Coventry University
Biology (B408)

PGCE with QTS, full time or part time

• 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.

• Course length: 1 year full -time, 1+ years part-time
• Date you can apply from: 13 October 2020
• Date course starts: September 2021
• Website: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/education

Contents

About the course

We are distinct in Initial Teacher Training. If you want to train to teach you normally have two options – to train with a university or train with a school. We have taken the best bits of training with a university and the best bits of training with a school and combined them to form our Biology (11-16 age range, 11-18 age range or 14-19 age range) PGCE with QTS course.

The course has been written and is led by us, so you can be assured that your training is of a quality expected from a university. We believe though, that teacher training is best done in schools, under the supervision of serving, first-rate teachers, and so all but a week of your training is spent in two schools. This enables the course to be delivered nationwide and in a location suitable to you.

We work very closely with schools to ensure that you receive all the support you need. We also work closely with you, and you will have your own university personal tutor who will work 1-1 with you and help you along the way. You will also collaborate and work with other students undertaking a PGCE with QTS with us, both online and in person at our educational conferences.

Our Biology (11-16 age range, 11-18 age range or 14-19 age range) PGCE with QTS is:

• Flexible: You can start in September, January or April, and you can choose to train for longer than a year, so the course can fit around your personal or professional circumstances.
• Available nationwide: As you spend 38 of the 39 week course in school, you may be able to train to teach in a location that suits you. Our close relationships with a significant number of schools across the country enable this.
• Personalised: You will have your own in-school mentor and your own university personal tutor to help and guide you to become an outstanding teacher.
• Competitively priced: Our course fee is £7,500

The Biology (11-16 age range, 11-18 age range or 14-19 age range) course carries 60 Masters-level credits, and has been written and designed by some of the country’s leading educationalists and Biology teachers, so you can be assured of its quality, rigour and relevance to teaching today.

For more course details visit: (www.coventry.ac.uk/education)

Interview process

Whilst interviews can cause apprehension, ours are designed to be fair and relaxed, and we will look at your suitability to train to teach, more than anything else. It is a two-way process - we encourage you to ask questions so you can evaluate what we offer, while at the same time we learn more about you. It is a chance for you to share with us your knowledge about your chosen phase or subject as well as your enthusiasm for a career in teaching.

At interview, you will:

• Prepare a 5 minute presentation on a given title which will be sent to you prior to your interview
• Complete a task (this is not an exam) about understanding the fundamental English and mathematics skills required of a teacher. The task is designed to inform us of any wider development or training requirements that need to be met before you can complete training, and would be sent out prior to your interview.
• Reflect on your subject knowledge and identify your current strengths and areas that you will need to develop either before the start of your course or as part of the course.
• Be given an opportunity to answer questions to enable the interviewer to assess your communication skills, pedagogical understanding, subject knowledge, and enthusiasm for teaching.
• Be given an opportunity to discuss any flexibility in provision that might be beneficial (i.e. part time or individual needs)

How school placements work

Our nationally available PGCE with QTS course enables you to train to teach in a location in England to suit you. You will undertake your training in a school near you, which has been approved by us, since the majority of our course is delivered online.

Where you can source a main placement school for yourself, this can be extremely helpful to us, and we can guide you on how to do this. Schools respond well to prospective trainees who show the initiative of contacting them directly to arrange a placement. This approach provides the school with the opportunity of meeting you at a very early stage, enabling them to build a relationship with you from the outset. Alternatively, we partner with a significant number of schools across England, and we will try to place you within the location of your choice.

We believe that outstanding, daily mentoring is one of the most important elements of teacher training. On placement, your in-school mentor will be an experienced, highly effective teacher in your placement school, and will receive regular training from us.

Your university tutor will oversee and help guide your progress throughout the course, and you will also receive at least one visit a term, to your school, from a university assessor. Our online learning platform directs the course and hosts a range of learning materials, resources, tutorials, discussion groups and teaching tips.

Of the course’s three school terms, your first and third term will be spent in your main school placement, and your second term will be on placement in a different school. In addition to your school placements you will attend our residential educational conferences, held at our main site in Northamptonshire, where you will meet and work with fellow students, listen to world-renowned educational-speakers and engage in tutorials. There are three conferences throughout the year, each lasting two days. (Alternative arrangements due to Covid-19 will be announced when applicable.)

