Please note
Awarding Institution
Teaching Institution
School
Department
Subject Benchmark Statement
Date of Programme Specification Approval
Version Number
Educational Aims of the Course
The PGCE (Teacher Apprenticeship) programme aims to provide apprentices with the very best support to enable them to become confident, engaging and critically reflective teachers who have a positive impact and meet the learning needs of all children, young people and learners in their care.
The provision of the PGCE academic award is fully integrated with experiential, practice-based learning in the school, where apprentices have paid employment status. The PGCE programme is designed to develop teachers who:
- Have a holistic understanding of the role of a teacher both within and beyond the classroom, and a strong moral purpose for teaching.
- Develop inclusive teaching strategies and philosophies.
- Use evidence-based pedagogy.
- Have strong subject & curriculum knowledge and see their professional learning as a continuous journey beyond their training year.
- Apply reflective and critical thinking to their teaching.
- Are effective and engaging practitioners.
- Become autonomous, confident professionals who are able to make informed decisions in partnership with other stakeholders.
The course prepares learners to meet the Teacher Apprenticeship Standard, which is completely aligned with the DfE (2012) Teachers’ Standards that define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers from the point of being awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) onwards. The Teacher Apprenticeship/Teachers’ Standards are outlined below and are broken into two interrelated sections.
Part One: Teaching
A teacher must:
- 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.
Part Two: Personal and professional conduct
- A teacher is expected to demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct. The following statements define the behaviour and attitudes which set the required standard for conduct throughout a teacher’s career:
- Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school.
- Teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach, and maintain high standards in their own attendance and punctuality.
- Teachers must have an understanding of, and always act within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities.
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education will enable apprentices to:
- Develop a systematic knowledge and critical awareness of relevant theories, contemporary research and literature in relation to early years and primary education.
- Develop a critical understanding of the cultural, societal, political, historical and economic influences on learning.
- Critically analyse, synthesise and evaluate literature, educational policy and practice, and where appropriate, propose new approaches.
- Deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
- Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks during professional practice.
- Consistently critically reflect on their practices and value systems, developing an informed and personal philosophy of early years and primary education.
- Develop the independent learning ability required to continue to advance their knowledge and understanding and to develop new skills to a high level.
Course Offering(s)
Full Time
Full Time - July
Course Structure
Masters Level
Masters Core
Masters Compulsory
Masters Optional
End Point Assessment
End Point Assessment Compulsory
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Teacher Apprenticeships involve both work-integrated learning in paid employment and academic study. The Education and Skills Funding Agency specify that at least 20% of the apprenticeship must involve ‘off the job’ learning. The programme will be taught using a blended learning approach. The 20% off the job training will include:
- An induction to academic study at the University.
- Face-to-Face training in 3 intensive study weeks, and at least 3 half-day observation visits to school by University tutors.
- Online training, including tutorials, guided learning activities, webinars, directed tasks and assignments, amounting to 5 study hours per week.
- Weekly 1-1 coaching with the school based mentor, including a formal observation and feedback, professional discussion and identification of professional development targets for the following week.
‘Off the job’ training will be outlined in the Commitment Statement and monitored through the Training Plan and the Record of Progress form (completed during the mentor meeting) which will be uploaded weekly to the online portfolio.
Throughout the University and school based elements of the training programme, learners are encouraged to engage with current educational research as part their professional formation as teachers. Assignments require them to analyse and review current literature and to engage in action research through guided and independent critical reflective practice focused on the impact of their work on pupils’ progress and engagement.
The teaching and learning strategies employed will be structured to develop apprentices’ ability to:
- reflect on a range of current educational issues
- critically analyse research findings and challenge accepted theoretical frameworks
- evaluate practical situations and find solutions to problems
- develop reasoned arguments and communicate their ideas and opinions to a variety of audiences for a range of purposes
- select and implement different approaches to teaching and learning based on analysis of the context and through informed judgement.
Methods of Delivery
Guided online study
This will be used to present key concepts and theories and to introduce new topics. Activities will provide frameworks for later discussion and may include reflective tasks, reading, videos, webinars etc.
Online tutorials
These provide individuals and small groups of learners with opportunities for discussion with each other and the University tutor. They enable apprentices to explore subject based and practical aspects of teaching and learning. They provide opportunities to develop teaching skills and to extend understanding of the rationale behind a variety of teaching approaches.
