Stour Vale School Direct Geography (2GKC)

PGCE with QTS full time

• Accredited body: University of Worcester
• 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.

• Age range: 11 to 16
• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 11 October 2022
• Date course starts: September 2023
• Website: https://svat.org.uk/train

Contents

Course summary

School Direct with Stour Vale (https://www.svat.org.uk/train) is a school-based route into teaching, based across Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and South Staffordshire. Our School Direct trainees spend the vast majority of their time based in schools with some time spent in university. Trainees attend theory sessions with Stour Vale for one day a week and have around 45 university days throughout the year. This ensures the perfect blend of school experience with training from both serving teachers and university experts.

At the end of the course, our trainees gain a PGCE qualification alongside QTS. Trainees complete 2 university assignments over the course of the year, each worth 30 credits at Masters level (Level 7).

We work in close partnership with The University of Worcester, and our partner schools, to deliver this Geography course which is designed to equip trainees with the skills, knowledge and experience needed to gain QTS. It features an ambitious curriculum covering 7 key areas:

• Professional Behaviours
• Behaviour Management
• Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy
• How Pupils Learn
• Adaptive Teaching
• Assessment
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Trainees also focus on developing their subject knowledge throughout the year and this permeates through the curriculum areas.

The course offers a wide range of support for trainees as well as training input from:

• The Stour Vale School Direct team (we fully support trainees from their initial enquiries into teacher training right through to successful completion of the course)
• Expert university subject tutors
• Experienced in-school mentors
• A wide range of current serving teachers from across the Stour Vale School Direct partnership
• Wider university services

For the latest information on our courses please visit (https://www.svat.org.uk/train).

For any enquiries, please contact us via email at teach@svat.org.uk or telephone on 0121 585 5385.

School placements

Successful candidates spend the Autumn and Summer Terms at their lead school. During the Spring Term, they have a second placement at a different school within the Stour Vale School Direct alliance. This is to ensure that trainees gain experience of different contexts.

Lead schools are involved in the initial interview process. Applicants can select a preferred location for their lead school when applying. However, please note that we are unable to make guarantees due to changes in individual school capacity throughout the year. In all cases, the applicant’s own circumstances will be considered so that travel times are not inconvenient. A full, clean driving license and access to a car is desirable, but not essential.

Full details of all of our School Direct partner schools are available on our website: (https://www.svat.org.uk/train-to-teach/our-partner-schools)

All trainees are allocated a subject mentor within their school. Teaching timetables are staged, and trainees will be expected to be teaching independently by the end of the first term. Weekly meetings and observations will take place to fully support the trainee’s needs and help them to develop as classroom practitioners.

Locations

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

Location	Vacancies
Beacon Hill Academy High Arcal Drive, Dudley, West Midlands, DY3 1BP	Yes
Crestwood School Bromley Lane, Kingswinford, West Midlands, DY6 8QG	Yes
Highfields School Boundary Way, Wolverhampton, WV4 4NT	Yes
Kinver High School Enville Road, Kinver, South Staffordshire, DY7 6AA	Yes
Nishkam High School Great King Street North, Birmingham, West Midlands, B19 2LF	Yes
Oldbury Academy Pound Road, Oldbury, West Midlands, B68 8NE	Yes
Ormiston NEW Academy Marsh Lane, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV10 6SE	Yes
Pedmore High School Grange Lane, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 7HS	Yes
Pegasus Academy Scotts Green Close, Holly Hall, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 2DU	Yes
Redhill School Junction Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 1JX	Yes
Ridgewood High School Park Road West, Wollaston, West Midlands, DY8 3NQ	Yes
Stour Vale Academy Trust c/o Halesowen College, Whittingham Road, Halesowen, West Midlands, B63 3NA	Yes
The Earls High School Furnace Lance, Halesowen, West Midlands, B63 3SL	Yes
The Royal School Wolverhampton York House, Penn Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV3 0EG	Yes
Wombourne High School Ounsdale Road, Wombourne, South Staffordshire, WV5 8BJ	Yes

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

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

Your degree subject should be in geography or a similar subject. Otherwise you’ll need to prove your subject knowledge in some other way.

