Masters Degrees (Alternative Education)

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

-to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
-to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
-to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III

This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:
Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

The aim of Physical Education is to develop physical competence so that all children are able to move efficiently, effectively and safely and understand what they are doing. The outcome, physical literacy, is as essential as literacy and numeracy to ensure the holistic educational development of young people in our society.

The PGCE Secondary Physical Education course at Brunel University London has a long standing national reputation for high quality teacher education in our subject area. The course is very popular, drawing on outstanding expertise and experience in this field from both academic and school staff. Many of our alumni have gone on to become school leaders, not only within Physical Education, but also as members of senior management teams in school at an early stage in their career because of the high standards and expectations we have for our student teachers. We retain very close links with our community of Physical Education alumni and many of them go on to be mentors for our student teachers, are involved in selection and recruitment of the next generation of PE teachers from Brunel or contribute to aspects of teaching on the programme where they have specific expertise.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list.

The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006. We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.
We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning.
It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Primary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 5-11. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Primary course is structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based.

The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I
This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.

2. Education Studies II
This module aims to develop understanding of the learning, teaching and assessment of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 & 2, in the Core (English, Mathematics and Science) and Foundation subjects (Computing, Physical Education, History, Geography, Religious Education, Art and Music).
The primary focus will be on developing approaches to maximise the impact you can make on pupil progress (TS2). This module focuses on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and ways to meet the differentiated needs of a range of pupils in relation to theoretical perspectives and real-life classroom applications and strategies are addressed.

3. Education Studies III (Curriculum Enhancement)
The following range of Curriculum Enhancements are usually offered: Bilingualism, Culture & Identities (BCI), Mathematics, Mathematical Thinking, Physical Education, Talk, Science, Computing
This unique module aims to develop curriculum expertise in the chosen area, whereby student teachers can:
research and develop innovative skills and projects within the context of their curriculum enhancement study and school setting;
apply the skills and principles of highly effective planning, teaching and assessment principles of National Curriculum focus areas, using a broad range of learning, teaching and assessment resources and approaches;
explore and develop skills in ‘specialised’ cross-curricula approaches.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs). This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006. We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

The application will cost £51.86 (this amount may be subject to change) and the University will send further instructions as part of the admissions process. For further guidance please email [email protected].

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Primary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Primary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:
Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities (Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

Generic Course Structure and Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III

This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:
Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

Mathematics is one of the three core subjects in the National Curriculum along with English and Science. As such, it is accorded a high status and there are ample opportunities for the promotion of good teachers.

Attitudes among pupils to the subject are extremely varied. The challenge for you is to bring Mathematics to life and inspire pupils of all abilities to explore the subject's potential at an appropriate level.

You have to be able to encourage and support pupils who struggle with Mathematics or lack enthusiasm for the subject, and learn how to make it accessible to them. You also have to be able to extend those who enjoy and are successful in the subject.

The PGCE Secondary Mathematics Education course is very popular, drawing on outstanding expertise and experience in Education to
build upon your commitment to the teaching profession and the subject area.

The intensive programme combines courses in principles and methods of teaching with practical school-based teaching placements and students are assessed on both elements.

Throughout the course, theory and practice are integrated in both the University and school contexts. The course is planned and delivered in partnership with Mathematics colleagues in local schools.

The Teachers’ Standards are mapped to every aspect of course provision to facilitate the best possible opportunities to support the process of your professional learning.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Learning and Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

- to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
- to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
- to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III

This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:
Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

This course has resulted from an initiative by the professional body for physics, the Institute of Physics, in response to current and future needs for specialist physics teachers in secondary schools who may wish to offer mathematics as a second subject. The PGCE is a full time, one year, postgraduate course, carrying 60 Masters Level credits.

Potential students will be graduates of physics or engineering who may be recent graduates or ‘career changers’ of different ages. The normal entry requirement is a bachelor’s degree from a recognised University, at upper second-class honours or above and one where physics topics form at least 50% of the degree content.

This qualification aims to produce reflective, confident and competent teachers of physics and mathematics who are able to be effective at planning, teaching and assessing these subjects in secondary schools and contribute to the whole school community.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go
on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

-to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
-to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
-to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Applying for your first post:
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III

This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:
Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

As a qualified science teacher you may be required to teach National Curriculum general science to Key Stage 4, as well as your particular specialism to ‘A’ level and beyond. To this end, the course aims to facilitate your transformation into a well-educated, well-trained, confident and motivated science educator.

