What is the Student Associates Scheme?

General information about the scheme

Please note that the Student Associates Scheme is no longer taking applications for the 2010-11 period.

The Student Associates Scheme is a national scheme funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).

The two main aims of the Student Associates Scheme are:

To contribute to the recruitment of able and committed students to initial teacher training (ITT)
To increase participation in higher education by raising levels of aspiration and attainment of young people in schools (widening participation - WP).

Having run the scheme successfully for four years, the University of Sheffield will again be providing the SAS on behalf of the TDA during the academic year 2010-11. For 2010-11, SAS places are restricted to national shortage areas in teacher recruitment. Please see Student Associates Scheme: Vacancies for 2010-11 for more details.

Student Associates are selected to participate in the scheme after a short recruitment process, for details please see How the Student Associates Scheme Works. Successful students will attend university based training sessions, prior to completing a 15 day block placement in a local school/college.

Student Associates are involved in the whole life of the school/college during the placement. Whilst on placement Student Associates work towards 14 Core Goals that have been established by the TDA to ensure that Student Associates benefit fully from the school experience. These Core Goals are linked to the Qualified Teacher Status standards that students would be expected to achieve during initial teacher training (ITT). The scheme, therefore, provides invaluable experience to enable individuals to make an informed decision about teaching as a potential career.