PGCE Primary (5-11)

This PGCE course prepares you to teach children in the 5 to 11 age range as a general primary teacher. It is a very practical course with around two thirds of the time spent in schools, mostly working with teachers and pupils, and around one third spent on directed study, with partnership training in the University and school. It is an integrated academic and professional preparation for teaching, combining study at either postgraduate or professional level with practical training to meet the Teachers’ Standards.

This full-time, one-year course or, up to two-year part-time course includes both school-based experiences and sessions at the university with a strong focus on integrating theory and practice. At least 120 days will be based in schools. School placements are carefully structured to ensure the gradual development of your confidence as an effective teacher through building up experiences working with university-based mentors and school-based mentors. It is an integrated academic and professional preparation for teaching, combining study at either postgraduate or professional level with practical training to meet the Teachers’ Standards. The goal is that you should become a reflective practitioner – a teacher who thinks about their experiences and learns from them in order to improve their practice.

The focus of this course is on teaching and learning to support children and on the importance of your professional role. To this end, you will be prepared to teach the relevant curriculum subjects and areas of learning for your chosen age range. You’ll carry out a series of school-based and directed study tasks which link the theory to practice and provide a focus for reflection. You will be supported in your learning by university tutors, school teachers, school-based mentors and your peers. Practical teaching is introduced gradually, allowing you to build confidence and skills in a structured way.

The part-time route is particularly appropriate for graduate career changers or if you want to have a more gradual build-up in the amount of teaching that you do. You will need extremely good time management skills, energy, a capacity for independent study and an ability to manage several tasks in parallel.

For both the full time and part time programmes, there is a strong emphasis on linking theory and practice and the academic modules support you in developing your practice. All placements are part of the on-going assessment of the QTS standards and build up to longer placements. On the full-time programme, this is in the second and third terms and on the part-time programme in the second year. There are opportunities for enrichment experiences to develop your breadth of experience in different schools.

Our Ofsted Report (2016) found that high-quality training, provided through an effective partnership between the university and schools, “ensures that teachers trained by the university present as confident and effective practitioners, who are valued by their employing schools.

Recommendation for the award of QTS is based on evidence gathered throughout the course that you have met the Teachers’ Standards. This evidence includes assessments of your teaching, records of your planning and teaching, subject knowledge audits and evaluations of your teaching and other tasks you have undertaken.