Student support

We realise that training to teach is very rewarding, but also challenging, so we make sure that every trainee teacher is given first class support whether it be at The OAKS or within our many partnership schools.

We place the trainee teacher at the centre of our model of support, as the diagram below shows.

The OAKS is an extremely caring and friendly organisation and will, at all times, provide help, encouragement and support, whenever it’s needed.

During the training year, each trainee is allocated an OAKS personal tutor (OPT) who will support you throughout the course and during all of your secondary school placements.

In schools there will be two key staff supporting you: your subject mentor (SM) and the professional tutor (PT). In addition to this, you will also have access to an OAKS trainee support tutor, who is on hand to support any trainees who may have additional requirements during the year. You will also be able to access both academic and teaching support – PGCE support from Keele-based staff, and there is also a subject expert (SE) to develop your subject knowledge and practice.

We have many superb support mechanisms in place to make your time at The OAKS both enjoyable and comfortable whether you are located on the Keele campus or within one of our hubs, further afield. We take our commitment to our OAKS trainees very seriously, we want to ensure you not only have a great training year but the best start to your career. All OAKS trainees are therefore supported with an early career package in their ECT years and are able to access training and conferences free of charge, all designed in line with the early career framework. This is not mandatory but is freely available for all of our OAKS alumni.

The OAKS care about your wellbeing and want you to stay healthy and happy throughout the course. Contact your OPT or Support Tutor, Gill Hayden, if you have any concerns. We also wish to draw your attention to the range of services available to all our trainees at Keele University. Student Services have access to many specialised professionals and a great range of services. To access this support, please follow the link below or contact Gill Hayden directly.

https://www.keele.ac.uk/students/lifeoutsideofstudy/welfareandwellbeing/

Gill Hayden
Tel No: 07718 076885
Email: [email protected]