100% Online SKE - Start Dates Every Monday
100% Online SKE - Start Dates Every Monday

Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) with Eureka 

Eureka Online College is an organisation made up of teachers who work together to provide subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses for aspiring teachers.  SKE courses are funded by the government and are designed for pre-ITT students to gain the depth of knowledge needed to train to teach their chosen subject.

 

Eureka began delivering SKE courses in 2012, which was until recently funded by DfE via grant funding to schools and universities.  Through our succussful model of combining on-demand content, online course tutor support and live one to one lessons we have grown year on year and have become a household name amoungst ITT providers nationally.  

 

We pride ourselves on the bespoke service we give to our students and as an organisation, we are service driven.  

 

From 2021, SKE is now delivered via contract with DfE and we operate through 2 main regional partners (please see link on 'how to apply) who complete complete the financial governance, manage student bursaries and attend steering groups with DfE, leaving us to do what we do best, which is to deliver SKE courses to our trainees. 

 

Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) in Science

Online SKE courses in science designed and delivered by practising teachers

Primary Maths SKE

Click on the image above to find out about our Primary Maths courses

 

(Update: DfE will only fund Primary Maths SKE if enrolled / place confirmed by 10th April 2024)

Science SKE

Online subject knowledge enhancement courses delivered nationally via an innovative online platform with full tutor support

 

(Update: DfE will only fund Biology SKE if enrolled / place confirmed by 10th April 2024)

D&T SKE

Starting with an online self assessment, our tutors put together a bespoke pathway through the course material and build the D&T SKE course around your needs

 

(Update: DfE will only fund D&T SKE if enrolled / place confirmed by 10th April 2024)

What is the eligibility criteria?

 

Funding for SKE has been made available by the DfE for courses of 8 to 28 weeks in the following subjects:


biology; chemistry; computing; design and technology; English; languages; mathematics (Secondary and Primary Maths), physics and Religious Education (8-week SKE only for RE)

 

Students with knowledge gaps in the subject they would like to teach would usually discuss SKE with their prospective ITT provider (i.e. the institution they will train with to become a teacher).  This can be during the interview process, or at any other time before receiving a conditional offer to train to teach.  SKE is offered to prospective ITT students who, without SKE, would be unlikely to meet the subject knowledge requirements of the Teachers’ Standards (Standard 3) by the end of their teacher training course.

 

Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) in Maths, Geography and MFL

SKE courses delivered by practising teachers who care about your training

Maths SKE

Maths SKE courses, packed with teaching ideas and resources alongside interactive notes, video tutorials and live instruction

Geography SCT

Geography is a huge subject, but with the help and guidance of our geography tutors it is made achievable, even within the shortest of timelines

MFL SKE

All MFL tutors are qualified teachers and often have first-hand teacher training experience as mentors working on behalf of universities and SCITTs

 

All of our SKE courses are online, which means that it is possible for you to continue working at your current job whilst you develop your subject knowledge at home and in your own time. 

 

We use a wide variety of strategies and study methods on our SKE online learning platform, offering an inclusive form of teaching.  PreITT students that study with us regularly comment on the ease with which the innovative and interactive e-learning platform, powered by Blackboard Learn, enables them to learn and consolidate their subject knowledge.

 

English, Computer Science and Religious Education SKE

Exciting new SKE courses

English SKE

Eureka Online College have released a new English SKE course covering the cornerstones of the English Language and English Literature GCSE

 

(Update: DfE will only fund English SKE if enrolled / place confirmed by 10th April 2024)

Computer Science / Computing SKE

Gain expertise in computing via our new and up to date computer science SKE course

Religious Education

8-week courses for students who want to train to become secondary RE

 

(Update: DfE will only fund RE SKE if enrolled / place confirmed by 10th April 2024)

 

All of our SKE programmes are flexible and bespoke, tailor-made to the individual student.  We have done extensive research into the delivery of SKE and the quality of provision nationally and we can say with confidence that our subject knowledge enhancement courses are as good as they get.  One of the main reasons for this is that we are all practising teachers and senior leaders working within outstanding schools, we are fully in touch with the changing curricula and understand what it's like to teach young people and the importance of subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. Please contact us if you would like to discuss your options / our SKE provision.

