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.

• Age range: 11 to 18
• Course length: 1 year full -time, 2 years part-time
• Date you can apply from: 12 October 2021
• Date course starts: September 2022
• Website: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/education

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Contents

About the course

We are different from other University teacher training courses in that all of your time is spent in school. Our Secondary PGCE with QTS in Biology is available nationwide, and you will undertake your teacher training in an approved school.

We partner with a number of schools in different parts of the country. Alternatively, you may be able to source your own main school placement, and we will work with the school to enable your application and training.

You will be in school for the full 5 days a week or 2½ days a week if you are part-time. In your school you will develop your craft of the classroom, guided by an in-school Mentor who will support you on a day-to-day basis. This is underpinned by our interactive, online learning platform, which hosts our regular engagement with you in webinars, tutorials and podcasts, and allows opportunities for collaboration with fellow trainees. You will also receive 1-1 support from your own University Tutor, who is part of a dynamic and highly-skilled University team.

You will attend up to four days in person with us at our educational conferences where you will share ideas with fellow trainees, and engage with leading educators and teachers. Where Covid-19 prevents attendance in-person, the conferences are delivered online.

Additional advantages of training to teach with us are:

• A competitively-priced course fee of £7500.

• A flexible approach to training: You can start in September or January and choose to train on a full-time or part-time basis.

• The practical relevance of in-school training combined with the quality and rigour expected of a University PGCE with 60 Masters-level credits.

For more course details, visit www.coventry.ac.uk/education

School placements

Our course is available nationwide. Your training is based in two schools – a main school placement for two terms and a contrasting second school for one term. For part-time students, you will spend your first year in one school and your second year in a contrasting school.

We partner with a number of schools in different parts of the country. In some parts of the country it can be beneficial for you to source your own host school in a location to suit you. We can assist you in this, and we will support the school in meeting our criteria to partner with us.

New schools to our partnership respond well to prospective trainees who show the initiative of contacting them directly to arrange a placement. This provides the school with the opportunity of meeting you and developing a relationship with you from the outset.

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 who receives regular training from us. In addition, your University Tutor will oversee and help guide your progress throughout the course, including support with your assignments as well as providing practical tips for your teaching.

Locations

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

Location	Vacancies
The National School of Education and Teaching - Bedford Area Biddenham Turn, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 4AZ	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Birmingham Area Jennens Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7PS	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Coventry Area Coventry University, Coventry, West Midlands, CV1 5FB	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Dagenham Area Rainham Road North, Dagenham, RM10 7BN	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - East Northamptonshire Area Hayway, Rushden, Northamptonshire, NN10 6AG	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Hull Area Saltshouse Road, Hull, Yorkshire, HU8 9HD	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Leicester Area Colin Grundy Drive, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE5 1GA	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - London Area 109-117 Middlesex St, Spitalfields, London, E1 7JF	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Luton Area Leagrave High Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU4 0NE	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Milton Keynes Area Emperor Drive, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK8 0PT	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Nottingham Area College Way, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG8 4DQ	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Scarborough Area Ashburn Rd, Scarborough , YO11 2JW	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - South Yorkshire Area Storth Lane, Kiveton Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S26 5QQ	No
The National School of Education and Teaching - Surrey Area Ashcombe Road, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1LY	No
The National School of Education and Teaching, Coventry University - Main Campus Whittlebury Park, Whittlebury, Nr Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8WP	No

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

An undergraduate degree, or equivalent.

Your degree subject should be in Biology 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 accept equivalency tests from the following providers:

https://www.equivalencytesting.com/

https://astarequivalency.co.uk/

Costs for equivalency tests are the responsibility of the applicant and results must be received prior to the start of the course.

Other requirements

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

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.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for UK students in 2022 to 2023 are £7,500.

This includes accommodation at any residential conferences

About the training provider

We are one of the largest providers of teacher training in the country with a distinct programme that is available nationwide.

The following principles govern our Initial Teacher Training courses:

At the heart of our Initial Teacher Training courses is teaching pedagogy i.e. learning ‘how’ to teach. Teaching is a practical activity and we believe that training is best done in schools, under the supervision of expert teachers, and underpinned by relevant theory.

Since children are central to our Initial Teacher Training courses, their needs, individualities, development, and diversity are inherent in our training.

Teaching is no different to any worthwhile and highly rewarding profession, in that it presents challenges and requires hard work to succeed. We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of all our trainees, and at the forefront of this is our commitment to their expertise and resilience.

Our teachers will be able to use technology to enhance pupils’ learning, as well as prepare children to live happily and work successfully in a world dominated by its use.

Interview process

Whilst an interview can cause apprehension, ours is designed to be fair and relaxed, and we will look at your suitability to train to teach more than anything else. 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. The interview is a two-way process, and we encourage you to ask questions about our course and the teaching profession.

At interview, you will:

• Prepare a 5 minute presentation to a given brief, which will be sent to you prior to your interview.

• Complete a task (this is not an exam) about understanding the fundamental English and Maths skills required of a teacher. This task will be sent out before the interview and is designed to inform us of any wider development or training requirements you would need to complete as part of the course.

• Reflect on your subject knowledge to answer some given questions so you can prepare your answers. This task will be sent out before the interview and is designed to inform us of any training requirements you would need to complete 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 the provision that might be beneficial (i.e. part time or individual needs).

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

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 this training provider

• Email: nset@coventry.ac.uk
• Telephone: 02477 650645
• Website: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/education
• Address: The National School of Education and Teaching (NSET); Whittlebury Park, Whittlebury; Nr Towcester; Northamptonshire; NN12 8WP

Support and advice

For support and advice, you can speak to a teacher training adviser for free. They’re all experienced teachers who can help you to prepare your application, book school experience, and access exclusive teaching events.

You can also 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).

Find out about the different ways to train if you do not have a degree, or are already an experienced teacher.

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