Gloucestershire Initial Teacher Education Partnership (GITEP)
Geography (26X6)

PGCE with QTS, full time or part time

• Financial support: Scholarship, bursary or 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.

• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 8 October 2019
• Date course starts: September 2020
• Website: http://www.gitep.org.uk

Contents

About the course

Full details of the programme can be found on our website.
The taught part of the programme has 3 strands which run throughout the year:

• Professional studies
• School-based professional studies
• Subject pathway

Professional studies sessions are normally in Cheltenham and are led by expert speakers, giving trainees a background to educational issues and some of the theoretical aspects of learning, assessment and adolescence. They take place in three weeks at the start of September, a week either side of Christmas and a week around Easter.

School-based professional studies is a weekly session in your placement school led by a senior member of staff, normally the school’s training manager.

Subject pathway is a weekly seminar with the subject leader and other trainees in your subject. These usually take place in the subject leader’s school but can take place in other schools, with guest presenters. These sessions focus on the development of practical teaching strategies and on enhancing subject expertise for teaching. More information about the geography programme is available on the GITEP website

In addition to the award of Qualified Teacher Status, assessed by GITEP SCITT, the programme leads to a PGCE awarded by the University of Bristol. Other than one induction day at the start of the programme no formal training takes place at the University.

The PGCE part of the programme is assessed by three assignments – one per term. The first is focused on special educational needs and disabilities and is common to all trainees. The other two have a subject focus. The programme leads to 60 Master’s level credits.

Trainees are also assessed against the Teachers’ Standards. At the end of each placement trainees are required to produce an “evidence bundle” showing their work with one class and demonstrating the impact they have had on the progress of pupils in the class.

Both GITEP SCITT and the University of Bristol are rated outstanding by Ofsted. Both were also ranked among the top 15 secondary providers in the country in the Good Teacher Training Guide 2017 and among the top 3 in the South West. Trainees benefit from a strong partnership between two very experienced and highly rated providers who share a commitment to developing subject expertise in teachers.

Interview process

All candidates will be called to interview. Interviews take place either at our offices at Maisemore, near Gloucester, or at the school where the subject leader works. The interview will normally be with the subject leader and someone from the GITEP leadership team.

The interview process will include a teaching “episode” presented to the interview panel, an interview and our own English and maths tests. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the programme, any particular needs the candidate may have and potential placement schools.

We work with four School Direct lead schools across the county (Balcarras, Pate’s Grammar School, Marling and The Cotswold School) and many of our applicants apply to one or more of these as well as GITEP SCITT. Someone from GITEP will be on the interview panel for School Direct interviews and we will do our best to avoid calling you for a separate interview with GITEP - the process is the same.

How school placements work

GITEP is extremely fortunate to have the backing of Gloucestershire Association of Secondary Headteachers (GASH) and has close links with all the secondary schools in the county. The SCITT Director attends all meetings of GASH which means teacher training has a high profile in the county.

The GITEP programme follows a “parent/twin/parent” structure, with three school placements. Trainees are placed in a “parent” school from October to December, a contrasting “twin” school from January to March and return to the “parent” school from April to June. Placements are 9-10 weeks in length.

Placement schools are mostly in Gloucestershire but we do work with a few schools in neighbouring counties - around 40 schools in total. When placing trainees we take account of travel distance, particular needs and trainee requests. We are well aware that most of our applicants are looking for placements in local schools and we will not require trainees to drive long distances or move home between placements. Gloucestershire is a large and mostly rural county and trainees do have to be prepared to travel to some schools. The vast majority of our trainees travel less than 20 miles to placement schools.

Our programme covers the 11-18 age range. If trainees are placed in a 11-16 school for their first placement we ensure that the second placement gives the opportunity for sixth form experience.

Fees

The course fees for 2020 to 2021 are as follows:

UK students	£9,250
EU students	£9,250

Financial support

You could be eligible for either:

• a scholarship of £17,000
• a bursary of £15,000

To qualify for a scholarship you’ll need a degree of 2:1 or above in Geography or a related subject. For a bursary you’ll need a 2:2 or above in any subject.

You can’t claim both a bursary and a scholarship - you can only claim one.

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

You may also 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.

Financial support from the training provider

GITEP does operate a hardship fund for trainees experiencing financial difficulties.

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants will need to meet the requirements for all postgraduate teacher training courses:

• a degree, normally at 2:2 or better
• GCSE Grade C/Level 4 (or equivalent) in English and maths

Your degree should usually be in geography or a related subject. If it is not we advise contacting us at an early opportunity to discuss your application. A significant number of our trainees undertake a subject knowledge enhancement course before starting their training, something we encourage.

Personal qualities

There is no profile of “the perfect teacher”. However, our trainees do share enthusiasm for their subjects, a genuine interest in how children learn and a commitment to doing their best for every child.

It is a training year and there will be times when things don’t go according to plan. We want trainees who are happy to take risks, seek feedback and reflect constantly on how they could improve their teaching.

Other requirements

All applicants will require an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate before commencing training.

Time in schools is not a requirement of the programme and should not hold up your application. It is, however, useful and we may be able to help organise this. We run a series of taster days in schools over the year, listed on our website.

About the training provider

GITEP SCITT is a highly successful school centred initial teacher training provider, recognised as one of the best in the country. Rated outstanding by Ofsted in 2015/16, GITEP was ranked among the top 10 secondary providers nationally in The Good Teacher Training Guide 2017 and the Department for Education recognised GITEP SCITT as being among the top 25% of providers in both 2017 and 2018.

Our training is dominantly school based but we also believe strongly that our trainees should have the time to develop subject expertise and an understanding of theoretical aspects of education. Professional studies weeks throughout the year, with lectures and workshops led by expert speakers, support the training in schools.

GITEP SCITT works in partnership with the University of Bristol to offer the academic PGCE. Although all our centre-based training takes place in Cheltenham our trainees have full access to the University of Bristol library and are registered students of the University. GITEP and the University both focus solely on secondary teacher training and share a commitment to developing outstanding subject expertise. Trainees from our partnership schools meet as subject groups every Thursday with subject leaders who are also serving teachers.

We are a relatively large SCITT, with around 80 trainees and 40 partner schools - “the richest possible mix of different settings” according to Ofsted. We pride ourselves in knowing all our trainees individually and providing outstanding support. Our trainees “really enjoy teaching” (Ofsted) and last year 76% found employment in partnership schools.

Training with disabilities and other needs

We welcome applications from trainees with disabilities and particular needs. A conversation with you, by telephone or at one of our taster days, may help us clarify how we can best support you.

We have a large number of partnership schools and some will be better suited than others to particular needs. An early conversation can help us identify the most appropriate training placement e.g. a school where your subject is taught in ground floor classrooms. We have had trainees with hearing and visual impairments and have worked with placement schools to ensure suitable support.

Trainees receive excellent support from mentors and training managers in schools, as well as their subject leader. Liaison between schools and the GITEP leadership is very strong and we are used to making reasonable adjustments to help trainees, both short term and over the whole course.

All GITEP PGCE trainees are registered as students with the University of Bristol and this gives access to the full range of student services offered by the University. This includes support with academic assignments for trainees with dyslexia and all the University counselling and student support services. Trainees with disabilities and other needs are strongly encouraged to register with the University Library Support service.

Contact details

• Email: admin@gitep.org.uk
• Telephone: 01242 505945
• Website: http://www.gitep.org.uk
• Address: Unit 23, The Steadings Business Centre; Maisemore; Gloucester; Glos; GL2 8EY

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