Archbishop Blanch School Design and Technology (E688)

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

• Accredited body: Liverpool John Moores University
• 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 18 - secondary
• Course length: 1 year - full time
• Date you can apply from: 11 October 2022
• Date course starts: September 2023
• Website: https://www.abblanch.com/school_direct_partne/

Contents

Course summary

The Design and Technology PGCE course, offered in collaboration with Liverpool John Moores University, is taught by experienced and friendly staff, who were all successful teachers and maintain strong links with schools.

Our student teachers normally spend Fridays (and sometimes the occasional full week) at the University and the other 4 days in school. Later in the year, students return to the University for additional full training weeks, but spend the majority of time (at least 120 days) in schools.

The Design and Technology programme will focus predominantly on developing your subject knowledge and subject pedagogy so that you have the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to become a confident Design and Technology teacher. University lead lectures and seminars will develop your confidence in a range of relevant issues; classroom and behaviour management; meeting individual needs and inclusion; planning and assessment etc. School – led sessions will also develop your understanding in key areas related to our school context. There is a strong emphasis on social justice issues in education and on mental health and well-being. We want you to develop into an inclusive and reflective teacher, with the skills, energy and resilience needed to make a real difference in schools.

In order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status, you will demonstrate that you are able to meet all the requirements of the Teachers’ Standards. This aspect of assessment is largely undertaken by our school-based mentors. LJMU staff are in regular contact with all trainees on placement, undertake co-observations of their teaching and Quality Assure the school-based training across the Partnership.

The Postgraduate Certificate is assessed through 2 Modules. The Award of QTS is integral to one of these academic Modules. You will also complete one essay, in two parts which asks you to reflect on your practice.

School placements

Your school-based experience takes place largely in a Home School, supported by well- trained mentors. We have found that being in a Home School ensures that you are fully integrated into school life and get to know staff, pupils and your subject mentor extremely well, to the benefit of all involved. A member of LJMU staff is attached to each school and is responsible for visiting regularly in order to support all trainees and their mentors. All trainees are entitled to weekly review and feedback meetings with their mentors and to tutorials with LJMU staff. This “wraparound” care ensures that you are consistently supported from start to finish, both personally and professionally. You will be allocated to your Home School during Induction and every effort is made to select schools within reasonable travelling distance. Placements are selected from within the Archbishop Blanch Partnership of schools, which extend across a number of Liverpool schools who educate a diverse range of pupils from all faiths and backgrounds. All our partnership of schools are committed to student teacher development and to the link with LJMU. A range of mentor training and development events hosted both at LJMU and in school, ensure that our mentors understand our expectations and commit to offering high quality guidance and support to each trainee. In addition to the time spent in a Home School, you will also undertake an alternative placement of roughly 6 weeks in a contrasting school between January and February. This placement has an explicit focus on diversity and inclusion. Additional experiences are also often provided for instance through visits to Special Schools and to Primary Schools. Although the programmes focus on 11-16 experience, many trainees also gain experience of Post 16 planning and teaching during their school experience. School experience is structured in Phases, beginning with an observation phase, so that you can develop appropriate confidence and competence, only taking on greater responsibility for planning and teaching as the year progresses. Your final assessment for QTS is conducted at the end of the year.

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

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

Your degree subject should be in design and technology 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.

Personal qualities

We are looking for applicants who have a passion for Design and technology and wish to share their passion with young people. You should have a genuine belief that education transforms life chances and want to make a positive difference to young people and to their communities. At interview we hope to see your enthusiasm along with evidence of some experiences which have informed your decision to become a teacher. A minimum of 5 days’ work experience in a UK secondary school is helpful prior to commencing the programme. We can help to arrange this for successful applicants.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for 2023 to 2024 are as follows:

UK students	£9,250
International students	£14,000

About the training provider

Archbishop Blanch is an Ofsted rated Outstanding 11-18 Church of England High School for girls based in Liverpool.

Archbishop Blanch is a happy school serving a diverse range of students from all backgrounds; our students are keen to learn, are respectful and develop into well rounded individuals. They are supported by creative teaching using the latest technologies to enhance their learning, alongside a strong pastoral support system. It is a pleasure to watch them mature into confident young ladies who will become our citizens of the future. We are extremely proud of our pupil performance with there being a positive upward trajectory in results over the last four years. Attainment at Archbishop Blanch is exemplary, demonstrated in the school achieving some of the best results in the city.

Staff combine high expectations with unstinting support & individual care, which for the most vulnerable students is transformational. Our Christian ethos permeates through everything we do.

We have positive relationships and a proven track record of working with local universities and are passionate about developing future outstanding teachers. The School Direct programme offers a fantastic opportunity for trainees to learn and develop in our diverse partnership schools. By working in our Patnership, trainees will experience a wide range of development opportunities, therefore making them highly marketable for future employment.

Other Partnership Schools

The Belvedere Academy (http://https://www.belvedereacademy.net/) St Hilda’s C Of E School (http://www.st-hildas.co.uk/) St Margaret’s Academy (http://www.stmargaretsacademy.com/)

Interview process

Applicants who meet the entry requirements will be interviewed by Archbishop Blanch school direct leaders aswell as representatives from our partner schools.

This process will involve a presentation, a teaching task and a written literacy/numeracy task.

Our selection and interview procedure will also give applicants further information about our programmes.

An applicant’s performance in each part of the selection process is assessed and final decision made, based on a judgement of interview performance. Any relevant prior experience and suitable references will also be considered. Applicants are normally informed of decisions within 24 hours.

Applicants are assessed on:

• Depth of relevant subject knowledge and interest and enthusiasm for the subject
• Ability to successfully engage learners and to make learning exciting and meaningful to young people from all backgrounds
• Commitment to supporting learners, including in areas of challenging social context
• Enthusiasm, energy and resilience and ability to work with others in teams
• Potential to work successfully at Master’s level.

Applicants are asked to send copies of evidence of GCSEs in English and Mathematics prior to interview, along with degree certificates if applicable.

We are committed to developing a diverse teaching workforce, which reflects the diverse nature of pupils across the city and the schools in the partnership.

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

We are committed to Equality of Opportunity. The Disability Advice Team at LJMU will help you access the support you need. The best time to contact the Disability Advice Team is before you start your course. By contacting the team before you begin and disclosing your disability, you’ll be able to receive support from when you arrive. Email: disability@ljmu.ac.uk Tel: 0151 231 3164/3165. If you need an Individual Student Learning Plan (ISLP) which sets out the support you may need and who is responsible for ensuring support is in place, this will be put in place by an LJMU Disability Adviser following discussion of your needs. Once finalised, your plan will be sent to you via email. As soon as you have agreed the ISLP it will be sent to your Disability Coordinator and then, with your agreement, passed on to the relevant academic and support staff. All trainees are encouraged to disclose any specific learning need that they experience, in order to make any adjustments, both at Archbishop Blanch, our Partner Schools and LJMU. As part of the enrolment process to Teacher Training Programmes all students are required to complete a Health Questionnaire and some may be asked to attend a screening appointment with our Occupational Health Unit. This is designed to ensure that arrangements are in place, from the outset, to support any students who may need additional support or reasonable adjustments to be made. For information on school facilities contact us at schooldirect@blanch.org.uk

Contact this training provider

• Email: schooldirect@blanch.org.uk
• Telephone: 0151 330 5151
• Website: https://www.abblanch.com/school_direct_partne/
• Address: Archbishop Blanch School; 80 Earle Road; Liverpool; Merseyside; L7 6HQ

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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