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

We’ll consider candidates with pending GCSEs.

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

Personal qualities

We are looking for people who first and foremost believe in the power of education to transform the lives of young people, whatever their background and ability. You will be hard-working, with an enquiring mind and have the resilience to stay the course. Teaching is the most rewarding job in the world, but it is also, like all professions, a challenging one. You will be supported all the way, but we also want you to be independent, a critical thinker, reflective and self-aware. You will also need to be a confident communicator who will contribute to a great team spirit.

Other requirements

• Full criminal/DBS checks will be carried out upon application.
• Trainees without the relevant degree may well be expected to take a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course.
• Fitness to Teach: Admission to the course is subject to a satisfactory medical report, as you are required to meet the standards for Fitness to Teach. We endeavour to meet the needs of trainees with disabilities and you are welcome to discuss any needs or disabilities with us at any time during the application process.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for 2023 to 2024 are as follows:

UK students	£9,250
International students	£15,800

Fee amount pending confirmation from the University of Worcester.

About the training provider

Stour Vale School Direct provides a unique, high-quality teacher training experience for prospective Primary and Secondary teachers via School Direct Initial Teacher Training courses. We are an alliance of schools based across the West Midlands that work closely together in collaboration with local universities to recruit and train the teachers and school leaders of the future.

With an exciting and comprehensive training programme that delivers up-to-date pedagogy alongside proven and practical skills for use in the classroom, our vision is to ensure all trainees are given the best possible start to their teaching career. Experienced mentors guide trainees through the course and ensure that their time with us is challenging, rewarding and enjoyable!

We work closely with a number of schools across Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and South Staffordshire as part of our School Direct partnership. For an up-to-date list of our partnership schools, please visit: (https://www.svat.org.uk/train-to-teach/our-partner-schools/)

Our courses are accredited by the University of Worcester, Newman University and Haybridge Alliance SCITT (c/o Birmingham City University), and award a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with QTS to all successful trainees.

For more information about Stour Vale School Direct, please visit:(https://www.svat.org.uk/train). Alternatively, you can sign up for one of our regular online or face-to-face School Direct information events here: (https://www.svat.org.uk/train-to-teach/train-to-teach-events/).

For any enquiries, please feel free to contact us directly by email at teach@svat.org.uk or by telephone on 0121 585 5385. We look forward to hearing from you!

Interview process

Suitable applicants are initially invited to an online university interview. Full details are shared by the university following application. This interview will include a presentation and formal interview questions with a university subject tutor and a member of the Stour Vale School Direct team.

Following a successful university interview, applicants are then invited into a potential lead school. Applicants will have a tour of the school or department, and an opportunity to visit lessons in their subject and meet their potential school mentor. They will also have a final interview with a school-based member of staff and a member of the School Direct team. Further details are provided upon application.

Should they wish to, successful applicants are given opportunities to gain work experience in their lead school prior to their course starting. We find that this helps to settle any pre-course nerves!

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

We are a fully inclusive Trust and pride ourselves on our provision for all our stakeholders’ needs. Wheelchair access is excellent with lift access to all areas of our site. We take care to ensure the mental health and well-being of staff and pupils and have recognised this in our School Direct handbook.

Contact this training provider

• Email: teach@svat.org.uk
• Telephone: 0121 585 5385
• Website: https://svat.org.uk/train
• Address: c/o Halesowen College; Whittingham Road; Halesowen; West Midlands; B63 3NA

Support and advice

For support and advice, you can speak to a teacher training adviser for free. They’re all experienced teachers who can help you to prepare your application, book school experience, and access exclusive teaching events.

You can also 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).

Find out about the different ways to train if you do not have a degree, or are already an experienced teacher.

If there is something wrong with this course listing, contact us by email.