Along with English and mathematics, science is one of the three core subjects of the National Curriculum and since all pupils have to study a broad, balanced curriculum in science there is a demand for well-qualified and skilled science teachers. Most pupils entering secondary school are excited at the prospect of work, for the first time in a fully equipped laboratory, and secondary school science teachers have to build upon and sustain this interest for the subject.

To meet this challenge we need capable, skilled and enthusiastic teachers who are able to motivate young people and lead them to discover the wonders of science.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Learning and Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

-to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
-to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
-to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I
This module covers the following GPE themes:

Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.

You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II
This module covers the following GPE themes:

Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III
This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:

Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

As a qualified science teacher you may be required to teach National Curriculum general science to Key Stage 4, as well as your particular specialism to ‘A’ level and beyond. To this end, the course aims to facilitate your transformation into a well-educated, well-trained, confident and motivated science educator.

Along with English and mathematics, science is one of the three core subjects of the National Curriculum and since all pupils have to study a broad, balanced curriculum in science there is a demand for well-qualified and skilled science teachers. Most pupils entering secondary school are excited at the prospect of work, for the first time in a fully equipped laboratory, and secondary school science teachers have to build upon and sustain this interest for the subject.

To meet this challenge we need capable, skilled and enthusiastic teachers who are able to motivate young people and lead them to discover the wonders of science.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

The Brunel Science Postgraduate Certificate (PGCE) is a M-level course with 60 credits that can contribute to further Master's level study in Education, subject to approval.

The course will equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to teach science and the ability to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the vital role of the teacher and the school in ensuring excellence in the educational experiences of young people

Undertake professional practice which enables you to evidence the Teachers’ Standards which facilitate the award of Qualified Teacher Status

Understand the relationships between Education and science within current national and government frameworks, and critically reflect on the impact of these in the work of schools and the educational experiences of young people

Recognise the contribution that science as part of the whole school curriculum makes to the development of the individual learner and groups of learners

Think critically about what it means to be scientifically educated and how this informs curriculum planning and design within the subject area

Apply a thorough knowledge and understanding of science (Physics) National Curriculum to the planning of curriculum experiences for pupils in school

Demonstrate competence and confidence in your ability to teach across the contexts for pupil learning in the mathematics National Curriculum range and content, applying principles of continuity and progression

Use subject knowledge and relevant course specifications to plan and deliver the 14-16 curriculum including examination and vocational courses

Demonstrate an understanding of the subject knowledge and specification requirements for the 16-19 curriculum

Utilise a range of teaching strategies to meet the identified learning needs of a wide range of pupils

Utilise a range of resources, including information and communication technology, to enhance pupil learning in physics

Understand the importance of safe practice and safeguarding and apply these in working with young people both within and beyond lessons

Use a wide range of class management strategies to maximise pupil learning

Understand the principles of inclusion and apply these to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils in the subject area

Understand national frameworks for assessment within the subject area and use these to support the recording and analysis of data, and the subsequent use of this to plan the next phase of learning

Raise the status of the subject area by demonstrating high standards of professionalism at all times

Understand the crucial role of professional learning for the teacher, the pupils and schools.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I
This module covers the following GPE themes:

Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.

You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II
This module covers the following GPE themes:

Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.

You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III
This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:

Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

As a qualified science teacher you may be required to teach National Curriculum general science to Key Stage 4, as well as your particular specialism to ‘A’ level and beyond. To this end, the course aims to facilitate your transformation into a well-educated, well-trained, confident and motivated science educator.

Along with English and mathematics, science is one of the three core subjects of the National Curriculum and since all pupils have to study a broad, balanced curriculum in science there is a demand for well-qualified and skilled science teachers. Most pupils entering secondary school are excited at the prospect of work, for the first time in a fully equipped laboratory, and secondary school science teachers have to build upon and sustain this interest for the subject.

To meet this challenge we need capable, skilled and enthusiastic teachers who are able to motivate young people and lead them to discover the wonders of science.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

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This programme leads to Qualified Teacher Status. It equips you to teach pupils from 5-11 years and covers all areas of the Key Stage 1 and 2 curriculum, through lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. You'll gain 60 Masters level credits and be awarded with a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education.

