Getting school experience


To support your application to train to teach you can visit local schools to get unpaid experience in the classroom before you start your initial teacher training (ITT). We strongly encourage potential candidates to take up the offer of school experience.

It can help you:

  • Decide if you want to train to be a teacher
  • Discover which setting you’d like to teach in (primary or secondary)
  • Build a relationship with a school you might want to work for later

What to expect

Your experience will either be in a school or joining classes and meeting teachers online. Placements usually last 1 or 2 days, but some can last up to 3 weeks.

During your experience, you will get to do things like:

  • Observe lessons
  • See how teachers manage a classroom
  • Find out how specific subjects are taught
  • Speak to teachers and interact with pupils
  • Learn more about teacher training - including the application and interview process

Some schools may ask you to have a DBS check before attending, others will ensure you are always accompanied during your visit to avoid this.

Get school experience

The Department for Education has a website where you can search for and request school experience in England:

Please note: school experience days take place within defined periods of the school year. Please check the available date windows on the school's profile in DfE Get School Experience website.

To request a school experience day at Saffron Walden County High School, please do so via the DfE Get School Experience website.

To request school experience at other schools within the Saffron Teaching School Hub area (Braintree, Chelmsford, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford), visit the DfE Get School Experience website, search by postcode or location to see which schools are offering school experience, and make the request via the DfE website. 

School experience days are also available within our wide-ranging network of ITT partnership schools. See the links below for details: