Birmingham City University Physical Education (3CJN)

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

• 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: 11 to 16
• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 11 October 2022
• Date course starts: September 2023
• Website: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/education

Contents

Course summary

If this is a subject you’re knowledgeable and passionate about, our Secondary Physical Education PGCE will allow you to become a highly skilled graduate teacher with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning, enabling you to demonstrate the highest levels of professional practice.

You will be trained to become a confident and reflective practitioner, and will be able to teach contemporary methods and practices. You’ll learn techniques to inspire students with Physical Education, making it enjoyable for all and ensuring they’re equipped with skills and understanding they’ll need for a positive approach to physical activity in the future.

Central to the curriculum is the study of PE pedagogy and professional practice, which you will access through a synthesis of practical workshops, lectures, seminar groups and individual study.

Curriculum workshops are a key element of your course. Dedicated PE lecturers and teachers deliver these in our specialist education classrooms and lecture theatres. The workshops enable you to experience and develop your understanding of subject pedagogy through topics such as: Physical literacy, growth mindset through PE, dance in the curriculum, gymnastics, invasion games, net and wall games, target games and athletics, health and safety, as well as Key Stage 3 National Curriculum topics, GCSE and A Level PE topics.

All aspects of the PGCE including your school experience will be assessed through our Core ITE Curriculum.

Further information about this course is available on our website.

School placements

You will spend two-thirds of your time – at least 120 days – working in schools on block placements gaining valuable real-life experience in schools. You will gain direct teaching experience and work with experienced practitioners in the classroom. School placements are predominantly in West Midlands secondary schools. You will be assigned a trained mentor and/or a tutor while on placement, who will support and guide your work, as well as provide training and feedback.

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

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

Your degree subject should be in physical education 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.

Details of acceptable and unacceptable equivalencies are available on the course page on our website. We also offer our own in-house equivalency tests for applicants holding an offer for one of our courses.

Find out more on our website

Other requirements

Applicants must meet the Department for Education’s Initial Teacher Training criteria, which means being medically fit, successfully completing an enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and satisfying all other safeguarding checks required for this course.

While not essential, you may wish to gain some school experience before attending interview.

Fees and financial support

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

About the training provider

At Birmingham City University’s School of Education and Social Work, we never give up in our aspirations for tomorrow’s teachers. Our student teachers will be ‘the village’ it takes ‘to raise a child’. Training more teachers than anyone else in the region (HESA, 2016), we educate Birmingham, teaching generations of professionals to teach generations of young people.

We’re top 20 in the UK for our undergraduate education courses (Guardian League Tables 2021). Our courses are taught by staff who are experienced professionals and maintain links with their sector to ensure you get the most up-to-date learning during your course. Many are research active, contributing to scholarship in education, childhood and youth.

Placements form two-thirds of our PGCE courses, giving you the opportunity to get hands-on and apply and grow your skills in some of our many partnership schools, ensuring you gain experience in a variety of educational settings so that you’re ready for employment when you graduate. We’re located at our City South Campus in Edgbaston, which has recently had a £41 million extension giving us excellent specialist facilities.

Our aim for when you graduate is that you can think for yourself, critically and reflectively determining what’s best, not what’s easiest. Our graduates are very employable, with many taking jobs in the West Midlands.

Join us and let us empower you to inspire future generations.

Interview process

You will be required to attend one online interview via Microsoft Teams. Interviews include:

• exploration of curriculum knowledge

• discussions about relevant experiences

• a presentation or small teaching exercise

• written task

We also look for:

• good communication skills

• potential / suitability to be a good teacher

• robustness to cope with the demands of the course

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 for the duration of this course, you may need to apply for a Student visa.

To do this, you’ll need to be sponsored by your training provider.

Before you apply for this course, contact us to check Student visa sponsorship is available. If it is, and you get a place on this course, we’ll help you apply for your visa.

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 University aims to provide an accessible environment and a range of support services to enable disabled students to participate fully in all activities of the University. We believe a person is only disabled when confronted by negative attitudes and environmental barriers. We are working towards creating a positive, supportive and inclusive learning environment across all the University’s sites and faculties.

Our Student Affairs team offers support and advice for prospective and current students with physical or sensory disabilities, specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia), autism or chronic medical conditions. They also provide information about additional funding such as Disabled Students’ Allowances, run a Personal Assistance Scheme and offer a dyslexia screening and diagnostic service.

Our campus is fully accessible with accessible toilets (having hoists), hearing loops in lecture theatres and networked assistive technology including Claro Read and Inspiration. In addition, we have PCs at our City South Campus which are designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.

For further information and advice, please visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/student-affairs

Contact this training provider

• Email: courseenquiries@bcu.ac.uk
• Telephone: 0121 331 5595
• Website: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/education
• Address: 15 Bartholomew Row; City Centre; Birmingham; West Midlands; B5 5JU

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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