Sydney Russell Teaching School Alliance Biology (2GJ7)

PGCE with QTS full time

• Accredited body: Partnership London SCITT (PLS)
• Financial support: Bursaries and student finance are available 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.

• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 13 October 2020
• Date course starts: September 2021

Contents

About the course

You will join Partnership London SCITT’s programme with full access to all services and facilities. You will benefit from the world-class expertise and research profile of our team. You are supported professionally by a system of school and personal tutoring and will spend a minimum of 120 days in school, divided into three assessment phases. This will give you an opportunity to gain experience in contrasting educational settings

The programme covers your chosen National Curriculum subject in detail as well as providing opportunities to learn about professional issues and research in education. You will benefit from an approach to teacher education that puts creative, inclusive and reflective practice at the heart of our programmes.

This programme will give you a thorough grounding in all aspects of the National Curriculum for your chosen subject.

It offers a balance of theory and practice, including the opportunity to understand the historical forces and ideas that have shaped today’s curriculum. You’re taught to appreciate a wide range of teaching approaches and we deal in detail with the planning and evaluation of lessons, assessment, marking and examination syllabuses.

PGCE Accreditation with Sussex University - We offer the PGCE in pedagogy and practice awarded by Sussex University. The course structure is a three-fold assessment through a 6000 word essay, presentation of directed tasks and portfolio evidence presented orally towards the end of the course. There will be support from the university as well as from PLS and this is an ideal way to gain PGCE for those wishing to have that academic award in addition to QTS.

Professional Studies and Subject Development Sessions - These will take place on a weekly basis throughout your training and will cover the key issues both in the classroom and those wider issues of professional responsibility and professional conduct.

In addition to the subject development and professional studies sessions you will also have a mentor who you will meet with on a weekly basis for review, reflection and target setting.

School placements

The training model is very much rooted in the philosophy of our mission statement, viewing all as life-long learners.

We find the following definition of pedagogy useful:- Pedagogy is the act of teaching together with its attendant discourse. It is what one needs to know, and the skills one needs to command in order to make and justify the many different kinds of decisions of which teaching is constituted (Alexander 2003)

You will have two teaching placements in contrasting schools covering at least two different key stages.

The training will follow what is commonly referred to as an ABA model. The second placement (B) is six weeks and takes place in the spring term. Therefore most of the training year will be spent in your main placement school (A), allowing you to get to know the systems, students and staff.

You will get weekly input on subject pedagogy as well as professional studies. These sessions will be delivered by very experienced practicing teachers, a key part of our training model.

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

Degree - Students must have an honours degree, usually at a minimum of 2:2 (or equivalent) The student can demonstrate a relationship between their first/higher degree content or other academic/professional qualifications that they might hold and the subject they will be teaching in. Where PLS deem it necessary, a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course (SKE) may also be required. This will be indicated if a conditional offer is made.

GCSEs - Candidates must hold a GCSE A*-C/grade 4-9 or equivalent in Mathematics and English for secondary teacher training and Mathematics, English and Science for primary teacher training.

Personal qualities

• Enthusiasm for teaching
• Positive attitudes to young people and their education
• Understanding the importance of establishing respectful, supportive and constructive relationships
• Ability to communicate effectively and accurately in spoken and written English
• Ability to reflect critically and creatively
• Evidence of wider educational reading and knowledge of key issues facing educators
• A sense of the scope of teachers’ professional skills and responsibilities
• Understanding ‘Fundamental British - Values’ and its importance to all aspects of teaching
• Awareness of key safeguarding issues
• Commitment to inclusion and equal opportunity
• A strong work ethic

Other requirements

Equivalency testing - A NARIC statement of comparability should be provided for non UK GCSE and degree level qualifications.

Literacy and Numeracy - Candidates are expected to be competent in fundamental English and Mathematics. This will be tested during the interview.

DBS and Medical - PLS places are offered conditionally subject to a successful DBS check and health check to ensure that they have the health and physical capacity to teach without putting young people at risk.

Failure to complete this questionnaire or any trainee deemed being unfit to teach will result in any offer of a place being withdrawn.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for UK students in 2021 to 2022 are £9,250.

DBS and fitness to teach medical are an additional cost

Financial support from the training provider

You can find information about tuition fee loans and other financial help on the Gov.uk website - (https://www.gov.uk/student-finance)

About the training provider

The Sydney Russell Teaching School Alliance is lead by an Outstanding school. In partnership with other local schools we offer you a fantastic school based opportunity to train in a supportive and aspirational environment. Our staff are excellent practitioners with outstanding behaviour management skills and are eager to support and train the next generation of teachers.

Our partnership comprises of Primary, Secondary 11-18 and a Special School. They are conveniently located and trainees have the unique opportunity to experience more than one school, age range and sector. We have successfully worked with trainee teachers for many years and offer you outstanding practical teacher training leading to QTS with the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). This is truly an exceptional opportunity.

Our core philosophy is to train the next generation of teachers to inspire, motivate and challenge our children. We will work with our trainees to build a solid foundation from which they can embark upon a rewarding career. We work to create an environment in which teachers and students thrive and feel valued and supported. Parents, teachers and children need excellent teachers in schools and our purpose is to provide them!

Working closely with our partners allows us to provide each trainee with rich opportunities to develop their teaching skills. Each trainee will have a personal learning programme closely matched to their individual needs and aspirations.

About the accredited body

‘Inspiring today’s learners to be tomorrow’s leaders’. We aim to recognise and respond to the talents and needs of every trainee and provide the best means of developing their full potential. We aim to recruit, train and retain the very best teachers.

PLS is led by two Outstanding schools, Sydney Russell in Dagenham and St Angela’s Ursuline in Newham both with long track records of outstanding teacher training. Now, as a SCITT, we are in the position to offer you top class training from outstanding professionals in a vibrant teaching atmosphere. The perfect start to your career.

Interview process

Selection Process - You will be interviewed by a Partnership London SCITT director and a subject specialist. In order for your application to be considered you should consider your personal statement as being an important part of this process.

References - We require two references one of which will be an academic reference. If you completed your studies more than five years ago your employer should provide your first reference.

Interview - We will interview all shortlisted candidates prior to making an offer of training. If you are invited to interview, we expect knowledge of key aspects of education and excellent subject knowledge.

The interview process will include

• Teaching a short lesson
• Written tasks
• A formal interview

You will be assessed on your ability to communicate clearly and engage the audience. All teachers need to be able to write English clearly without errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar because this is part of the job. Therefore there will be a literacy written task as part of the selection process as well as a subject related written task.

The interview will assess you on the following criteria:-

• Appropriateness of subject qualifications
• Capacity to expand subject knowledge
• Awareness of the roles and responsibilities of a teacher
• Any teaching or school based experience
• Resilience
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Enthusiasm for, and commitment to teaching
• Self-awareness of both strengths and areas to improve

Training with disabilities and other needs

All Sydney Russell and PLS partner schools are compliant with disability access

Contact details

• Email: ccr@sydney-r.bardaglea.org.uk
• Telephone: 0203 959 9900
• Address: The Sydney Russell School; Parsloes Avenue; Dagenham; Essex; RM9 5QT

Support and advice

For questions about this course you should contact the training provider using the contact details above.

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