Wealden Partnership Physics (2GCK)

PGCE with QTS full time

• Accredited body: University of Sussex
• Financial support: Scholarships or bursaries, as well as 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
• Website: http://www.heathfieldcc.co.uk/?page_id=566097

Contents

About the course

The training will be delivered both at the university and by staff at the partnership schools.

Our training is supported by the University of Sussex which has a long and successful tradition in teacher education in partnership with local schools. Candidates on a School Direct Tuition Fee or Salaried place with University of Sussex will be automatically registered on the Sussex PGCE which offers up to 90 Master credits and enables progression onto a part-time MEd in the NQT year and beyond if you wish and is equivalent to half a Masters degree.

You will receive the same high quality level of training and support from the University of Sussex as would a traditional Sussex PGCE candidate in addition to the many benefits of undertaking a school–based model of training with our strong partnership of schools.

University of Sussex tutors work with us to provide high quality inputs on how to teach and assess in a variety of secondary subjects or across the curriculum in primary schools. The University also provides a comprehensive programme of professional studies which complements the school-based training offered across our partnership.

This training features a mix of lectures, workshops, tutorials and school visits led by University of Sussex education faculty, excellent teachers from partnership schools and other educational experts. These sessions also allow you to share your experiences with other trainee teachers and reflect upon the learning and teaching you engage with in schools during the week.

Every trainee is expected to complete academic assignments at Masters level which are designed to develop knowledge and understanding, encourage reflection and assess progress against the Teachers’ Standards. The assignments are carefully crafted to ensure that trainees The University works in partnership with the school to organise a final assessment and make a recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). A university subject specialist tutor will be assigned to support you whilst on the programme and you will be eligible to access a range of support services provided by the University.

You will spend the majority of the year in your main placement school. We then arrange for you to undertake a shorter ‘complementary’ placement in another school during the year. For secondary the shorter placement takes place for 4-6 weeks after February half term and for primary after the Easter holiday until May half term when the course finishes.

Further information on the course can be found here.

School placements

You will complete your first teaching placement in one of our schools and your second placement in a different partnership school.

All four schools are able to provide access to post-16 learners and the opportunity to experience 6th form teaching in a successful and supportive environment.

We are keen to ensure that placement schools work for both the trainee and schools. Therefore are happy to discuss placement school preferences during the interview process.

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

Academic Qualifications You should be a graduate with a ‘good’ degree in Physics. You will need a grade C in at leave five GCSE subjects including English Language and Mathematics.

Personal qualities

We are looking for well-qualified, committed and enthusiastic trainee teachers who are passionate about Physics and keen to share this passion with young people of all abilities in the secondary age range.

Other requirements

We would expect you to have some experience of working with young people in this age group, possibly in a sports club or similar.

It is an advantage to have done some recent classroom observation in your subject area before you come to interview, a minimum of two weeks’ school experience.

Fees and financial support

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

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

Financial support from the training provider

Generous, tax-free funding is available to the best graduates training in a range of subjects. You could get up to £28,000 tax-free while you train, either as a bursary or prestigious scholarship. Early-career payments are also on offer for those choosing mathematics.Your eligibility for financial support, and the amount you can expect to receive, will depend on the subject you choose to teach and your degree classification or highest relevant academic qualification.

In addition, a small number of discretionary bursaries may be awarded to trainees who we identify as having outstanding potential, and who fall within the bottom and middle tier for core bursary payment purposes.

You don’t need to apply for a bursary – if you are enrolled on a non-salaried postgraduate course and meet the eligibility criteria, you will begin receiving payments automatically by your chosen teacher training provider. You will receive more information on the arrangements and how this is distributed prior to the start of your course.

Find out more about funding here

About the training provider

The Wealden Partnership offers high quality teacher training by dedicated professionals in a supportive and inspirational environment. We have worked with trainee teachers from our local universities for many years and value the enthusiasm they can offer to a school community. We believe that teaching is a wonderful career and that this is a successful, innovative and vibrant group of schools to work with.

Our partnership of schools is led by Heathfield Community College and comprises three other large secondary schools, Uckfield College, Uplands Community College and Beacon Academy as well as some of our feeder primary schools. All four secondary’s are highly successful and popular 11 – 18 mixed comprehensives situated in semi-rural communities in the north-eastern corner of East Sussex, within commuting distance of the South Coast. The schools are conveniently located within 10 miles of each other and this enables trainees to attend joint training sessions across all schools.

In addition to collaborating on teacher training, the partnership runs joint training sessions for all staff and provides a range of CPD opportunities for individual staff at various stages of their career development. All schools are committed to raising the quality of teaching and learning through raising standards.

Pupils in the partnership schools are happy, friendly and well-motivated and their welfare and progress lie at the heart of everything we do.

Our teachers are innovative and enthusiastic practitioners eager to share their expertise with the next generation of teachers.

About the accredited body

Our training is supported by the University of Sussex which has a long and successful tradition in teacher education in partnership with local schools.

The University of Sussex Initial Teacher Training (ITE) Partnership’s most recent quality outcomes relating to the School Direct and PGCE cohort completing their course in Summer 2016 included; 94% completing their teacher education with either a Merit or a Distinction, 96 per cent securing their first staff teaching post on completion of their course and 99 per cent of ex-trainees rating the quality of their initial teacher training as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Interview process

If we are interested in pursuing your application we will pass your details to the University of Sussex and you will be interviewed by the University in the first instance before being interviewed by the partnership.

Heathfield Community College is the lead school in the partnership and will be co-ordinating the interview process. This will involve approximately 2-3 hours spent at one of the partnership schools and will include the delivery of a 30 minute classroom based activity with a small group of students, a short written task related to a current educational issue and the opportunity to talk to some staff and pupils as well as the formal interview. You will be told in advance about the content of the lesson and the age group you will be teaching.

Subject staff and at least one Professional Tutor will be involved in the interviews.

Training with disabilities and other needs

Our partnership consists of 4 mainstream schools who all have a fully inclusive approach to education and recruitment.

Any additional support required can be discussed during the interview process and support can be put in place if needed.

Contact details

• Email: jsheldon@heathfieldcc.co.uk
• Telephone: 01435866066
• Website: http://www.heathfieldcc.co.uk/?page_id=566097
• Address: Heathfield Community College; Cade Street; Old Heathfield; East Sussex; TN21 8RJ

Support and advice

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

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You can also call Get Into Teaching free of charge on 0800 389 2501, or speak to an adviser using their online chat service Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm (except public holidays).

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