I am a qualified English Teacher and have been working in the state education system for over 16 years. I am currently a Head of Year 11 in a state comprehensive the name of which I am not permitted to disclose here. My daughter informed me of the programme which is being run by centrepad which gives an introduction to the world of teaching in the UK system. I must say at first I also was very dubious as to the quality of such a course and its unusual method of online delivery. I therefore contacted the company myself directly with my concerns and to my surprise I was asked to attend the course for free before my daughter enrolled in order that I could ascertain the standard of teaching and its usefulness to someone wishing to enter the profession. As promised I have outlined my review of the course as follows : 1) Method of delivery: The online format was to my surprise not only convenient but very professionally conducted. The system was interactive and made use of collaborative whiteboard technology, much like those found in school classrooms. Although I did not experience any issues myself I noticed other members of my cohort did at times suffer from audio or sound problems which seem to be caused by their own systems' internet connections. 2) Course Content: The list of topics that were covered over the duration of the course, were both relevant and covered in great detail. In terms of what would be necessary to enter the profession at ground level I would say perhaps if anything they could possibly reduce some of the detail or even topics as you would have enough to get started with even less than is offered. The content covers far more than is needed for a TA role and appears to be designed for people wishing to go beyond and actually teach independently. 3) The Teacher: The teacher on the course I followed was a qualified science teacher with both a PGCE and considerable school experience having also from my understanding held the post of Assistant Head Teacher of a UK school. Her style in my opinion reflected that and she appeared to have very high standards. Although I did not complete all the homework set (and unfortunately I cannot as a result consider myself to have passed :() I did submit a presentation typical to one I would use in my own classrooms. The feedback I received was on time and relevant. I must add the teacher did not know my background at the time. I also witnessed very constructive criticisms of the work of other students. Overall I can say I am very impressed with what is on offer by this organisation and I feel this course will become a recognised name in many schools in the future. My daughter is currently taking the course and I have made arrangements for her to begin a placement in our school from September. I have no doubt that the service offered is what you get, and yes I certainly agree there should be training before entering a school as an assistant and soon it will become mandatory. Realistically now if you dont have any you dont stand much chance in this market read more

I want a full refund. This is the complaint I made to CentrePad on the 16/11/11 I would like to claim my money back for the course Essential UK Teaching Skills . I have enrolled on this course, after you called me one evening offering an opportunity to work as a teacher assisstant. I can compare your approach with the approach of the other teaching agency. They did not charge me for any training and I have completed the registration with them in person before I was offered any training. Three people were actively involved in process of my recrutation and I didn't have to pay any fees. After two days they checked my references, I filled CRB check and they explained me the payment plan. Here you called me one time and your last thing to ask was the number of my credit cards to pay the fee for the course. You didn't even ask me to do CRB check, so I assume that you don't really have much to offer in terms of employment. I didn't have any interview in person. I am extremely unhappy about the CentrePad policy, your overall approach. The amount of 295 pounds in the situation, when I am looking for permanent job and my wife is expecting a baby in a month time is a fortune for 16 hours of group, online training, which seems to be not leading to any employment afterwards and is not very well organised in my opinion. You didn't even offered me a opportunity to join your course online to be eligible for 50% discount, but I understand: that's the way you normally operate. When I enrolled you informed me that I am going to attend the course from the start. This was also wrong. Because I missed two classes I was lost and I didn't know anything about how to navigate the system, anything about the homework and programme. My frustration reached the top now, when I could compare how is really works in the other places. When I asked you to send me the link to the introductory classes you couldn't offer me any support with this problem. I am sorry to say, but I feel you ripped me off my money and after reasearching the internet I see I am not alone with such feelings. Many parts of the classes was not taking place in the normal way, because of some technical problems, some were taking outside agreed hours, so it affected my other commitments. In the background I could hear crying child, what I think should be avoided in the course worth 295 pounds per student. I can understand many things, but you can't expect the people are going to spend so much money for the opportunity. I hope you have fully understood my points and I won't be forced to take any futher actions. Please inform me, when I can expect my money to be send back to my account. Thank you, read more

