Primary Advantage Primary with Mathematics (3DPC)

PGCE with QTS full time

Accredited body
UCL, University College London
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
Date you can apply from
11 October 2022
Date course starts
September 2023
Website
http://www.primaryadvantage.co.uk/train-to-teach

Contents

Course summary

Primary Advantage Federation is seeking to appoint excellent applicants like you for the School Direct PGCE Primary with Maths (Tuition Fee) Programme 2023-24. At Primary Advantage we have developed an extremely effective maths programme used by many schools in our region and across the country so you are coming to schools who love teaching maths!

An ‘A’ level in Mathematics at grade C or above is required for this course.

This route looks identical to the PGCE Primary Maths Specialist programme on offer at UCL - the only difference is that you apply directly to our schools rather than the university itself. That way you know where you’ll be placed for the entire year.

This training route is provided with UCL Institute of Education (IOE); The IOE is a global leader in teacher education. Their programmes are recognised by Ofsted as “outstanding” in every criterion across Primary and Secondary Education. All our School Direct students have full access to UCL student support services and facilities.

The primary PGCE is a highly popular course known to develop effective, confident teachers whose classroom practice is informed by an advanced knowledge of educational theory, and who continue to learn and reflect throughout their careers.

As a trainee you will be warmly welcomed and supported in our schools.

You will start the year at university and later in September join one of our schools for your first placement. You will have the chance to observe and participate in class at first and gradually be coached to lead activities and teach small group and whole classes as your placement progresses, with the guidance, nurture and support of your class teacher.

You will spend about a third of your training at the Institute of Education and the remainder on placement at our schools.

You will benefit from a very strong support network which includes an IOE tutor, school mentors, class teacher mentors and the student peer group. Most importantly you will love working with our children.

As part of our support programme you’ll come together for weekly ITT Hub training sessions with some of the best teachers in our Federation for training, observations, and reflecting on practice. We have found this creates a really strong peer group which students find incredibly supportive and valuable. It also adds an important third dimension to your teacher training experience.

Full course details can be found at: https://primaryadvantage.co.uk/train-to-teach/school-direct-post-graduate-teaching-apprenticeships/school-direct-primary-with-mathematics-tuition-fee/

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/courses/teacher-training/primary-specialist-mathematics-full-time-pgce

School placements

You will gain experience working Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 during the course of the year. You will start in one of our schools for the first placement from around the start of October, until February.

You will then do a short 2-week alternative placement outside our Federation half way through the year to broaden your experience, and then rotate into one of our other primary schools in Hackney in the final term of the year, teaching in a different age phase.

These placements will be co-ordinated and finalised between us and the IOE by the start of the programme.

The advantage of applying to us directly is that you will know your 2 main placements will be in our schools. We can usually let you know by July which school your first placement will be in, and you can start to get to know your school early.

We can often arrange optional school visits, in your placement school, in July and September, so that by the time you start your first placement you will have had the opportunity to get to know your school and meet the staff and children. Students find this very useful as they start their first placement already knowing the school and many of its routines.

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

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

Grade 5 (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 science.

UCL will accept equivalency tests from:-

For UCL’s full entry requirements please see: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/teacher-training/entry-requirements

Personal qualities

Our schools are exciting places to work, filled with inquisitive children, supported by a community of diverse families and inspiring organisations, striving to ensure all children thrive.

We are looking for you to:

Be enthusiastic, hardworking and committed to supporting all pupils

Have excellent organisational and interpersonal skills

Be open to developing highly reflective practice

Have creative ideas with an ability to translate them into inclusive practice

Be committed to improving student outcomes

In addition you will have a love of maths for this course.

Other requirements

An A level in Mathematics at grade C is required for this course.

You are expected to be proficient in English, and will need to obtain an enhanced DBS and health checks (done via UCL before the start of the course).

We recommend that you aim to gain some experience in a classroom prior to interview, or starting the programme, if possible. We realise with the restrictions in place this year that gaining school experience may be difficult and will be flexible around this.

Fees and financial support

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

About the training provider

Be part of our success story.

Education in Hackney has been completely transformed: a revolution in a decade. Our eight primary schools in the borough continue to move from strength to strength. We are proud of our success across Primary Advantage and want you to be part of it.

We have 150 teachers across our 8 primary schools with almost a third of them having trained as student teachers with us. You will find many of our excellent class teacher mentors keen to share their own training experience with you. We train our teachers for the profession, not just for our schools, but are proud that many stay with us growing as both excellent practitioners and leaders.

We offer a clear professional development pathway to all student teachers allowing them to specialise in their practice and grow into both subject specialists, excellent classroom practitioners and school leaders. There is a strong support network for students and we have been recognised nationally for the CPD programme we offer.

Our strength as schools is the diversity of our children and our community. We are committed to this being even further reflected in our workforce across our schools.

Our schools are built on love and trust and underpinned by extremely high expectations for all. Let your experience working with us in Hackney be the start of your journey to becoming the best teacher you can be.

Interview process

The training route follows the same pattern as the PGCE at UCL, the difference being that you have the opportunity to choose us at the application stage as the schools you will train in.

Your application comes to us directly, we interview you and then your application is forwarded to the IOE for the final decision. Full details of the interview process will be given at the time. Interviews may be online. We usually ask you to prepare a short activity or presentation, you will have an interview with our team, and you will be asked to complete English and maths audits, in line with guidance from our partner the IOE.

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

Primary Advantage Federation is fully committed to admitting and supporting students with disabilities.

In addition all our trainees can access the wide range of support services provided by our university partners.

Contact this training provider

Email
palearning@primaryadvantage.hackney.sch.uk
Telephone
0207 254 1010
Website
http://www.primaryadvantage.co.uk/train-to-teach
Address
Holy Trinity Primary School
Beechwood Road
Hackney
London
E8 3DY

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.