Directed tasks
These will include:
- Practical school-based activities necessitating observation; data collection; and interpretation of findings; to support apprentices to develop their understanding of classroom interactions and the teacher’s role
- Activities aimed at developing personal subject knowledge within specific primary subject areas
- Reading and engagement with current educational research designed to develop and deepen understanding of theory into practice.
School Based Learning
Apprentices will plan lessons, teach whole classes, groups and individual learners and assess pupils’ learning. All apprentices are required to evaluate their progress on a weekly basis and periodically during each teaching placement. This process of reflection will be supported through weekly observations of their teaching and feedback provided by school based mentors
Assessment
The summative assessments for the PGCE (Teacher Apprenticeship) are designed to require intellectual rigour, the ability to integrate theory and practice, and the ability to communicate effectively. Assessment requirements are closely related to the core activities of a teacher and involve a range of tasks including planning, preparation and teaching, portfolio development, analysing the impact of their work on pupils’ learning, developing reflective practice and analysis of current policy and academic literature. All assignments provide evidence of the learners’ ability to meet the Teacher Apprenticeship/Teachers’ Standards.
The final grade for the Apprenticeship/Teachers’ Standards will be agreed between school based mentors and University tutors in relation to the grading criteria developed by the Secondary ITE Partnership. Once all the PGCE requirements have been met, and the learner has been recommended for Qualified Techer Status, they will meet the requirements for the end-point assessment gateway.
The gateway is triggered by the employer when they judge that gateway requirements have been met. The employer will select an End Point Assessment Organisation from the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Apprentice Assessment Organisations. The independent assessor must not be involved in any on-programme training, development or on-programme review/assessment of the apprentice, nor can they be the apprentice’s employer.
The end-point assessment is in two parts, comprising:
- A taught lesson observed and assessed by the independent assessor. The apprentice will produce a lesson plan, according to the employer’s format, which will be given to the independent assessor prior to the lesson observation. A short professional dialogue about the observed lesson will follow this.
- A professional discussion which will assess the apprentice’s knowledge, skills and behaviours with regard to the Teachers Standards. The professional discussion will be held between the apprentice and a panel composed of the independent assessor, a representative from the apprenticeship training provider and a representative from the employer who has been involved in the apprentice’s training and development such as the professional mentor or subject mentor. The Independent Assessor will assess the content of the professional discussion. The apprentice should bring with them the e-portfolio completed during the initial teacher training. The portfolio will not be assessed, but will provide the apprentice with an aid to support the professional discussion.
Once the gateway has been reached, the end-point point assessment must be completed within three months. The assessment organisation decides when the assessment is to occur, with the exact data and timing of the assessment to be agreed between the apprentice and the assessment organisation. The assessment will take place in the educational setting in which the training/employment has taken place or at another place of employment (an alternative educational setting). The employer will facilitate the taking of the end-point assessment.
The apprentice is permitted to retake the end-point assessment after 1 month and within 6 months of a failed end-point assessment, but not after 6 months (unless the apprentice is deferred due to sickness or maternity leave, which is to be determined by the assessment organisation). The apprentice is permitted to re-take the fail comment(s) of end-point assessment once within the permitted timeframe.
Throughout the PGCE (Teacher Apprenticeship) programme, formative assessment is provided in the following ways:
- The e-portfolio documents the Initial Assessment and ongoing formative assessment throughout the course. Items include records of the weekly mentor meeting, observations of their teaching, feedback from assignments, their developmental targets and progress reviews.
- Learners are offered formative feedback for each assignment. In addition, summative feedback on assignments provides developmental feedback to support learners to improve their academic writing further.
- In the professional practice modules, learners will receive detailed written feedback arising from teaching observations from their subject mentors, professional mentors and University tutors.
- Students will be formatively graded against the Teacher Apprenticeship/Teachers’ Standards at two points during the year in order to set targets for further development, implement interventions where appropriate and support their progress towards the final summative judgement against the Teacher Apprenticeship/Teachers’ Standards.
Please note
University awards are regulated by the Regulations for Awards (Taught Courses) on the University website.
Quick links to the Regulations for Taught Students, procedures and forms can be accessed on the University website.