I've been asked to take a class at centrepad and whiziq and write a honest overall review. I entered a free demo lesson on 8/12/2011. For the first 10 minutes the teacher has some technical sound difficulties, soon after followed one supposed student who without even a greeting immediately accosted me asking for my real name. The student went on to say that it was unusual for anyone to join the class using a nickname and went on to say that she felt quite uncomfortable. After communicating with a source unknown to me the teacher told me that she had to take a note of the consultant who invited me to the invitation only session. Which in not in line with the information provided on their website. I explained that I was there to view the session and write an honest review given my extensive knowledge of the e learning business. I questioned the authenticity of the student as it would be highly unusual for any student to make such comments. The teacher refused to continue the class stating that she had to know who invited me, which in my view would be quite uncomfortable and unsettling for a new user. The centrepad class consisted of 2 other students. I can honestly assert that this is a company which currently have something to hide. It would seem that they are aware that their practice is questionable but their pursuit for cash seem relentless. I also participated in a free demo lesson with whiziq on the 8/12/2011. Coincidentally centrepad currently makes use of the whiziq software for their own e learning classes. I found the whiziq teacher helpful and friendly and at no point questioned my nickname or my reason for attending the class. The free whiziq class consisted of approximately 40 other students. From a comparison point of view using whiziq directly is a more friendly, cost effective and hassle free option. The methods and approach of the whiziq team is of a transparent nature which sadly cannot be said for centrepad. Rating out of 5 on each establishment 5 = whiziq 1 = centrepad read more

I have been working with children for over 20 years in schools and youth clubs teaching PE and Maths. I am not a qualified teacher and in fact left school at the age of 14. I lived homeless for a large part of my young life after making many wrong decisions and mixing with wrong people. I got my life together and decided I wanted to do something to prevent other people from going down the same road I did. I have not yet done the training with centrepad although I believe fully in their dream to bring education back to everyone. Everyone needs to value education and what it does for society. Without education we are barely human. Education gives us freedom and brings us wisdom. I am also now working as an Education Network Developer. I have made money doing it but that is not why I do it. I believe that everyone should be attached to some kind of learning even if its just to improve the way you speak or improve your maths! I would be grateful if anybody would contact me for their student membership on richardrichie55@hotmail.com and I will give you more information and a great discount so you can start taking lessons straight away. (ps if you are interested you can also take courses including a teacher training course with them for free ). Best Wishes Richie read more

Hi I finished the training course not long ago and I have been asked to write my account of my experiences with centrepad so far. A friend of mine actually suggested their course because I have always wanted to be a teacher but never really pursued it. I am extremely happy with the teaching course we did and it was more than I expected. When I first spoke to them I thought it was only for Teaching Assistants but it goes into more detail such as lesson planning and behaviour management. As the course is delivered online there were times I felt that we may be missing out on what a real classroom would be like but in terms of the course itself I guess it doesnt make much difference. However there is nothing like the real experience. After completing the course I began work voluntarily in my local primary school. I did find the placement my self but centrepad provided me with a reference when I requested it. I think overall I am happy with both the course and the way I have been treated because I did get what I expected. It was also a good learning experience to watch other teachers deliver real lessons which we were allowed to do free of charge. Happy to say I have just been offered a part time position starting September Thankyou!!! read more

I joined CentrePAD as a Student 3 months ago. My membership costs only £75 a year and I have taken over 100 lessons so far in a lot of different subjects. I finished the teaching course and have applied for my NUS card aswell which should be here soon. I am a firm believer in the Education Centred Society Philosophy and would urge everyone to join centrepad and start learning something because this is the future and the lessons I have been to are great fun. I have met loads of interesting people and I finally enjoy education. I left school with no qualifications and got back in to education as a mature student and finally got a degree in politics in 2007. Centrepads classes are a breath of fresh air especially for people wanting to improve themselves for the job market. Well Done and Thankyou for doing something that actually helps. £75 a year is a great price for this much teaching absolutely no complaints if there were 10 stars I would have given them all! Its a bit quiet during the christmas break though looking forward to the new classes in January. Keep it up guys! A truly social enterprise! read more

