Course summary

This PGCE course prepares you to teach children in either the 3 to 7 age range or 5-11 age phase. This 2-year, part-time blended route provides you with the skills to teach your chosen age range, integrating theory and practice and combining study at either postgraduate or professional level alongside practical training to enable you to meet the Teachers’ Standards by the end of the course. This course will be delivered via blended learning with training usually taking place on a Friday. Students will attend campus for sessions (usually 6 sessions in each academic year delivered on campus), and the remainder of the taught content will be delivered through a mix of synchronous and asynchronous sessions as well as independent study, to allow flexibility for students choosing this route. Our ITE Curriculum is underpinned by the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework to ensure you are well prepared to teach during your placements and to prepare you for your future career in the classroom.

This part-time, two-year course includes time spent on placement in schools or Early Years settings- more than 120 days will be based in a placement school or setting. 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/setting-based mentors. Students on this route will undertake three placements over two years. In the first year, students undertake the ‘Introductory placement’ with 2 consecutive days a week spent on placement, leading to a 6-week block (5 days a week) which usually takes place after Easter. In the second academic year, there will be two more placements following a similar structure whereby students are in school for 2 consecutive days a week, leading to a longer 6-week block in each.

The course allows for integrated academic and professional preparation for teaching, combining study at either postgraduate or professional level with practical training to meet the Teachers’ Standards by the end of the course. The goal is that you should become a reflective practitioner – a teacher who thinks about their experiences and learns from them 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. You will carry out a series of study tasks which link theory to practice and provide a focus for reflection. You will be supported in your learning by university tutors, school/setting-based

mentors and your peers. Practical teaching is introduced gradually, allowing you to build confidence and skills in a structured way.

Assessment

Assessments include written assignments that support your analysis and reflection of theory and practice. You will be summatively assessed against the Teachers’ Standards at the end of the second academic year and your final placement, to be recommended for QTS. Formative assessments will also take place throughout your time on placement, to check understanding and knowledge gained against the BGU ITE primary curriculum.