Program Overview

The Primary Mathematics Specialist PGDipEd leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and offers 120 credits towards our MA in Teaching Studies. Our programme offers high quality training and support, which will prepare you to teach in the 5-11 age range. It is run in close partnership with schools.

This Primary Mathematics Specialist route will enable you to develop your subject expertise within a primary context. You will learn to teach all the primary curriculum subjects as well as developing specialist expertise in teaching mathematics. You will be fully prepared for employment in a generalist role at the start of your career, where as a class teacher you will 'champion' mathematics and inspire children and teachers. The course lays the foundations for you becoming a future mathematics lead or specialist teacher in a primary school.

We are looking to recruit graduates with strong mathematics subject knowledge who demonstrate an enthusiasm for mathematics and an understanding of the primary context. You will benefit from our collaboration with a wide range of partner schools and the diverse communities we serve will enrich your experience.

On our programme you will be challenged to develop informed and justified decisions about how you approach your teaching, in order to enable you to continue to develop over your career. On successful completion of your PGDipEd you will be awarded 120 credits towards your Masters in Teaching Studies.

If you are interested in teaching young children, but would prefer to train as a generalist rather than a mathematics specialist, information on our Primary course may be found on the PGDipEd Primary course page. We also offer a Primary PGCE programme (60 Master’s credits) via School Direct route. If you are interested in Mathematics, but would prefer to teach older pupils, information on our Secondary courses can be found on the Postgraduate Diploma Secondary Education course page.

The School of Education at the University of Birmingham has a long tradition of delivering teacher training courses. Its teaching has been graded as 'outstanding' three times by Ofsted inspectors which affirms the University’s status as one of the UK’s leading institutions for excellence in teacher training.

Employability

We work closely with the University careers service and local councils in order to provide you with support for the job application process. Our success rate for completion of our primary courses and subsequent employment in schools remains consistently high. Primary mathematics specialist students are highly sought after. A majority of students gain employment in the local region, many of them choosing to remain in partnership schools. Many newly qualified mathematics specialists secure employment in a more generalist post at the start of their career, joining the mathematics leadership team and going on to lead mathematics in their schools.