What is a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course?

A Subject Knowledge Enhancement course is designed to prepare you for initial teacher training by helping you to gain the depth of subject knowledge and skills you need to be able to teach your chosen subject

You are eligible for an SKE course if:

• your degree isn't in the subject you'd like to teach, or at least closely related
• your relevant degree was completed more than 5 years ago
• you studied your chosen subject at A-level but not to degree level
• you have relevant professional experience i.e. you're an accountant looking to train as a maths teacher
• you have an offer from an ITT provider a condition of which is to successfully complete an SKE course

Some of the subjects SKE courses are offered in are:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computing
• English
• Modern Foreign Languages
• Mathematics
• Physics

What are the entry requirements for an SKE course?

You can only complete an SKE course if an ITT provider has offered you a place making this a condition of the offer. You should have an Honours Degree with a classification of 2:2 or above and we will usually require you to have an A Level in the subject you wish to specialise in. You will also require GCSEs grade C (level 4) or above in maths and English Language.

What do SKE courses involve?

An SKE course can be studied full or part time, in a classroom or online, but we require it to be completed prior to the start of our PGCE course and so this should be taken into consideration when selecting which SKE course provider is best for you.

Courses vary in length and we will guide you as to which length of course we feel is right for you – this will depend upon the required specialist knowledge you'll need to teach the subject effectively. 

The eight week short courses are primarily for candidates who want to refresh their knowledge, while courses of up to 28 weeks are available if you need more substantial revision of a subject.

Course providers

There are many SKE course providers but the one we work closely with is:

TES Institute: https://www.tes.com/institute/subject-knowledge-enhancement-ske

Tes offer courses which can be completed online which means your learning will take place at home and you can fit your studies in with your personal and professional commitments.

What funding is available?

Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses are fully funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and you are not expected to pay any tuition fees.

You should also be entitled to an SKE bursary of £175 which is paid on a weekly basis for the duration of the course.

How you apply

You can only complete an SKE course if you have an offer from an ITT provider making this one of the conditions. Once you have found the provider you wish to study your SKE course with you will need to register with them after which they will contact us to confirm your eligibility and for additional information. Once this is complete, your start date will be confirmed.

How you will be assessed

Throughout the duration of the course you should have a personal tutor appointed to support you by the SKE provider and your subject knowledge will be assessed throughout the course. There will be compulsory assessment points to ensure you are meeting the requirements and making the progress that is expected of you at that point. Your tutor will also provide regular feedback to help with the development of your subject knowledge.

Regular checkpoint reports are provided to both yourself and us to outline your progress and provide a review of your work for that assessment and suggestions of areas for improvement for the next assessment period. We will also both receive a final detailed report upon your completion of the SKE course.