Our Partners
How our partnership model works
The partnership model is designed so that each organisation plays to its strengths: Co-op Academies Trust provides the school network and Professional Development Institute, Bright Futures SCITT provides accredited ITT leadership and quality assurance, and the University of Derby provides PGCE teaching and academic oversight.
Joint governance structures ensure that curriculum, assessment and support remain coherent and responsive to feedback from trainees, mentors and schools. For trainees, this means you experience the programme as a single, integrated route rather than as separate strands, with clear communication, shared expectations and aligned documentation across trust, SCITT and university. Schools benefit from a steady supply of well‑prepared trainees, structured mentor development and a strong voice in the design and refinement of the curriculum.
Bright Futures SCITT (accredited ITT provider)
Co-op Academies Trust ITT is delivered in partnership with Bright Futures SCITT, an accredited, school‑led Initial Teacher Training provider within the Bright Futures Development Institute. Bright Futures SCITT brings a decade of experience, a strong Ofsted profile and the capacity of a Teaching School Hub to the partnership, ensuring that the programme meets and exceeds national ITT requirements.
Through this partnership, trainees benefit from a curriculum that is ambitious, carefully sequenced and rooted in the ITT and Early Career Frameworks, with clear coherence between centre‑based and school‑based learning. Bright Futures SCITT also leads on mentor development, quality assurance and compliance with regulatory expectations across the partnership.
University of Derby (PGCE provider)
The University of Derby provides the PGCE element of the programme, contributing academic rigour, Masters‑level study and research‑informed modules that complement your school‑based experience. Derby uses a blended model in which university lecturers travel to the region to deliver face‑to‑face blocks at key points in the year, supported by online learning and independent study.
This partnership enables you to gain both Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through Bright Futures SCITT and a PGCE awarded by a university with a strong record in teacher education, enhancing your academic profile and future study options. The integration of school‑led and university‑led elements is carefully planned so that assignments, reflection tasks and school practice all align.
Bradford For Teaching and local partners
In Bradford and the surrounding area, Co-op Academies Trust works alongside Bradford For Teaching and other local ITT providers to promote teaching as a career and to position Bradford as a destination for talented future teachers.
This collaboration supports shared messaging, joint events and a coordinated approach to recruitment and retention in local schools. Across all regions, the Trust also connects with local authorities, teaching school hubs and other partners to ensure that trainees experience a coherent local training ecosystem and have access to wider professional networks. These partnerships broaden the range of placements, CPD and support available during and after your training year.
Quality, inspection and recognition
Bright Futures SCITT and the University of Derby bring strong external quality judgements—through Ofsted and the Teaching Excellence Framework—to the partnership, giving assurance that the programme meets high national standards.
Co-op Academies Trust aligns its ITT work with wider trust quality processes, using data, feedback and external evaluations to continually improve the experience for trainees and schools. Together, these elements ensure that when you choose Co-op Academies Trust ITT, you are joining a programme that is values‑driven, rigorously designed, externally validated and closely connected to a long‑term career pathway in education.