Program Overview

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View full details in the curriculum handbook

September 2024 arrangements: the university has been accredited to deliver the Qualified Teacher Status course by the UK government.

This will follow the existing Core Content Framework syllabus and involve 20 days of training for beginning teachers.

When asked, 99% of students (who graduated from their Secondary PGCE in June 2022) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement

“I am confident that I am prepared to meet the demands of my next years in teaching”

.

The Secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education with QTS is the accreditation that enables teachers to teach in state-maintained and special schools in England.

If you work in a Prep School you should normally do the Prep PGCE with QTS course

.

This course is available to teachers who are currently employed in maintained or independent schools in England. You will be expected to undertake a teaching placement in a contrasting school. The duration of this placement is determined upon interview but is usually for 30-hours over a minimum period of three weeks (15 days).

This course is also available to Teaching Assistants who wish to qualify as teachers.

It is available for only £500 if you take the Apprenticeship QTS/PGCE

course instead.

We train teachers from Special Schools as well as SEND teachers in all schools. If you teach children a curriculum which is normally accessed by older children (e.g. you teach pupils aged 11-14 a Key Stage 2 curriculum) you will need to do a second school placement in a mainstream school where you can teach an age-appropriate curriculum.

“I feel that I have become a better teacher as a result of this training, especially thinking intentionally and consciously about pedagogy and educational theory and being encouraged to apply it to my practice. Thank you!”

“Leaders have developed an ambitious, coherent and challenging ITE curriculum. Based around five curriculum themes, the well-structured course is informed by the core content framework and underpinned by a wealth of pertinent academic research. Together, heads of cohort, subject leads and mentors ensure that trainees foster a deep subject knowledge and rich range of pedagogical skills. Trainees typically become very well-informed and highly reflective practitioners.”

Ofsted, 2021

What is the point of doing a PGCE if I am already working in a school?

A doctor does not simply learn to recognise symptoms and the best-known response to those symptoms. He/she knows the deeper causes of each illness and the way such an illness might impact different people.  In the same way, a teacher should know the deeper theoretical background to different teaching strategies, something which will enable them to teach with professional confidence. To achieve this, they need to read and evaluate recent research and texts.

Although part of a teacher’s ability depends on their subject knowledge and force of personality, there are specific skills (the ‘craft of the classroom’) which need to be grasped if they are to be truly effective. All teachers, for example, need to know about pupils with special needs. All need to know about the most effective ways of maintaining good behaviour.  All should know about the best ways of ensuring pupils capture what you are teaching them in their long-term memories.

Having taken the trouble to gain this qualification will show your employer and future employers that you are a serious, professional employee.

The PGCE with QTS will enable you to apply for jobs at the many schools that require teachers to have qualified teacher status.

The PGCE at The University of Buckingham is a Level 7 course and is therefore designed to be intellectually stimulating. It leads on to an MA for those who wish to take that more advanced qualification.

“The course introduced me to teaching techniques and classroom strategies that I was able to implement immediately.”

Patrick Shacklady, PGCE

A two-year part-time course (for part-time teachers) is available on request.