| Student type | Fees to pay |
|---|---|
| UK students | £9,250 |
| International students | £9,250 |
Victoria Academies Trust
Primary (AH05)
PGDE with QTS full time
- Accredited body
- University of Birmingham
- Financial support
- Student finance if you’re eligible
- Qualification
-
PGDE with QTS
A postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE) 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 PGDE courses include credits towards a Master’s degree.
- Course length
- 1 year
- Date you can apply from
- 19 October 2020
- Date course starts
- September 2021
- Website
- https://victoriaacademiestrust.org/
Contents
- About the course
- Interview process
- How school placements work
- Fees
- Financial support
- Requirements
- About the training provider
- Training with disabilities and other needs
- Contact details
- Apply
- Support and advice
About the course
Our School Direct training programme lasts for one academic year, starting in September 2020. During the training year, time is split between school based placements where you are immersed in school life to develop your teaching experience and structured taught sessions that focus on key educational theory and practice and develop your subject knowledge across the primary curriculum.
As a School Direct Trainee with Victoria Academies Trust, you will attend most taught sessions at Birmingham University with a few additional sessions taught by our own team of highly skilled, practising teachers. These additional sessions are based on pupil independence and our challenge based curriculum. They will be held within one of the Trust schools and often provide the opportunity to observe teaching in practice, in order to facilitate simulating and highly relevant training experiences and make immediate links between theory and practice.
The teaching commitment is built up over the training year during school placements, where you will be immersed in school life and supported by school-based practitioners who are experienced and skilled teachers within our schools.
Trainees are assessed via evidence gathered during the teaching experiences, school-based tasks and formal assignments linked to key areas of teaching and learning.
Successful completion of the course will result in QTS and PGDipEd.
Interview process
We work in partnership with our accredited provider, the University of Birmingham, to co-ordinate the recruitment process. Interviews will be held at either Victoria Park Primary Academy or at one of the schools within Victoria Academies Trust. The rigorous selection process is designed to help us decide if you are suitable to train to teach and for you to assess whether teaching is the right career path for you.
The interview process involves a combination of tasks including:
- an informal introduction to Victoria Academies Trust
- a classroom-based task
- English and Maths written tasks
- a formal interview with Senior Leaders from across the Trust
- and a student panel interview
How school placements work
School-based experiences are a central part of the programme. During your training year, you will carry out three placements within the nine schools that form Victoria Academies Trust ensuring you gain experience in both key stage 1 and 2 and enabling you to teach within the 5-11 year-old age range. Although all schools within Victoria Academies Trust have shared values, ethos and approach, you will find the schools very diverse, offering you a range of training experiences and preparing you well for life after training.
Just some of the diverse differences across the schools within the Trust include; pupils with English as an additional language, schools with a social enterprise, a school with an autism base, schools with nurseries and without, small one-form entry schools to larger three-form entry schools.
We have a range of schools across the Midlands to suit the candidate’s location where possible:
- Victoria Park Primary Academy (Smethwick)
- Devonshire Infant Academy (Smethwick)
- Devonshire Junior Academy (Smethwick)
- Northfield Manor Primary Academy (Northfield)
- Fibbersley Park Academy (Willenhall)
- Foley Park Primary Academy (Kidderminster)
- Birchen Coppice Primary Academy (Kidderminster)
- Rowley Park Primary Academy (Stafford)
- Poppyfield Primary Academy (Cannock)
Fees
Visit Get into Teaching for more information about bursaries, scholarships and financial support for 2020/21.
Financial support
You may also be eligible for a loan while you study – note that you’ll have to apply for undergraduate student finance.
Find out about financial support if you’re from outside the UK.
Requirements
Qualifications
Our academic criteria are GCSE grade C / 4 or above in English, Maths and a Science subject (or recognised equivalents) and a degree classification of 2:1 or above, although we will consider a 2:2 classification on a case by case basis.
Personal qualities
We are looking for applicants who can demonstrate their:
- Motivation and genuine passion for teaching and working with children
- Resilience and a strong commitment to the teaching profession and continued-self development
- Creativity in order to enable pupils to develop into confident, enthusiastic and effective learners.
- Excellent communication skills and strong subject knowledge
We want to offer places to trainees who align to our values which are: Loyalty – by putting family first Tenacity – by insisting on excellence Kindness – by doing good as you go Courage – by embracing innovation Brilliance – by seizing Success.
Other requirements
Before commencing the programme successful candidates will need to:
complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. complete relevant checks to ensure they have the health and physical capacity to teach. agree to abide by the University of Birmingham Code of Professional Conduct and Fitness to Practise.
About the training provider
Victoria Academies Trust offers School Direct initial teacher training programme in partnership with the University of Birmingham. We work with the University in recruiting and selecting trainees and provide a high-quality primary teacher training programme which leads to the award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDipEd) with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Applicants will undertake all their teaching placements within our family of schools.
Victoria Academies Trust is a vibrant family of innovative schools, where you will see examples of immersive teaching embedded into a curriculum that is designed to be linked to real life, purposeful learning for the children. If you chose to train with us, you will have the opportunity to train among outstanding practitioners, committed to developing creative, innovative, passionate and knowledgeable teachers. We promise you will be strongly supported throughout your training by highly skilled mentors and tutors, with this goal in mind.
For more information about Victoria Academies Trust visit: www.victoriaacademiestrust.org
About the accredited body
We are proud to work in partnership with the University of Birmingham. Together we provide a high-quality training programme which leads to the award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDipEd) and QTS.
Training with disabilities and other needs
Victoria Academies Trust welcomes applications from all candidates and endeavours to offer an inclusive learning environment; you are welcome to discuss any needs or disabilities with us at any time during the application process. Candidates who disclose a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act have the right to have reasonable adjustments made to enable them to fully access teaching and learning required during their training programme.
We will work with you to identify an individual plan detailing the reasonable adjustments you may need. Adjustments will be recommended on a case by case basis and are personalised and responsive to how your needs may change throughout your training time.
Contact details
- louise.fowler@victrust.org
- Telephone
- 0121 558 8701
- Website
- https://victoriaacademiestrust.org/
- Address
-
Victoria Park Primary Academy
Ballot Street
Smethwick
West Midlands
B66 3HH
Apply
Choose a training location
You’ll also need to choose a training location – select the relevant location name on the application form.
| Location | Vacancies | Code |
|---|---|---|
|
Main Site
Victoria Park Academy, Ballot Street, Smethwick, West Midlands, B663HH |
Yes | - |
Support and advice
For questions about this course you should contact the training provider using the contact details above.
Get support and advice about teaching
Register with Get Into Teaching, the Department for Education’s free support and advice service, for personalised guidance from teaching experts. They can help you to prepare your application, book school experience, and access exclusive teaching events. You can also call them free of charge on 0800 389 2500, or speak to an adviser using their online chat service, from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.
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