because we're on the end of the phone or an email, and we're more than happy to talk to you.

“Tes Institute is full of people who have a lot of education experience and really care. We would love to talk to you to help you to where you want to be.

“We want to be there at the start of your teaching journey and to support you through it.”

The future of the Assessment Only programme

“Tes has got a fantastic reputation for supporting schools and teachers – this goes right back to Tes magazine that sat on the staff room desk when I first started teaching, and it was the first thing that people picked up on a Friday. It would be great to build on this reputation so more people learn about the Assessment Only route as an option for them.”

Andrew explains that his biggest ambition is that people look at Tes Institute and the Assessment Only route and think, “here's a provider that cares about teachers, children, schools and their communities”.

“My background and that of the others here at Tes Institute is about helping schools and, ultimately, we want to help get great staff in front of children. Because if you get staff well trained so you have good teachers, you get better lessons. And this is what makes the biggest difference to children.”

Loved hearing from Andrew? Find out more about the Assessment Only course and meet the rest of our inspiring programme leaders in our Spotlight series collection.