The programme will give you an in-depth understanding of inclusive practice, equality and diversity to prepare you for a career in London schools. As a part of the programme you will experience different schools and also have an opportunity to work in an Alternative Education Setting. At Masters level you'll have the opportunity to develop a specific area of expertise.

LSBU has a particular focus on social justice and equality that is well matched to the needs of schools in urban and multicultural areas. At LSBU we encourage creativity, reflective pedagogy and sensitivity to educational issues.

Bursaries

The Government provides the following bursaries to be off-set against tuition fees, via the Training Agency. Tuition fees need to be paid by all students direct to LSBU. Students can use any bursary they receive from the Training Agency for this purpose.

If you have a 1st Class Degree or a PhD you will be eligible for a bursary of £3,000

You do not need to apply for bursaries. Once you have firmly accepted an unconditional offer of a place on a Teacher Training course (and supplied proof of your degree grade) the University will liaise with the Department for Education to put your bursary in place.

Modules

H Level Modules:

Core curriculum
Professional studies
Foundation subjects
School experience
Alternative education setting

M Level Modules:
Equality, inclusion and citizenship

Plus one of the following module options:

SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability)
Connect, consume, create: ICT in the Primary School
Performing Arts
Raising Achievement in Mathematics (RAiM)
English: Language, learning and culture

Teaching and learning

The university based sessions are taught through lectures, workshops, practical sessions, seminars and tutorials. The aim throughout is to encourage creativity, reflective pedagogy and sensitivity to educational issues, aims and objectives. We aim to provide a learning community that actively challenges inequality and injustice.

In particular, the module on Equality, Inclusion and Citizenship will allow you to reflect on key issues such as equality, diversity and sustainability in the educational context.

You will be encouraged to make links between the theoretical and practical elements of the course. We use an interactive model of teaching and learning and you will be encouraged to think critically about subjects to inform your understanding of effective methods of teaching and learning and how best to apply these in classroom situations.

Timetable

This is a full time course and you will be required to be present either in university or on school placement five days per week. University based sessions run from 9.00-4.30pm.

Days in school follow the school day timings of your particular placement school, as a guide this is usually from 8.30-4.30pm but individual schools may differ slightly.

Placements

During the course you will undertake placements in at least two schools. Placement schools are chosen to provide different experiences including size, organisation and location. Our partnership works with a wide range schools across London. Placements are allocated as best fit for each trainee, but if you live in outer London or beyond it may require careful planning by you so that you are able to work at assigned schools.

In addition you will undertake a placement in an alternative education setting. The choice of placement will depend on the option you choose and your interest in the education sector. Examples of placements include SEN schools, pupil referral units, hospitals, overseas etc.

A key element of the programme is to prepare you to work in multi-cultural, urban settings. In terms of school experience placements you will normally be required to do at least one practice in an inner or outer London state school.

Employability

Completion and employment rates for our PGCE are both above the sector norms and we have been identified as a good provider of initial teacher training (OFSTED 2014). Although we pride ourselves in providing teachers for London schools, successful students enter the teaching profession in a variety of schools/nurseries within the UK.

All students entering the course have the possibility of gaining up to 60 credits at Masters level, which can be used by students to count towards the award of full Masters qualifications (such as the LSBU MA in Education) gained via further study after graduation.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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If you wish to communicate your enthusiasm of learning with young people, this course will prepare you to do this effectively.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Education Primary Education offers initial teacher education to develop reflective teachers who care about pupils’ development and who understand how to ensure pupil progression. You will focus on the teaching of the National Curriculum for primary schools and specialise in teaching Key Stages 1 and 2.

This course is designed to meet the NCTL Teaching Standards which assesses all trainees working towards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). It is practically based, with a strong theoretical back up and will also make you fully aware of recent educational developments such the National Primary Strategy and Every Child Matters.

We are proud of our long-standing tradition of training students in Primary Education within the Institute of Education.

This postgraduate qualification offers 60 Masters-level credits that can be used towards our Masters degrees in the field of education.

PRIMARY EDUCATION Frequently Asked Questions

This is NOT an appropriate training course for applicants who wish to teach in Secondary schools or Post Compulsory Education establishments.

What happens on the course?

Over the one year course, you will undertake University-based learning at Walsall Campus, and you will spend at least 120 days divided between two different schools across the 3-11 age range within the Primary age phase.

