If you want to teach a subject, but you are not sure if your subject knowledge is up to scratch, we can point you in the direction of a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course. A SKE will allow you to build up or refresh your existing knowledge. To check your eligibility for completing a course, click here for the most up-to-date government information about SKEs. 

Please note that you can only register for a SKE course once you have been made a conditional offer of a place on a teacher training course - with a SKE as one of the conditions - and you have accepted the offer. 

Depending on which subject you will be training in, your course might be fully-funded by the Government, which means you will receive a bursary of £175 per week for completing the SKE. Funded subjects are: Physics, Chemistry, Computing, Maths and MFL.

You have a choice in which SKE provider you choose to study with and, once you have chosen, we can help you complete the application process. You can view the government's directory of SKE providers here. 

Please note:

• SKE courses are delivered entirely online and on-demand so you can complete them in your own time. 
• The DfE recommend 25 hours of study per week on a full-time SKE. If you cannot commit to these hours, you could consider completing a part-time course.
• SKE courses last between 8 weeks and 28 weeks
• Part-time courses are available for eight and 12-week courses. Bursary payments (in funded subjects) will reflect the fortnightly submissions rather than weekly, at £87.50 a week.
• MFL trainees can take a second SKE course of eight weeks in their main language and a longer course up to 28 weeks in the other language.
• PE with Ebacc is still an option as an eight-week SKE. All places for ITT and EBacc will need to be agreed in advance with DfE ITT allocations.
• We strongly recommend all SKE courses are completed before your teacher training course starts in September
• You do not need to be based in Essex to complete them, so can work on these whilst you are in your final year at university or working in another career

Self-funded SKE courses

If you are not eligible for a funded SKE, there is the option to self-fund a SKE course in the following subjects - Biology, Chemistry, Computing, English, French, Geography, German, Maths, Physics and Spanish. Costs can vary, but as an example, these are available from £600 + VAT with TES Institute.  

If you want to teach Design & Technology, you can access an unfunded SKE through Gorse SCITT here: https://gorsescitt.org.uk/ske/

If you have any questions about completing a SKE course, contact our friendly team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 01376 556 398 and we'd be happy to help.