Our mission is to provide high quality teacher training and education for both new teachers and more seasoned practitioners. BISE aims to combine the best of western and Asian education by adding international teaching skills to those competencies already found in the Chinese system.
The Faculty of Education at the University of Buckingham was founded in 2002. With over 1,300 teachers and school leaders studying there in any one year, the Faculty of Education has become one of Britain’s leading providers of teacher training and professional development. The Faculty is led by Professor Barnaby Lenon CBE who, as headmaster of Harrow School, started two schools in China. He and his team have a wealth of experience globally and in China to offer schools and individual trainees.
BISE in collaboration with the University of Buckingham provides a range of options for China based teachers:
- The International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS) offers teachers based in schools outside the UK who have not undergone a period of formal training the opportunity to participate in a structured programme of professional development leading to a teaching qualification. The iQTS will automatically be converted into the standard QTS by the UK Government. The University of Buckingham is one of a small number of universities granted permission by the UK government to offer the iQTS course to teachers outside the UK, from September 2023.
- The PGCE for International Trainees is suitable for new entrants to the profession as well as those seeking to diversify their pedagogical skills. It is shaped around the acclaimed PGCE used by leading independent schools in the UK and delivered fully online. This is a demanding course but has been proven globally to improve the quality of a trainee’s teaching with a full programme of practice, observation, mentoring, reflection and academic study.
- BISE also provides an opportunity to gain the UK’s Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) via an Assessment Only route. This builds seamlessly from the University of Buckingham PGCE course as the next step in the career progression for those candidates who meet the criteria set out by the UK Department for Education.
- BISE will in the future be offering courses to upskill practitioners in aspects of international pedagogy and leadership. Currently we offer a short-course and certification in Mentoring, primarily for those supporting PGCE trainees.
- There is also a full series of MA degree courses and Postgraduate Certificates on offer to students in China – Masters in Education, in Residential Education, in Educational Leadership and Management, as well as a certificate in inclusive educational leadership. BISE is looking to support the theory and practice of building bilingual schools in China.
For further details, please contact [email protected].