Learning is through experience, exploration and research, and is technology supported - you will also be allocated a personal tutor for the duration of the course.

All course modules provide examples of good practice in teaching which you will reflect upon as you develop your own teaching style. You will be expected to participate actively in your own learning and development/.

Typical modules may include:

• An Introduction to Foundation Subjects and RE
• Developing Information and Communication Technology Skills for the Primary School Classroom
• Primary English
• Placements in two Primary Schools
• Primary Maths
• Primary Professional Studies
• Primary Science

PGCE: programme structure

Starting in September and ending in June the full-time PGCE is the fastest and most condensed way for non-experienced trainees to qualify.

120 days (24 weeks) of the 36 week PGCE course will be spent in schools.

We try to take your geographical location into account when placing you in schools but our first concern is to ensure that you have a high quality school placement that can provide a range of experiences. Additional training will therefore take place in partner schools other than your 'attachment' schools. Support is available from your University Tutor throughout your training, plus from experienced teachers accredited by the University as school based tutors.

Career path

Successful completion of the PGCE Primary Education course leads to recommendation to NCTL for qualified teacher status (QTS) and will then allow you to take up a teaching post within a primary school.

A national survey conducted by the Centre for Education and Employment Research has ranked Wolverhampton as the second most successful UK Higher Education Institute for graduate teacher training employment

88% of primary NQTs in 2012 rated the overall quality of their training as very good or good.

Following successful completion of this award, you could also use your 60 Masters-level credits towards any of our Masters degrees in the field of education which can be continued within your NQT year.

Find out more about further study that can be taken after completing this PGCE award.

What skills will you gain?

Successful completion of the PGCE Primary Education course leads to recommendation to NCTL for qualified teacher status (QTS) and will then allow you to take up a teaching post within a primary school. You will be prepared to teach pupils in the 3-11 age range within the primary age phase with alternative education setting enhancement.

This course will provide you with an excellent start to your teaching career as you experience teaching in two separate schools, working with trained school-based tutors to aid your development.

Who accredits this course?

This course leads to recommendation towards the professional qualification of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The University will recommend students who have demonstrated competence in the Professional Standards to the Teaching Agency – who will award QTS.

The award of QTS is essential to teach in a school in the United Kingdom and on gaining this award the student becomes a qualified teacher.

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About the course

A central feature of the work of professionals in education and training today is the evaluation and development of practice, and the ability to bring about change within their institutions. The EdD is a research-based programme focused on the improvement of professional practice. You will work at doctorate level on issues or problems that are of direct relevance to your professional interests and institutional concerns, bringing significant benefit to the organisation in which you work.

You will undertake a programme of studies in the areas of professional development and impact on practice; research approaches and methods appropriate to practice-based research; and leadership issues in promoting the learning of others. In consultation with tutors you will develop a programme of work which leads to the presentation of a thesis.

The programme is intended for professionals with an education or training function from public sector or commercial/business organisations. These include: people working in education settings such as schools, further education, higher education, and local education authorities; trainers and consultants; staff working in inter-agency settings; youth and social workers.

Study themes for Phase 1 (Years 1 and 2) are: issues in professional learning and development; approaches to research.

Study Themes for Phases 2 and 3 (Years 3 to 5) are: professional learning and development of practice-based research, with supervisory support leading to the production of a substantial thesis.

A programme of sessions relating to the themes provides opportunities for you to present and evaluate your own work.

How to apply

Before making your formal application, we recommend that you discuss your proposed research with Dr Jon Berry [email protected], to establish that it is appropriate for this award.

Download our information pack on studying for a Doctorate in Education. - https://www.herts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/83921/Information-pack-2015.pdf

Applications should be returned to Dr Janice Turner, Research Administrator, SSAHRI [email protected]

Why choose this course?

The Doctorate in Education (EdD) offers the opportunity for those with an enthusiasm for learning to gain the highest level of professional qualification available in the field.

