Eastwood Park Academy Trust Modern Languages (372M)

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

• Accredited body: BEC Teacher Training
• 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 - secondary
• Course length: 1 year - full time
• Date you can apply from: 11 October 2022
• Date course starts: September 2023
• Website: http://www.eastwoodacademy.co.uk/index.php/the-academy/partnerships/initial-teacher-training

Contents

Course summary

Our inspiring training programme consists of several different complementary strands. You’ll learn about educational theory in your weekly seminars held at our training base in Wickford, Essex and neighbouring schools. In these sessions you’ll engage with the latest research about how students learn , how to help them overcome disadvantage, and how to motivate and engage them. You’ll also cover practical aspects of teaching such as using ICT, managing your workload and voice care. You’ll learn too about your legal responsibilities in relation to safeguarding young people.

You’ll also have a weekly seminar led by one of our specialist mentors. Working with these expert teachers you’ll find out what students are expected to learn within your subject. You’ll spend 80% of your time working in school, gaining hands-on experience and putting your knowledge of theory into practice with the support of a specialist mentor. You’ll start by watching expert teachers and gradually build up your skills and confidence. Once you start teaching, your lessons will be observed and you’ll have opportunities to discuss how the lesson went. Your weekly meeting with your mentor will be an opportunity to highlight your achievements and plan your next steps. You’ll find you soon feel part of the team in school.

You’ll also read widely, submit written tasks on set topics and prepare oral presentations on aspects of education that interest you. We make sure that these assignments are evenly spread throughout the course and our weekly newsletter reminds you of deadlines. We operate an ‘open door’ policy so you can discuss any issues or worries. You also have the opportunity to study for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) supported by lectures at our Wickford base. You submit two 5000 word assignments, one on Special Educational Needs and one on your own research. Validated by University of Suffolk, the PGCE is worth 60 Master’s credits. During the course we’ll use observations of your teaching, your assignments and reflections to continuously assess your progress. There is a formal review at the end of each term, with the final assessment and recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status taking place in the third term

School placements

You’ll spend the majority of your time on the course gaining practical hands on experience in school, fully involved in day to day school life and supported by a mentor who is an experienced teacher. We work closely with a wide range of excellent schools, including grammar schools and comprehensive schools. We all share a passionate commitment to training the next generation of teachers with an established, experienced and caring team ready to work with us to support you.

We know our school mentors very well, often they have trained with us, and we try to match you with a mentor who will bring out the best in you. As you become more confident, we’ll arrange a second school placement for you. This placement, which is six weeks long, enables you to experience a different type of school. We’ll also arrange visits to other types of educational environment such as special schools and alternative education settings. In school, you’ll be working primarily with students aged 11-16. You’ll start by observing your mentor and other teachers in the classroom and discussing the techniques that they use. When you and your mentor think you’re ready, you’ll plan to deliver parts of the lesson following your mentor’s advice and guidance and then gradually build up to confidently delivering all the lessons for your classes. At the same time, you’ll be involved in the wider life of the school; you’ll be attached to a form group for experience of pastoral care and you’ll be encouraged to participate in some extra-curricular activities. You’ll meet formally with your mentor once a week to review your progress and plan your next steps.

Although you cannot choose what schools you will train in, if you have a preference, let us know and we will be pleased to discuss it with the Headteacher.

Locations

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

Location	Vacancies
Southend High School for Girls Southchurch Boulevard, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 4UZ	Yes
The Eastwood Academy Rayleigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 5UU	Yes

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

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

Your degree subject should be in modern languages 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.

We advise applicants to use one of the two equivalency testing providers listed below.

Astarteachers.co.uk

OR

Equivalencytesting.com

Personal qualities

We are looking for high quality graduates with a passion for learning who are committed to transforming the lives of young people through education.

Other requirements

Satisfactory recruitment checks including enhanced DBS, children’s barred list, prohibition order check and reference check.

Fees and financial support

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

About the training provider

Eastwood Park Academy Trust (EPAT)

The Eastwood Academy is an ‘Outstanding’ Secondary School - the Lead School in The Eastwood Park Academy Trust (EPAT). In conjunction with Essex Teacher Training, we provide trainee teacher positions across a local network of schools in the Southend area.

The following schools work within our partnership:

• The Eastwood Academy.
• Southend High School for Girls.
• Bournemouth Park.
• Leigh North Primary.
• Kingsdown Primary.
• Thorpedene Primary.

Interview process

Once you have submitted your application, we’ll arrange an interview for you in one of our partner schools, or online if necessary. You will be interviewed by a member of the EPAT Teacher training Team, BEC Teacher Training team and a member of school staff. On the interview day, you will be asked to: ◆deliver a 10 minute lesson on an aspect of Biology which is either misunderstood by pupils or difficult to teach; ◆complete a written task in response to a question we give you on the day ◆undertake a formal interview lasting around 30 minutes If you are successful, we’ll contact you by the end of the next working day to let you know. Then we’ll send you a formal offer letter which may give some conditions you’ll have to meet before taking up your place, such as passing your degree or completing an online Subject Knowledge Enhancement course to make sure your academic knowledge is fully appropriate.

Before joining the course you will also need to pass: ◆a Health and Physical Capacity to Teach assessment ◆an enhanced DBS check to confirm your suitability to work with children We’ll also organise a meeting with a Course Director to follow up on your interview and discuss your individual development plan.

We’ll send you some pre-reading to do, and we’ll book you in for our pre-course orientation in July when you can meet your tutors and other trainees.

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

The Eastwood Park are a supportive, cohesive partnership that provide bespoke support for candidates with disabilities and other needs.

Contact this training provider

• Email: EPATTeacherTraining@eastwood.southend.sch.uk
• Telephone: 01702 524341
• Website: http://www.eastwoodacademy.co.uk/index.php/the-academy/partnerships/initial-teacher-training
• Address: Rayleigh Road; Leigh-on-Sea; Essex; SS9 5UU

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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