Delivery of the In-house Level 4 Certificate in Education & Training (L4 CET) course at First Intuition, Cambridge.
The brief
First intuition is a nationwide accountancy training academy with over twenty study centres across the UK including the Channel Islands. First Intuition first opened its doors in 2007 and now host over 10,000 aspiring accountants per year; training them to become independent and successful accountants aspiring to achieve industry best results.
First Intuition deliver a full range of classroom and online courses such as: AAT courses (Association of Accounting Technicians), CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) qualifications. They cater for a range of learner ages and experiences and offer a variety of study options. This makes them one of the most inclusive and popular choices for anyone wishing to pursue a career within accountancy or leadership and management.
First Intuition have a supportive and person-centred approach to teaching; their mission statement ‘where people count’ aims to provide first class training to learners. They offer a personalised learning programme when learners first join a course to ensure that they are supported with their qualification from start to finish.
With a combined workforce of 200 staff members nationwide, encompassing a range of roles such as: tutors, apprenticeship skills coaches and business development executives, there is always a constant need for training due to First Intuition’s growing reputation as a nationwide leader within accountancy training. This is also due to the business world and societies need for the services of financial specialists to offer sound advice and services.
The solution
First Intuition arranged for Train Aid’s Education & Training Manager Nick Chadwick to deliver an in-house Level 4 Certificate in Education & Training (L4 CET) course at their training centre, Cambridge, to eight of their experienced tutors responsible for delivering a range of accountancy courses and monitoring learner progress.
The purpose of the training was to upskill the current tutors, who having previously achieved the Level 3 Award in Education & Training with Train Aid, were required to make further progress with their teaching practice. The next step within their development was to achieve the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training course; this qualification is aimed for current teachers and trainers to reflect and evaluate their current practice and develop their practical teaching skills further. The level 4 qualification is designed for teachers and trainers who teach learners within the post 16/adult learning sector to be able to teach their subject specialism independently and with confidence.
The course encompasses six written assignments investigating a range of teaching topics such as: inclusive practice, teaching delivery and planning to meet the needs of all learners. The qualification also requires each participant to produce a portfolio of practical teaching evidence including logging 30 teaching hours and to be observed on three separate occasions by a fully qualified and experienced teacher.
During the course classroom sessions at Cambridge, the tutors developed their practical teaching and leadership skills by presenting a range of topics such as: teaching and learning theories, assessment methods and communication styles.
The tutors took time to develop their digital skills such as developing interactive teaching and learning resources to further enhance their practical teaching skills by utilising platforms such as Socrative, Menti, Prezi and Kahoot. The tutors worked in collaboration to share best practice on their current teaching styles and techniques and listened to others’ experiences to seek out ways to keep their learners engaged and motivated within their lessons.
The in-house course format offered a blend of classroom activities delivered by Train Aid’s Education manager Nick, but also for the tutors to spend time during supportive workshop sessions to develop their teaching portfolio by producing lesson plans, ILPs, schemes of work and training resources. As the tutors work within a close-knit team, they were able to support each other through the level 4 programme and provide recommendations on how they could improve as accountancy educators. The tutors enjoyed the supportive nature of the course, taking time out of their busy teaching schedules to evaluate their teaching practices and working in collaboration on their coursework portfolios with their colleagues.
The First Intuition team enjoyed the Certificate in Education & Training in-house delivery sessions led by Nick. The group demonstrated teamwork, support and leadership skills throughout the lessons. The class are on track to complete their qualification within 6 months from starting the course.
The team at First Intuition were fantastic; they were attentive during the classroom sessions, shared their current teaching experiences and piloted the latest teaching and learning approaches to ensure the reputation of the organisation remains upmost as a supportive training organisation
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