Teaching methods

A series of bi-monthly study days are organised in two-day blocks and single days (including weekend days), supervision meetings, e-learning support and University Research Degrees' Generic Training for Researchers sessions. This research course has a strong cohort experience and attendance to the bi-monthly study days is compulsory. During the study days, which are led by the EdD team, students develop research skills and discuss their ongoing projects. Students are supervised by a principal and up to two second supervisors. The EdD core team includes professionals with a wide range of expertise at the forefront of education and social inquiry:

Jon Berry, PhD. Programme Tutor, Professional Doctorate in education (EdD). Areas of expertise: teachers’ professional autonomy, education policy, the politics of education. Representative publication: Teachers' professional autonomy in England: are neo-liberal approaches incontestable? Forum Vol. 54: 3 2012

Bushra Connors. Current research interests: critical realism, interdisciplinarity, structure and agency interactions, globalisation and Higher Education, pedagogy in a changing world, behaviour management in schools, science teaching pedagogy. Representative publication: Global mechanisms and Higher Education (presented at the Conference of the International Association for Critical Realism, Bologna, 2010).

Joy Jarvis, PhD, Associate Dean, Learning Teaching and Employability. Areas of expertise: professional learning and development including pedagogy in schools and HE, professional identity, professional development and leadership in learning and teaching. Research interests focus on narrative and arts-based forms of enquiry. Representative publication: Other ways of seeing; other ways of being: imagination as a tool for developing multiprofessional practice for children with communication needs (with Trodd, in Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Vol. 24, 2008).

Roger Levy, PhD, Associate Head of School, Research and Enterprise. Areas of expertise: professional learning and development, including mentoring, enquiry into work-based practice and the capacity of organisations to manage change; conceptions of teaching and learning; teacher development, professionalism; curriculum, programme evaluation; qualitative methodology. An active member and past Chair of the International Professional Development Association.

Philip Woods, PhD FRSA, Professor of Educational Policy, Democracy and Leadership. Areas of expertise: policy, leadership, democracy and education, enterprise and entrepreneurialism, alternative education, sociology, research and evaluation. Representative publication: Transforming education policy: Shaping a democratic future(Policy Press, 2011). Active links with US include University Council for Educational Administration and the New DEEL (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership) network.

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The MA in Education - SEND is relevant to a wide variety of settings and across the age range from early years through to post compulsory education in college, university and other contexts. There is a strong focus on social justice and inclusion and the opportunity to reflect on your own professional practice throughout the courses.

MA in Education SEND is designed for people with an interest in autism and critical disability studies and for practitioners across the age range into post compulsory education. Based on the principles on 'nothing about us without us' content is informed by the experiences of people who identify personally with autism and /or SEND.

You'll develop a particular strand of interest into the dissertation and have opportunities to disseminate your findings to the work place and throughout the course. The Centre for Educational Research has a number of ongoing disability focused research projects and hosts the Disability Equality Research Network (DERN). This provides a vibrant supportive environment for your research and ensures that course content is always research-informed.

The programme will take place at LSBU (K2 Building) or in Special Educational Needs partners' schools and be delivered by academics and experts from the Special Educational Needs sector. Evening and weekend taught sessions are complemented by an extensive virtual learning environment and delivered on campus or elsewhere by arrangement. Students, wherever located, become part of diverse and stimulating LSBU community and the vibrant Centre for Education Research.

National Award for SEN Co-ordinator

You can also choose to take the recognised award of 'National Award for SEN Co-ordination' or options that will further deepen your understanding of SEND.

Modules

All modules are assessed by a mix of assignments, presentations, research projects and portfolio development.

Year 1

Students take two of the optional modules list below in year 1:

Special educational needs and disability
Part 2 SENCO National Award
Teaching and learning:
Understanding autism and learning
Autism individuality and identity
Part 1 SENCO National Award

Year 2

In addition to one of the modules listed above

Research Methods (compulsory)

Year 3

Dissertation (compulsory)

Timetable

Weekly evening seminars during term time.

Bespoke CPD sessions can be delivered on request.

Teaching and learning

You'll be taught by Dr Nicola Martin who has substantial experience in the field of autism including working with Professor Baron-Cohen on the Cambridge University Autism Project. She was also formerly director of the Autism Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. Dr Martin is currently a lecturer at LSBU and is a Principal Investigator for Research Autism.

You'll also be taught by Gianna Knowles who has considerable experience of working with school staff to develop their Special Educational Needs Departments. Gianna has published a range of academic textbooks that support staff development in this area.

You'll benefit from an up to date Virtual Learning Environment via Moodle and be actively encouraged to make use of the extensive range of support services across the university. You'll have access to a supervisor during the dissertation phase.

Placements

Access to the workplace (including voluntary work) is essential for most of the modules within the MA.

