Palmerston School Primary (Special Educational Needs) (2T53)

Postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) with qualified teacher status (QTS)

• Accredited body: Liverpool John Moores University
• Financial support: Student finance if you’re eligible
• Qualification:
  PGCE with QTS

  A postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) with qualified teacher status (QTS) will allow you to teach in state schools in England and may allow you to teach in other parts of the UK.

  It may also allow you to teach overseas, though you should always check what qualifications are needed in the country you’d like to teach in.

  Many PGCE courses include credits that count toward a Master’s degree.

• Age range: 5 to 11
• Course length: September 22 - July 2023
• Date you can apply from: 11 October 2022
• Date course starts: August 2023
• Website: http://www.palmerstonschool.co.uk

Contents

Course summary

Palmerston School Direct offers a well-researched balance of twenty, bespoke training sessions focussed on Special Educational Needs and Disability, alongside university led, Core PGCE training.

Our SEN focussed sessions take place at Palmerston School, in Aigburth, Liverpool. Core training takes place in the recently built LJMU Education Buildings in Liverpool city centre.

We are a small, dynamic course, which enables us to build a supportive community and understand students individual needs throughout their Initial Teacher Training.

Students undertake placements in three separate schools, including two different types of SEN settings and a Primary mainstream school. This range of school experience and volume of training makes our trainees very employable.

Placements are based across Merseyside and Cheshire. We carefully match schools to students to optimise student’s opportunities.

School placements

Students will undertake placements within a diverse range of schools.

All of the schools in our alliance are based in Merseyside and Cheshire.

Each student has a Special school as a Home school, wherein they spend most of there placement experience. This is a Primary, Secondary or 4-19 Special school.

During the Autumn two half term, students undertake a placement in an alternative special school, in order to broaden and enhance their experience.

Spring two half term is spent in a Mainstream primary school, consolidating some of the core training and ensuring students are prepared to teach in both Special and Mainstream schools.

Students have two mentors in each school as well as a Liaison tutor from JMU. Students have the same Liaison tutor throughout the course.

We match students to schools on a number of criteria, including geographical distance and transport requirements however, please note that as the Special school population is lower, schools are spaced further apart.

Locations

You can select one of the following locations when you apply.

Location	Vacancies
Liverpool John Moores School of Education, Education Building, Maryland Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 9DE	Yes
Palmerston School Minehead Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L17 6AU	Yes

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

An undergraduate degree at class 2:2 or above, or equivalent.

Grade 4 (C) or above in English, maths and science, or equivalent qualification.

We’ll consider candidates with pending GCSEs.

We’ll consider candidates who need to take a GCSE equivalency test in English, maths or science.

Where candidate do not have a GCSE, we accept the Edge Hill Equivalency Certificates only.

Personal qualities

We are looking for candidates with a keen interest in SEND provision and a passion for empowering vulnerable people through education.

The motivation to ensure all learners receive a quality education that is tailored to their specific needs is also deeply important.

An adaptable and flexible approach is required, alongside enthusiasm for working with learners with a full spectrum of needs. This may include but will not be limited to Severe Learning Difficulties / Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties / Autism Spectrum Conditions / Social Emotional and Mental Health conditions.

Other requirements

You will also be required to meet the Department for Education’s standards for physical and mental fitness to teach and clearance to work with children. Further information, including a Declaration of Health questionnaire and details of how to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure will be sent to you after you have firmly accepted an offer.

Your offer is conditional on completing ALL conditions of entry.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for 2023 to 2024 are as follows:

UK students	£9,250
International students	£14,000

About the training provider

Palmerston School Direct has a proven track record of developing inspiring, child focussed, well prepared teachers. This is done through a broad range of SEND specific training days as well as placements in a number of different special and mainstream schools. Palmerston School Direct graduates are qualified to work in both special and mainstream schools. There is 100% pass rate and excellent rates of employment, predominantly in special schools.
Palmerston is an graded ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and uses current research and student feedback to inform and evolve our initial teacher training provision. The small size of our cohorts allows us to build excellent relationships and respond quickly and specifically to the changing needs of our trainees alongside our trusted partners Liverpool John Moores University.

JP – “School Direct teacher training route through Palmerston School offer training in Special Educational Needs that is of an exceptionally high standard. All the SEN training has been useful and beneficial for my professional development. As the group of trainee teachers is small, everyone gets to know each other really well, tutors and trainees included, and it is a very supportive environment to train in.

AW – “As an employer, I look for someone who has relevant experience, skills, and confidence of working with pupils with SEND. The School Direct trainees have all of this by the end of their training. I have observed the trainees in our school growing in confidence and ability and would not hesitate to employ a School Direct trainee again.”

About the accredited body

We are proud to work in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, whom Ofsted ranked ‘outstanding’, noting that the University and partner schools are dedicated to training a supply of ‘well-qualified, committed and socially engaged teachers who are prepared to make a positive difference to the life chances of pupils across Merseyside and beyond’.

Liverpool John Moores is a dynamic, responsive university which makes them an excellent, cohesive partner, focused on excellent student experience.

Interview process

Successful applicants will be interviewed at Palmerston School by a small interview panel of current practitioners and Senior Leaders.

Interviews take place over the course of a day, and include time spent working alongside pupils in class and writing a short reflection before the interview.

Candidates do not need to prepare anything to bring on the day.

International candidates

You’ll need the right to study in the UK. You already have this if, for example, you:

• are an Irish citizen
• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (you may still be able to apply)
• have indefinite leave to remain in the UK

If you do not already have the right to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa. The main visa for fee-paying courses (those that you have to pay for) is the Student visa.

To apply for a Student visa, you’ll need to be sponsored by your training provider.

Sponsorship is not available for this course.

If you need a visa, filter your course search to find courses with visa sponsorship.

Alternatively, check if you’re eligible for a different type of visa, such as a Graduate or Family visa, that allows you to train to be a teacher without being sponsored.

Find out more about training to teach in England.

International qualifications

If your qualifications come from a non-UK institution, we may want to see a ‘statement of comparability’ from UK ENIC. This will show us how they compare to UK qualifications.

You can call Get Into Teaching on 0800 389 2500 for:

• guidance on the UK equivalents of your qualifications
• a free statement of comparability once you’ve submitted your application (if we ask you for this)

Training with disabilities and other needs

Training takes place at Palmerston School, which is fully accessible. We are fully committed to inclusion, supporting both students and pupils with a range of needs to be fully included is fundamental to our ethos. We are experienced and flexible and have supported students with a range of needs to sucessfully complete the course and enter employment.

Contact this training provider

• Email: s.caines@palmerston.liverpool.sch.uk
• Telephone: 0151 4282128
• Website: http://www.palmerstonschool.co.uk
• Address: Palmerston School; Minehead Road; Liverpool; Merseyside; L17 6AU

Support and advice

You can speak to a teacher training adviser for free, dedicated advice. They are all experienced teachers who can give you one-to-one support with your application. They can also help you get school experience, and find events where you can speak to training providers and teachers.

Call Get Into Teaching free of charge on 0800 389 2500, or chat online Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm (except public holidays).

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