What you will study and your assessment:

• Modules within this course are linked to your specialist subject and professional studies.
• Modules relating to professional studies are the backbone of the course and feed into subject sessions, your work in school and related teaching. Subject sessions explore theories, knowledge, and practices of teaching and learning your specific subject area. Please consult individual subject specialism pages for full course content details.
• You are encouraged to pursue an area of personal interest through selecting one of our Enhancement Activities (EA). There are currently seven EAs available: SEND, Teenage Mental Health, Education in Climate Emergency (ECE), Citizenship & PSHE, EAL, Technology Enhanced Learning and Careers.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

• This EA gives you the opportunity to think further about the principles and practice of successful teaching of students with ‘special educational needs’. This EA includes a 2-day placement in a Special School setting arranged by the University.

Teenage Mental Health

• This EA will help you to identify and understand poor mental health in your students and the factors which impact on both good and poor mental health.  You will learn reliable strategies to help yourself and the students in your classroom to cultivate well-being.

Education in Climate Emergency

• This EA will give you the opportunity to explore the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes required to support teachers, learners, and school communities in our time of climate crisis.

Citizenship and PSHE

• This EA provides a real opportunity to explore some of the principles which underpin effective citizenship and PSHE education and put some of these principles into practice.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

• This EA will introduce you to EAL learners and give you some insight into the way languages are learnt. It will also give you practical advice on supporting EAL learners in mainstream classrooms and provide a closer look at the language in the curriculum and the demands this places on EAL learners.

Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)

• This EA provides the opportunity to use and assess these electronic resources in a subject-specific context to enhance the learning process for the pupils.
• Careers
• This EA sees trainees exploring the importance of careers education before giving them the resources, experience, and confidence to make a difference to the lives of pupils in their own subjects and beyond.
• Aspiring Leaders is an additional EA that will be run towards the end of the course. You will be invited to apply during the PGCE course.
• This EA will give you the opportunity to understand how schools are run and your role within the school. Trainees who choose this EA have an opportunity to gain a greater insight into the difference between the academic and pastoral roles within schools by speaking to experienced staff about the differences.

You will be assessed in two strands:

• Professional practice
• Subject studies

The programme aims to train you to meet the Teachers’ Standards (2013) for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Two assignments provide the opportunity to gain 60 credits at Master’s level. The course is taught in an holistic fashion with constant re-visiting of themes, topics and skills.

The modules are:

Module 1:
Developing Learning and Teaching
This module builds on taught sessions in the autumn/winter terms and school experience. This culminates in Assignment A that is submitted in January and is assessment at Masters’ level.

Module 2:
Evidence Informed Teaching
This module focuses on school experience in the later section of the course and develops research skills to support you towards becoming an evidence informed practitioner. This culminates in Assignment B in the Summer term that is marked at Masters’ level.

Plus a professional portfolio which provides evidence of meeting the Teachers’ Standards (DfE 2013).

This portfolio focuses on your school experience.

Your PGCE is assessed as pass or fail and requires you to pass all three components.