Professional links

The department has wide professional links within and beyond the university and the UK. Examples include:

• The Equality Challenge Unit
• The Alliance for Inclusive Education
• Equality and Diversity Forum Research Network
• The Leadership Foundation
• Research Autism
• Theorising Autism Project
• Teacher Education for Equality and Sustainability Network (TEESNet)
• National Association of Disability Practitioners
• Commonworks (for a just and sustainable world)

Recent guest lectures have been given by disabled academics and parents of pupils who have experienced special education.

Employability

MA Education Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is designed to deepen your understanding of working with pupils /students in any educational setting, across the age range into adult education. It is therefore relevant to employment in school, college, alternative education settings and to work with disabled students at university. Content is applicable to teachers and staff in non- teaching roles, such as mentor, disability officer or learning support assistant. The content is also relevant to staff in strategic and operational leadership roles.

It is a professional and academic degree that provides an in-depth understanding of inclusive practice in education across the age range (in keeping with the 0-25 framework in the Children and Families Act 2014). The degree is relevant from early years to post-compulsory education in a wide variety of settings. The diverse requirements of learners identified with SEND and best practice to support inclusive learning and achievement will be explored. You'll be encouraged to critically engage with relevant theory and legislation contextualised and applied in practice.

This programme will contribute to your employability and the National SENco award may be a requirement of your workplace.

Students wishing to achieve promotion or develop a career in education benefit from having a higher degree. Progression from the MA to the EdD further enhances employability and promotion prospects, particularly in academia and research. CVs are improved by having publications in refereed journals and this is encouraged and supported on the MA as well as the Doctorate in Education.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' - Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)

The University of Greenwich has long been a centre for excellence in teacher training and education, and we have a strong commitment to meeting the needs of those who want to study at the highest academic level. 

Many of our applicants who work in vocational areas choose the PhD in Education and Training, whereas applicants who work in schools tend to choose the PhD in Education, but the choice is open and the only difference is in the final title. Doctoral applicants choose which PhD to apply for depending on what they would like the final title of their doctorate to be. 

Our PhD in Education and our PhD in Education and Training are intended for qualified and experienced lecturers, teachers, trainers, other professionals working in education or those who want to explore education as an academic subject. Both PhD programmes are flexible but rigorous, and are designed to support you through the challenges of doctoral study and research. 

Academic support

We currently have 20 students on our PhDs in Education programmes at the University of Greenwich. They are each supported by a supervisory team of three lecturers, with a strong background in practical and academic experience, both in educational research and in doctoral supervision.

Our programme has a dedicated programme leader, programme administrator, and a wide range of supervisors. Students' progress will also be monitored and supported by committees within our department and the university. Your fellow students will also provide a rich source of peer support, alongside the students from our Health and Social Care PhDs and Psychology PhDs.

Degree structure

If you apply successfully for our MPhil/PhD programmes you will initially be enrolled on an MPhil, and then upgraded to PhD after you have completed a substantial piece of doctoral level work.

You meet regularly with your supervisory team throughout the process, and they will support you both in the practicalities of producing a dissertation and defending it at viva. The team will also help you develop advanced skills in contemporary theoretical knowledge, critical analysis, doctoral research and evidence-based inquiry; ultimately, this will allow you to reach doctoral standard, that is, it will allow you to make a contribution to knowledge informed by original research and scholarship.

Recent research projects

Recent research projects include:

• Leadership and management in education
• Leadership in higher education
• Professionalism and professional practice
• Comparative studies
• Work-based learning
• Lifelong learning
• E-Learning, social networking
• Pedagogy, learning theories and learning and teaching
• Widening participation, access, achievement and the student experience
• Literacy and pedagogy
• Creativity and complexity theory
• Alternative education
• Teachers as researchers
• Experiences of LGBT+ teachers and students
• Childhood studies and history of education.

There are also a range of other individually negotiated subject areas.

Application

As part of your application, please identify an area of research that you wish to pursue and submit a research proposal of approximately 1,500 words along with your application form. Please also submit a CV along with the form.

Location

Located at the university's prestigious Greenwich campus, the Education and Training programme has world renowned attractions right on its doorstep from the Cutty Sark to Greenwich Park.

With the opening of the highly anticipated Dreadnought Building on the horizon, not only will you study in the heart of the Greenwich campus, but you will also have access to state-of-the-art learning, teaching and social spaces.

