PGCE (Progression Route)

1. PGCE (Progression Route) Please Note this programme is currently undergoing validation – there may be minor changes to some of the information in this presentation.

2. Duration and Start Dates • This is a two year part-time programme • Taught days are one day a week during term time • Currently Wednesdays at Chatham and Mondays at Harbledown. • Start dates are April at Chatham and January at Harbledown

3. Entry Requirements • Experience working with children in an educational setting • Maths, English and science GCSE grade C or equivalent • Higher Education credit equivalent to an ordinary or honours degree • To be working with children in an educational setting • To have the support of a senior manager in the setting where you work

4. I haven’t got Maths or Science GCSE can I still join the programme? • The TDA require that you have GCSEs grade C or equivalent in maths, science and English. • We offer an ‘equivalency test’ in Maths, Science and English which is recognised by the TDA for teaching

5. When can I sit the equivalency test? • Once you have been interviewed and accepted onto the programme you will be offered a place conditional on the equivalency test. • Admissions will then arrange for you to sit the test at the Canterbury Campus before the programme begins. • A small fee is payable for administering the test. • You should indicate on your application form if you wish to sit any of the equivalency tests

6. What qualification will I have at the end of the programme? • This programme gives you 120 Level 3 credits • You will be awarded a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)

7. What does recommendation for QTS mean? • All teacher training results in recommendation for QTS as you must teach for a full year (or equivalent if part-time) as a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) before QTS is confirmed by the General Teaching Council (GTC) • Confirmation of QTS is managed by your employing school

8. What age range will I be qualified to teach? • You can choose to train for the 3-7 age range (Foundation Stage and Key Stage One) • Or the 5-11 age range (Key Stages One and Two) • Your professional placements will be in the key stages for which you wish to train.

9. Professional Placement • You will spend time on professional placement (teaching practice) • You will undertake a 4 week block in term 1. This placement will NOT be in the setting where you work. • In terms 3, 4 and 5 you will undertake placement which could be in your own school. This placement will be tailored to meet your individual needs and will reflect your experience to date and your achievements on your first professional placement.

10. Professional Placement • Placement in your own setting will probably be between 4 and 12 weeks • Some of this placement time may be part-time. For example you may do mornings only followed by six weeks of afternoons. This could be tailored to fit around your on-going work in school. • Your final placement in term 6 will be 6 weeks long and will NOT be in the setting where you work.

11. I work in an independent/special school. Can I undertake placement in my own school? • Yes, but only if: • The school follows the National Curriculum • The school caters for the appropriate Key Stage. • You have a successful first placement (which MUST be in an LEA primary school)

12. I currently work in a mainstream secondary school – can I join this programme? • Yes – but all your placement time must be spent in primary schools • QTS, when granted, is not age specific – but the training programme you will undertake is geared towards teaching Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 and 2 • Some secondary schools may consider employing you to work with SEN children in Key Stage 3 if you have primary training.

13. I am a TA in the school – what will happen when I am on professional placement? • You will have to be released from your usual role for the duration of the professional placements in terms 1 and 6. • You need to be sure that Head Teachers are clear how this will be managed – it is the school’s responsibility. • However, in terms 3,4 and 5 placements might, where possible, be incorporated into your usual work in schools.

14. I am working as an unqualified teacher. Will that cause any problems? • Not necessarily – you will need to undertake some professional placement in terms 1 and 6 in another school. Your Head Teacher will need to be clear that they can facilitate this. • In terms 3, 4 and 5 your placement could be in the class you usually teach. Blocks of time would be allocated as official ‘placement time’.

15. Finding a school for placement • The university has a dedicated partnership office which will find a suitable school for you. • We will ask you to suggest some schools where you could be placed. • The partnership office makes every effort to place you somewhere suitable – but please note that you may need to travel some distance. • Individual needs are considered when placing students.

16. Placement Abroad • It may be possible to spend a week abroad as part of your placement in Term 5. • This would form the basis of a research project. • We have links with France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain and elsewhere in the EU on a funded basis • There are also links with the US and elsewhere which can be self-funded

17. How much teaching do I have to do when I am on placement? • You will start by observing the teacher and working with small groups. • By the end of the first placement you will be planning independently and teaching for about 50% of the time • For subsequent placements you will build up to an 80% timetable.

18. Do I have to do all the planning by myself? • There is a gradual build up to independent planning and this is supported by taught sessions at the university. • You will start by using the teacher’s plans then move on to planning with the teacher and finally plan by yourself. • In your final placement you will be doing almost all the planning by yourself.

19. What support will I get on placement? • You will have a teacher in the school who acts as your mentor. He or she will support you with weekly meetings and by observing you teach. • You will be assigned a link tutor, who is a university tutor, who will visit you during your school placement and observe your teaching.

20. How is Professional placement assessed? • Through the school experience file, which contains a record of your placement, lesson plans, assessment records etc. • Through observations of your teaching by school mentors and link tutors • The mentor fills in a final report which tracks your progress against the standards. • You need to demonstrate that you have met all the standards by the end of the final placement.

21. Skills Tests • In order to gain qualified teacher status you need to pass skills tests in maths, English and ICT • You will be able to undertake these tests at any point in the programme and can sit them more than once if you are unsuccessful at first

22. What are the money issues? • You will be required to pay tuition fees for the programme – these will be in the region of £1535 per year of the programme. • You will be eligible for a student loan and also for University bursaries • Whilst you are undertaking professional placement your school may not pay you as you will not be able to fulfil your usual role. • You should discuss this with the head teacher before starting the programme.

23. Taught sessions • Throughout the programme there is an emphasis on a creative and cross-curricular approach to primary education. This is reflected throughout the taught sessions, which involve activities outside the classroom and visits to other contexts and settings.

24. Taught sessions • There are 6 modules: • Learning and Teaching in Primary Schools • Creativity in the Core Curriculum • Learning across the Curriculum • Meeting Diverse Needs • Research in Education (Specialist Module) • Professional Placement

25. Assessment The modules will be assessed through a variety of different means which will include essays, oral presentations, a small-scale classroom-based enquiry, policy analysis and critique of academic journal articles (subject to validation).

26. Award of Credit • 20 credits are awarded for each module • An average of your grades on each module (apart from professional placement) provides your degree classification. • This gives you 120 credits in total.

27. Any other questions? • Contact me on: • rebecca.austin@canterbury.ac.uk • 01227 782128 • Rebecca Austin • Programme Director