22/09/2026
I was lucky enough to be invited to shadow Julian Teaching School HUb's first ECT1 conference of this year last week. Even luckier to see some of Norfolk Teacher Training Centre's ITT graduates there: Helen, Tanny and Michelle. I asked them how their year had started and they have really hit the ground running. Our programme starts in the classroom from day one; they've reaped the benefits of this now they are working in their own classrooms as they've already worked hard at establishing learning expectations and set out how school routines work in their lessons.
Helen also spoke about the location of her city-centre school and how much she enjoyed training in the heart of City College Norwich's Higher Education Norfolk House building houses all the college's degree subjects and also NTTC's classrooms, where our primary and secondary trainee teachers meet for weekly centre-based training every Friday across their training year.
NTTC moved into Norfolk House just over a year ago and it's been a huge success. The building is a purposeful, professional space with facilities to support learning, with classrooms and spaces which allow our trainees to learn in a variety of ways. Our primary trainees attend curriculum-based days including practical subjects like art, music and science; all of our trainees regularly consolidate learning and rehearse their teacher behaviour in a range of the building's classroom and open spaces. Trainees have access to library and computer areas to read, research, prepare for their PGCE sessions and add to their teaching portfolios.
More than that, the building is in the heart of Norwich, creating a strong sense of connection between the work we do and the community that we serve. Some of the schools that we work with are a short walk from our classrooms; some of the experts who work with us to deliver training come to us via a stroll through Norwich marketplace. It helps educational expertise feel accessible rather than distant and supports trainees to connect professional learning to the realities of classroom practice.
The city-centre setting also contributes to a sense of professionalism. There is a strong message in bringing future teachers together in a visible educational hub that sits alongside higher education, local employers and civic organisations. It reinforces the idea that teaching is a profession connected to the wider community.
Perhaps most importantly, it helps trainees see themselves as part of something bigger than a single school. They become connected to a broader education community, drawing on the expertise, support and experience of colleagues across the city and county.
Teacher training is, of course, rooted in classrooms. But being rooted in classrooms and connected to the life of the city are not competing ideas. Our move to Norfolk House has shown how powerfully the two can work together.