Fees

The course fees for UK students in 2021 to 2022 are £7,500

Financial support

You’ll get a bursary of £7,000 if you have a degree of 2:2 or above in any subject.

You don’t have to apply for a bursary - if you’re eligible, you’ll automatically start receiving it once you begin your course. Find out about eligibility and how you’ll be paid.

You may 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

All applicants are required to hold an undergraduate degree from a UK higher education institution, or equivalent qualification as assessed by NARIC.

In addition to the degree you will need to have passed GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4 (grade C) or above. We will also consider applications from those with qualifications recognised by the University as equivalent to GCSE standard.

Applicants, whose first language is not English, should have an IELTS of 6.5 overall.

Other requirements

Health and Physical Capacity to Teach:

The DfE requires providers to ensure that all trainees have the health and physical capacity to teach and will not put children and young people at risk of harm.

DBS:

All entrants to ITT programmes are subject to appropriate pre-selection checks, including an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), criminal records checks and children’s barred list information.

Further details on these checks will be provided during the selection process.

About the training provider

The National School of Education and Teaching is part of the Coventry University Group, which is one of the largest universities in the UK. With campuses in Coventry, London, Scarborough and Whittlebury (near Silverstone), we have some 40,000 students studying with us in the UK and 17,000 students studying overseas with our international collaborative partners.

Excellence in teaching and learning is at the heart of what we do, and we are the University of the Year for Student Experience in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2019). We also received the highest rating of Gold in the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework, in which we ranked as the top public university in the UK.

The National School of Education and Teaching is based in Whittlebury, near the Silverstone racing track. On our educational conferences, you will enjoy first-rate conference and leisure facilities and 4* accommodation, which are included in the course fee.

Training with disabilities and other needs

Coventry University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to ensure that it meets the needs of all students.

If you have a disability we encourage you to disclose this along with any other relevant information that could support your studies.

Disability Advisors are part of the Health and Wellbeing team and are available to provide advice and support to students from application through to graduation. This team of dedicated professionals have the experience and skills to ensure that individuals receive appropriate support throughout their time at University. They offer support to students with a variety of disabilities including (but not limited to) Specific Learning Difficulty (Dyslexia), Physical and Sensory Disabilities.

Further information can be found here: https://www.coventry.ac.uk/study-at-coventry/student-support/health-and-wellbeing/disability/

Contact details

• Email: nset@coventry.ac.uk
• Telephone: 01327 850320
• Website: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/education
• Address: The National School of Education and Teaching (NSET); Whittlebury Park, Whittlebury; Nr Towcester; Northamptonshire; NN12 8WP

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
The National School of Education and Teaching - Birmingham Area Jennens Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7PS	Yes	Y
The National School of Education and Teaching - Coventry Area Coventry University, Coventry, West Midlands, CV1 5FB	Yes	M
The National School of Education and Teaching - Dagenham Area Rainham Road North, Dagenham, RM10 7BN	Yes	7
The National School of Education and Teaching - Leicester Area Colin Grundy Drive, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE5 1GA	Yes	4
The National School of Education and Teaching Derby Hub Roundhouse Road, Derby, Derbyshire, DE24 8JE	Yes	S
The National School of Education and Teaching Doncaster Hub Hurst Lane, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN9 3HG	Yes	T
The National School of Education and Teaching Hull Hub Saltshouse Road, Hull, Yorkshire, HU8 9HD	Yes	U
The National School of Education and Teaching Leeds Hub Park Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS3 1AA	Yes	V
The National School of Education and Teaching London Hub 109-117 Middlesex St, Spitalfields, London, E1 7JF	Yes	G
The National School of Education and Teaching Nottingham Hub College Way, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG8 4DQ	Yes	R
The National School of Education and Teaching Scarborough Hub Ashburn Rd, Scarborough , YO11 2JW	Yes	2
The National School of Education and Teaching Sheffield Hub Livesey Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S6 2ET	Yes	X
The National School of Education and Teaching, Bedford Area Biddenham Turn, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4AZ	Yes	K
The National School of Education and Teaching, Coventry University - Main Campus Whittlebury Park, Whittlebury, Nr Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8WP	Yes	N
The National School of Education and Teaching, East Northamptonshire Area Hayway, Rushden, Northamptonshire, NN10 6AG	Yes	L
The National School of Education and Teaching, Milton Keynes Area Emperor Drive, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK8 0PT	Yes	3

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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