Assessment

Students are assessed through their research thesis.

Careers

Graduates from this programme have gone on to a range of middle and senior academic and management roles in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions.

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'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' - Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)

The University of Greenwich has long been a centre for excellence in teacher training and education, and we have a strong commitment to meeting the needs of those who want to study at the highest academic level. 

Our PhD in Education and our PhD in Education and Training are intended for qualified and experienced lecturers, teachers, trainers, other professionals working in education or those who want to explore education as an academic subject. Both PhD programmes are flexible but rigorous, and are designed to support you through the challenges of doctoral study and research. 

PhD Education and Training

Doctoral applicants choose which PhD to apply for depending on what they would like the final title of their doctorate to be. Applicants who work in schools tend to choose the PhD in Education, whereas many of our applicants who work in vocational areas choose the PhD in Education and Training. The choice is open and the only difference is in the final title.

Academic support

We currently have 20 students on our PhDs in Education programmes at the University of Greenwich. They are each supported by a supervisory team of three lecturers, with a strong background in practical and academic experience, both in educational research and in doctoral supervision.

Our programme has a dedicated programme leader, programme administrator, and a wide range of supervisors. Students' progress is also monitored and supported by committees within our department and the university. Your fellow students will also provide a rich source of peer support, alongside the students from our Health and Social Care PhDs and Psychology PhDs.

Programme structure

If you apply successfully for our MPhil/PhD programmes you will initially be enrolled on an MPhil, and then upgraded to PhD after you have completed a substantial piece of doctoral level work. You meet regularly with your supervisory team throughout the process, and they will support you both in the practicalities of producing a dissertation and defending it at viva. The team will also help you develop advanced skills in contemporary theoretical knowledge, critical analysis, doctoral research and evidence-based inquiry; ultimately, this will allow you to reach doctoral standard, that is, it will allow you to make a contribution to knowledge informed by original research and scholarship.

Research projects

Recent research projects include:

• Leadership and management in education
• Leadership in higher education
• Professionalism and professional practice
• Comparative studies
• Work-based learning
• Lifelong learning
• E-Learning, social networking
• Pedagogy, learning theories and learning and teaching
• Widening participation, access, achievement and the student experience
• Literacy and pedagogy
• Creativity and complexity theory
• Alternative education
• Teachers as researchers
• Experiences of LGBT+ teachers and students
• Childhood studies and history of education.

There are also a range of other individually negotiated subject areas.

Application process

As part of your application, please identify an area of research that you wish to pursue and submit a research proposal of approximately 1,500 words along with your application form. Please also submit a CV along with the form.

Assessment

Students are assessed through their research thesis.

Careers

Graduates from this programme have gone on to a range of middle and senior academic and management roles in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions.

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The MA Programme in Education engages with education across the age range from early years to adulthood and is relevant to a wide diversity of educational settings. There is a strong focus on social justice and inclusion and the opportunity to reflect on your own professional practice throughout the courses.

The course offers a unique opportunity for experienced professionals to gain a practice-focused higher degree. Specialisms in Autism and SEND are also available. Individual MA modules can also be taken as Continued Professional Development (CPD). Accreditation of Prior Learning is also possible within the all the MA programmes at LSBU. If you have completed EIC and SEND options at LSBU you are a third of the way there! (APEL from other universities is also possible).

Students will gain much from working with a diverse group of peers and tutors from a wide range of educational backgrounds. The close association between the Centre for Educational Research and the MA provides opportunities to work with like-minded research-active peers within a lively and supportive learning community. Opportunities for accreditation of prior learning are available to participants with an appropriate background and this should be discussed with the admissions tutor who will also explain the CPD processes on request.

Modes of study:

• Within a partnership school as part of a school cohort.
• As an independent student.

The programme's distinctive and innovative feature is its school-based character. For most participants their schools and colleges have always been the context of their study. This programme allows the work that participants do, as they write about issues of central concern to themselves and their institutions, to be properly valued. It places much importance upon the value of a professional practice approach to study at Masters level, allowing all aspects of this practice to inform and to be informed by critical reading of the literature, by theory and by relevant research.

Teaching and learning

Students also have the opportunity of benefiting from engagement with the research profile of the Education Department, with its particular expertise in global citizenship and sustainable development education, equality and inclusion, and the personal and social development of young people in schools.