 

Online subject knowledge enhancement (SKE)

Eureka online college is a specialist in subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) and has an excellent track record at delivering SKE for universities and SCITTs, helping them to prepare their preITT students for ITT.  All of our SKE courses attract funding from the DfE making studying with us completely free to students, schools and universities.  The eight subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses that Eureka online college run are, Maths, Primary MathsBiologyChemistryPhysics, Religious Studies , Computing, D&T and 3 MFL languages.  Please contact hello@eurekaonlinecollege.co.uk for more details or to speak to one of our SKE tutors

Illustration metaphor for success on a SKE course We give guidance from start to successful completion of our Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses

Answers to FAQ's

What length SKE course will you need?

 

When a potential trainee attends an interview with an ITT provider, a SKE course will be offered because, without SKE, the trainee is highly unlikely to meet the subject knowledge requirements of the Teachers’ Standards by the time his or her ITT course is complete.  

 

As a rough guide:

  • An 8 unit SKE course (which is the smallest length course we run) would be appropriate for someone with secure knowledge and understanding in most of the GCSE curriculum but who need to consolidate this and build confidence with A level.
  • A 16 unit course, is good for candidates that have achieved an A or B grade in their chosen subject at A level, but it has been 5+ years since they studied this topic to this level.  
  • Longer SKE courses (20 to 28 weeks) we recommend for a candidate that has achieved a C grade at GCSE / GCE and had very little subject content relating to their preferred PGCE or School Direct ITT course in their degree.  Such candidates would benefit from our bespoke courses and one to one tutor support for a longer period before (or during) their ITT.   

 

Are there issues around late start dates and running SKE parallel with ITT?

A common question we are asked is about issues surrounding early or late start dates.  

  • Due to the bespoke nature of our SKE courses, we are flexible with start dates which means you can start studying towards your subject knowledge enhancement course and meeting your conditional offer for ITT as soon as you are ready. Something that an ITT provider will need to consider is that to qualify for DfE funding, candidates need to be registered with their preferred SKE supplier to commence their subject knowledge enhancement course before their ITT course start date.  Once on a SKE course, students are able to study both programmes concurrently.  
  • Full time SKE is based on 25 hours study per week, which is challenging if students are also completing an ITT.  If this is proving too challenging for students to keep up with their work, we are able to offer an extension, to spread their workload. Something else that we do to support our students that are completing their ITT parallel to their SKE is to build units and topics around what the student is teaching at school, which has really helped.  One thing to watch out for is the student bursary (i.e. the SKE bursary) will stop once a candidate commences their ITT.    

How would ITT providers know that their PreITT student was making good progress with their SKE?

Since the course is online, another common question we receive from ITT providers and students is how they would know how someone’s SKE was progressing.

  • Once accepted onto one of our SKE courses, students will receive regular feedback via our online learning tools including weekly feedback as they complete each unit of study.  
  • For providers that request updates, we provide monthly feedback to let them know that their students are on track, which we ensure happens before a bursary payment is due to be made.   If students are not engaging with the course, we inform ITT providers of our concerns immediately.  
  • The more personalised successes and challenges for each student are contained within the end of course reports. 

You can read more answers to frequently asked questions via the link below:

Feedback on our subject knowledge enhancement courses 

How we know that we provide an excellent subject knowledge enhancement course:

  • Our student feedback is excellent.  We find that our learners particularly value having a dedicated course tutor that they can contact whenever they need to and also flexible online tutorials with a subject tutor.  Whether you are interested in maths, biology, chemistry, physics, geography or MFL SKE, please click the links above to find out more about these courses. 

Testimonial - Eureka Online College, Subject Knowledge Enhancement Course

Nicola Pocock, Kings College London – Physics SKE

I chose Eureka Online for my SKE because it combined the flexibility of a fully online course with regular one to one tutorial sessions, giving the chance to ask questions and really test my understanding.  These were the highlight of a great course for me; it was good to chat to someone knowledgeable and experienced, who could talk about common misconceptions in the classroom and how to get around them, as well as testing my understanding enough to discover and fix any gaps or misunderstandings.  I also enjoyed the variety of delivery methods used during the course, in particular those that showed me some of the multitude of free online teaching resources.  I imagine many of those will prove extremely useful in the upcoming years!  One bonus of the course for me was that Eureka Online’s flexibility allowed me to complete my SKE course while backpacking around SE Asia: a dream trip of a lifetime I’d otherwise have had to cancel.  It took discipline and planning but it meant I could explore and see some incredible sights around my work, and I certainly couldn’t have asked for better classroom settings!

 

Overall a fantastic course; I learned a huge amount and I think it’s given me a great foundation to build on during my PGCE and the following years!

 

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