Forward Education Trust ITT Primary (SEND) (2MXM)

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

Accredited body
University of Wolverhampton
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
1 year - full time
Date you can apply from
11 October 2022
Date course starts
September 2023
Website
http://fet.ac

Contents

Course summary

The programme qualifies you to teach in all SEND settings and phases as well as mainstream primary schools.

It will comprise 120 days in schools made up of a special school placement and a mainstream primary placement. It also includes a non-assessed additional voluntary placement at home or abroad and further immersion days in settings to broaden your SEND experience.

There are also 65 days of training that are typically based at the Walsall Campus of Wolverhampton University where you will join other student teachers with 5 days of specialised training in SEND pedagogy.

School placements

There will be one 10 week mainstream placement from October to December which is split into a Key Stage 1 and then a Key Stage 2 placement, each for 5 weeks and ideally within the same school. During this, teaching time is built up to teaching 50% of the time. The second placement will be 12 weeks in a special school and will be in either Key Stage 1 or 2. Teaching time should be up to 80% by the end of that placement which runs from April to June. There are additional non-assessed placements of one week in each in Nursery and Secondary schools and two weeks ‘enhancement’ placement which can be abroad with the University or in another different setting in the UK.

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.

Please note University of Wolverhampton only accept our their equivalency test and they offer this for English/Maths/Science.

Contact: equivalency@wlv.ac.uk

Personal qualities

At Forward Education Trust we are passionate about providing the best possible outcomes for our wonderful children and young people. We would love to receive applications from like minded people who share our passion, and are genuinely committed to working with children with a wide range of additional needs. Although not essential, we would highly recommend that you gain some school experience in a special school before applying, which we are also very happy to help organise if you get in contact with us.

Other requirements

All adults working across our Trust schools and any partner schools will be required to undertake a DBS check.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for UK students in 2023 to 2024 are £9,250.

About the training provider

Our programme is for those who are passionate about wanting to work in Special Education. Through our strong alliance of good and outstanding special schools that educate pupils in a unique range of types of SEND and our mainstream partner schools we can offer you a rich and varied training experience.

We are happy for you to contact us prior to applying for advice or for us to arrange school experience.

We recognise that a 1 year PGCE is a demanding experience and previous trainees have praised our accessible and personal pastoral support.

We have a very high rate of trainees completing and passing our PGCE course. All of those who have completed our course in the last 5 years have succeeded in finding teaching jobs.

Forward Education offers a range of learning and development opportunities for all of our staff. Beyond your PGCE year, if you started your employed teaching journey with us, we offer our Early Career Teachers (ECTs), a comprehensive two year induction, which includes access to the national Early Career Framework, Trust and school based induction and training about various aspects of SEND pedagogy. Beyond your two year induction we also offer a range of leadership development, curriculum subject development and further training on a wide range of SEND pedagogy . As a result nearly all of those who have trained with us are still teaching and some have moved successfully into middle / senior leadership roles within our Trust.

Interview process

The Application and Interview Process

Apply for a place on the Schools Direct Course for September 2021 via the Teacher Training tab on ucas.com We will contact you and you may be called to meet us for a half day that will include an interview, a short observation and an audit of your English and mathematics skills.

Only the interview and observation are used to assess your readiness to join the programme.

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 for the duration of this course, you may need to apply for a Student visa.

To do this, you’ll need to be sponsored by your training provider.

Before you apply for this course, contact us to check Student visa sponsorship is available. If it is, and you get a place on this course, we’ll help you apply for your visa.

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

As a provider that specialises in SEND we are committed to supporting trainees who have disabilities or other needs because we believe that this gives you an insight into the needs of our pupils.

Our schools and the university all have accessibility plans and we will work closely with you to consider any reasonable adjustments that we can make to your training and school placements to enable you to succeed.

Contact this training provider

Email
a.whitehouse@fet.ac
Telephone
0121 743 5730
Website
http://fet.ac
Address
Brays Road
Sheldon
Birmingham
West Midlands
B26 1NS

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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