You'll benefit from an up to date Virtual Learning Environment via Moodle and be actively encouraged to make use of the extensive range of support services across the university. You'll have access to a supervisor during the dissertation phase.

Placements

Access to the workplace (including voluntary work) is essential for most of the modules within the MA.

Professional links

The course has been designed and developed in partnership with schools, Southwark Local Authority and other Educational stakeholders in the London area. The MA would provide an excellent pathway to the LSBU's Doctorate in Education (EdD), which has a special focus on equality, diversity and sustainability.

We are continually reviewing, in partnership with participating schools and students, the provision of units, developing the course to meet the ongoing needs of participants.

Colleagues from the School of Law and Social Sciences, in particular the Families and Social Capital Group, are regular contributors as guest lecturers. Speakers from a range of external organisations also contribute to units across the course. Recent guest lectures have been given by disabled academics and parents of pupils who have experienced special education.

The department has wide professional links within and beyond the university and the UK. Examples include:

• The Equality Challenge Unit
• The Alliance for Inclusive Education
• Equality and Diversity Forum Research Network
• The Leadership Foundation
• Research Autism
• Theorising Autism Project
• Teacher Education for Equality and Sustainability Network (TEESNet)
• National Association of Disability Practitioners
• Commonworks (for a just and sustainable world)

Employability

The MA Programme in Education is designed to deepen your understanding of working with pupils /students in any educational setting, across the age range into adult education. It is therefore relevant to employment in school, college, alternative education settings and to work with disabled students at college and university. Content is applicable to teachers and staff in non- teaching roles, such as mentor, disability officer or learning support assistant. The content is also relevant to staff in strategic and operational leadership roles.

The programme is designed to complement and support all current career and professional development initiatives and frameworks. It will naturally extend to the provision of evidence required for addressing the Professional Standards for teachers and hence progression throughout the teaching profession.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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The Art and Design in Education MA draws on the research and teaching expertise with the Art, Design and Museology group at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE). It examines the relationship between art practice, theory and pedagogy and enables students to develop a rigorous approach to educational research in art colleges, schools and galleries.

About this degree

This programme will enable you to share and investigate art education from theoretical, historical and practical perspectives. It addresses key issues such as globalisation, alternative models for art education, new technologies and embodied learning. Students will explore the relationship between practical and theoretical modes of enquiry and learn to conduct research using appropriate methodologies.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), two optional modules (60 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits).

Core modules

• Alternative Models for Art Education
• Research Based Practice in Art and Design Education

Optional modules

• Contemporary Art and Artists in Education
• Material and Virtual Cultures: Transforming the Museum and Gallery Experience
• Responsive Museums: Inclusion and Outreach in Practice

Dissertation/report

All students undertake a dissertation in one of three modes:

• a thesis of 20,000 words
• exhibition and 10,000-word report
• an exhibition of a residency / placement and 10,000-word report

Teaching and learning

Teaching methods include studio practice, lectures, seminars, and gallery-based learning delivered by IOE staff, visiting lecturers and professionals working in universities, galleries and schools. Assessment is based on coursework assignments and the dissertation.

Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Art and Design in Education MA

Careers

UCL IOE's Art and Design MA students have a strong record of success in obtaining leadership roles in arts organisations and education. Alumni are currently working as lecturers in further and higher education, heads of arts faculties in secondary schools, freelance artists educators in galleries and museums as well as careers advisers for the arts. Graduates have also been very successful entering PhD programmes.

Recent career destinations for this degree

• Assistant Principal and Secondary School Teacher (Art), Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Primary School Class Teacher (Art), Kender Primary School
• Secondary School Teacher (Head of Art and Design), St. Helen's School
• Senior Arts Education Officer, Ministry of Education - Singapore
• Freelance Artist and Designer, Location Inflation

Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.

Why study this degree at UCL?

Art and design education at the IOE - the leading institution for education worldwide (QS World University Rankings 2015) - has a long and distinguished history which can be traced back to the work of pioneering art educator Marion Richardson (1892-1946).

Located in the heart of Bloomsbury, the current MA works closely with galleries and museums continuing Richardson's quest to strengthen links between contemporary art practice and education.

Students enjoy the use of purpose built studio space in IOE's Grade I listed building and benefit from being part of a wider community of PGCE, MA and doctoral students.

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.

The following REF score was awarded to the department: Culture, Communication & Media

78% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)

Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.

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