CentrePAD Courses are very useful for people who do not have the time or the money to travel to colleges in their spare time. You simply login to real live classes from home and meet people from all over the world. A very enjoyable experience. Very helpful also if you are in school and want extra lessons. Also Hi to John06ko its the second time I have seen your comment and you should have seen the response on it but for some reason you have deleted it???? Suspicious. Basically the comment you deleted said if you want a job you can contact them directly although Im not quite sure they are still hiring but you were offered a discounted student membership which you can then make money from. We all got the same offer. and its actually an awesome offer because you save so much as well. You shouldnt bite the hand that feeds you :) Its a really nice offer and perhaps if you took some lessons you may even enjoy it. Again really good stuff in my opinion, really cool teachers as well. And actually I do not work for centrepad but I am a regular student of theirs now thank you :) read more

I finished the training around February. At first everything was fine my crb check took a little longer than expected but I was given a trial period in a school not too far from me. As far as I know that went really well. I was then given random work in various schools up until Easter never in the same school. After Easter I was in one school for two weeks and on the Friday of the second week another LSA from centrepad was placed in the same school. I have since stayed in touch with her and she remained in that school until the end of the school year. We worked in the same department! Since that school I have not been offered another placement. I have asked many times why and have only been told that when something comes available for me they will let me know. How come that teacher was still in the school I already started in? I know that my time there was good I got on well with the staff and the children and even got involved with marking work outside my paid hours! Its nearly the end of the year and I have been offered no other positions. read more

I had a bad experience with CentrePAD. I applied for a job as a private teacher with them. http://www.centrepad.org.uk Waited 3-4 weeks for my log in information and yet in the meantime they had already taken payment of £175. Contacted them complaining again that I had not yet received my log in information. Was told that I it had been sent by email and will be sent again. £50 was then debited from my account without my consent. In August, I told them I only received 2 receipts from paypal and I want a refund. Emailed a week later (as no refund had been received) and was told they had received my emails and were processing my refund for £225 and I should expect it in 5-10 working days. Now at the end of November and I still have not received my refund and they have stopped replying to any emails! This is pure fraud! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY AND GIVE YOU NOTHING.. read more

Hi My name is Marie and I am also working as an Education Network Developer. I believe that education should be accessible to anyone and that a deeper understanding of the roles and responsibilities of teachers should be understood by more people. If more people have this understanding it will help us to create a more tolerant and understanding society. I am currently training with CentrePAD to understand how different people learn and what it really takes to plan a good lesson to high standards. The training covers great detail and is very interesting. It is delivered live and online which for me is very convenient. As an Education Network Developer I can get you on the full training practically free. All you have to do is sign up with a student membership and earn money while you train. Please contact me at mariealison12@hotmail.com and I will tell you how :) read more

I was contacted by centrePad about there training course and everything sounded good until i asked them for schools im my area that they have supplied teaching staff to in the past. The school that the lady i spoke to gave me happend to be the closest school to me and i have hildren at that school. So i contacted the school to find out if her claims were true and i was told that they have never had any dealings with a company called centrePAD and she was not familiar with them at all. Before i found this out though i was contacted by centrePAD who all of a sudden needed me to pay a deposit for the course by the end of the day. As i had spoken to the lady the day before and she never expressed a deadline was to follow the next day this alone made me suspicious. WARNING: Do your research. They lied then tried to get me to pay before i found out it was a lie read more

Hi I finished the course in March. I really liked it a lot and I dont think you have anything to lose. I learnt a lot from it and I think they are very helpful. I started working as a TA before I finished my course and the school i am in want me to stay on in Septemebr. I was not offered any guarantees so I dont think they lied to me because they have helped a lot even after with finding private tuition students. I dont think people should expect a guaranteed job from it though, you have to be good because from my experience I dont think a lot of people would actualy be suited to working in some schools. It is rewarding but it isnt easy!! The question isnt is teaching right for you , the question is are you right for teaching. Some people would probably be more suited to working with small groups perhaps in private tuition I wish everyone the best!!!! read more

I recently joined on a christmas deal. All I will say is that I am quite surprised at the price. So far I have been to a lesson on philosophy which was really interesting as I thought it would be pretty boring! ICT was great cos am not really a computer wizard so thankyou to miss butterfeld. Was really impressed with the 11+ work which my 10year old daughter has attended. The online form was a bit strange for her we think but now she loves her teacher and the price is much better than any we have ever been quoted. I think most things are on a christmas break now but I will definitely be returning in jan for some more schooling :) A good service. Am looking forward to the courses timetable as well and have already recommended this to everyone I know. This is a great tool for anyone looking for self improvement and is sick of tv. read more

I finished the Teacher training in April this year and it has taken me 5 months to get my first experience in a school with centrepad and that has now finished after only 4 weeks in the school and now I am back to waiting again. I have no complaints about the training that was good but 5 months waiting is very slow and now I dont know how long I will have to wait again. Also can I please state not to bother calling me for work that is more than an hour away. Its impossible for me to make that kind of journey with such short notice! I was told that the schools would all be local to me. Well I am happy to say I have finally been offered a long term post starting January so I can enjoy my Christmas. Thank you and as requested I will also post my progress here for the public. Lets hope things work out and for others as well. read more

I have just started the Teaching Course now with CentrePAD and so far I really like it. I start a voluntary placement at my old primary school next week and I am really looking forward to it. I actually have no experience with teaching but I have always been very good with kids. I know this is what I want to do now I think the online course is really unique and much easire than travelling anywhere. It does take a bit of getting used to but its not really any different. I dont have a teaching page yet but I think that I definitely will be getting one when I have finished the course and I feel more confident. I am not yet sure what I could teach as a specialism but I think working in primary or even nursery schools will be my choice in the future I dont really like the idea of going back to high school again lol. :) read more

Hi I also just finished the 8 week teaching programme. I think the course itself was run very well. I totally disagree with anything negative about learning online in general I think it is so convenient. Victoria and the course were both excellent and it has taught me a great deal about myself and teaching in general. Although I have not been offered any work in schools as yet I have found work as a private tutor and am happy to say that the training actually makes me feel a lot more confident. My students found me online and we connect every week at the same time and so far things are going really well. An outstanding service all round I think, well I would say that :) Thank you very much CentrePAD!!! Mrs Kathy Rushton You can find me on centrePAD if you have any questions, I teach Maths and ESOL. read more

I have now embarked on this UK Teaching Course after much scepticism and I can now say that not only am I enjoying every second of it, it has only cost me £16. I am not sure I get it either but for £16 I couldn't get a good meal out! Im not sure this price is offered to everyone but I genuinely do have a passion for teaching and have always wanted to be involved in nurturing and helping others. I think most definitely that this is an industry that is crying out for people who really care and really want to make a difference. Soon to be volunteering in a children's centre which I am looking forward to. Am now on the course really enjoying it. Will be updating regularly on here as requested so my experience can be made public. read more

The UK Teaching Skills course was really good and I enjoyed it. It was good to meet other people online. I was not used to learning online but I think it is the future and now I teach Biology and Maths online to all ages for only £10 per hour. The teacher was very patient and helpful and I think she really understands her subject. She has taught me everything I needed to know about teaching in the UK. I have taught overseas for many years and now I teach Maths and Science privately and work in schools in London as a supply teacher. People do need training before entering schools in my opinion too many people are entering schools with out training and I think it is very sad. edmbiya@hotmail.co.uk . read more

Great course really enjoyed it. Since I finished in May there are now loads more classes that we get to observe and see other teachers in action. Its a great way to learn and gives you great ideas for your own lessons. Working in schools is getting very tiring I do wish I could just be in the same school long enough to build a relationship with students its almost like starting all over again every time you go to a new school. I think if I could stay in one school for longer I would develop more as the children would get used to me and I would have given 5 stars in that case. If possible I would even do voluntary days if it was possible to stay in the same school. Thankyou. read more