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

PGCE with QTS, full time or part time

• 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.

• Course length: 1 year
• Date you can apply from: 13 October 2020
• Date course starts: September 2021
• Website: http://www.gitep.org.uk

Contents

About the course

Full details of the programme can be found on our website.

Our programme has 3 parts:

1. Explore

Explore covers induction and parent placement 1. Three weeks of taught professional studies in September are followed by three weeks of school induction, exploring the application of learning theories in the context of the parent school. After October half-term, assessed teaching time gradually increases, to 9-11 hours a week by Christmas. In addition, trainees continue to explore aspects of subject teaching with their subject leaders and mentors. The PGCE assignment focuses on special educational needs and disabilities. Trainees will explore the differing needs of pupils and how teachers adapt their practice to include them in learning.

1. Embed

Embed covers the twin placement, taking place between Christmas and Easter. This gives trainees the opportunity to embed their practice in a different school context, a contrasting one as far as possible. Trainees will be encouraged to try new approaches and to be more creative as they look to embed their learning from Explore. The PGCE assignment focuses on short to medium term planning, giving trainees the opportunity to reflect on their subject learning and embed this in their planning.

1. Enhance

Enhance covers parent placement 2, from Easter to June. Trainees return to a familiar environment with the opportunity to really progress and enhance their practice. They will gain a better understanding of the big picture, with longer term planning and use of a variety of assessment techniques. The PGCE assignment will focus on researching an area of interest within the subject curriculum, enhancing trainees understanding of subject pedagogy.

Subject pathway

A distinctive feature of our programme is that subject sessions take place every week throughout the programme, with the subject leader and other trainees in your subject. These sessions focus on practical teaching strategies and on developing subject expertise for teaching. More information about the art and design programme is available on the GITEP website

Assessment

The programme leads to a PGCE awarded by the University of Bristol, with 60 Master’s level credits. No training takes place at the University - subject tutors from the University will visit the GITEP sessions in Gloucestershire.

At the end of each placement trainees produce an evidence bundle, demonstrating the impact they have had on one class they have been teaching. Together with the end of placement report this forms the assessment for Qualified Teacher Status.

School placements

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.

Each school has a training manager, responsible for overseeing all the trainees within the school, and trainees are allocated a mentor, a subject specialist who will see them most days and meet with them individually once a week to review their training and plan next steps.

Placement schools are mostly in Gloucestershire but we do work with a few schools in neighbouring counties - around 30 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. The vast majority of our trainees travel less than 20 miles to placement schools.

When applying to GITEP you will be asked to name a partner school as a preferred location. We cannot guarantee that one of your placements will be at this school but we will do our best to place you close by.

Our four School Direct lead schools (Balcarras School, Pate’s Grammar School, The Cotswold School and Marling School) have their own applications and you can apply directly to them as well as to GITEP SCITT.

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.

Our partnership includes some of the highest performing schools in the country. Over one third of our current placement schools are rated outstanding by Ofsted and last year 84% of our trainees had at least one placement in an outstanding school.

Entry requirements

Qualifications needed

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 a related subject. If it is not we advise contacting us at an early opportunity to discuss your application. Many of our trainees complete a subject knowledge enhancement course before starting their training and not having a relevant degree should not stop you from applying.

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 can be useful and we may be able to help organise this. We run a series of taster days and events in schools over the year, listed on our website. In the early part of the application cycle this year it is unlikely that many of our partner schools will be able to host visitors but we will run some virtual events.

Fees and financial support

The course fees for UK students in 2021 to 2022 are £9,250.

Financial support from the training provider

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

About the training provider

GITEP SCITT is a highly successful school centred initial teacher training provider, rated outstanding by [Ofsted].( https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/70026)

Five key values underpin the partnership:

1. Partnership and community

Our intention is that the trainees will go on to teach in partnership schools, growing together as a community of new teachers and supported by a community of trainers, drawn from schools across the partnership.

1. Subject knowledge and expertise

Trainees develop a strong understanding of the pedagogical principles of their subject.

1. Research-informed and reflective practice

Trainees engage critically with the latest research and use it to develop their understanding of high-quality teaching.

1. Pupil progress and outcomes

All training focuses on the progress of pupils. Trainees develop a strong understanding of the needs of individual pupils.

1. Wellbeing and support

We hope trainees build a career in our partnership schools and feel fully supported in doing so, developing effective strategies and habits to manage their workload and enjoy their teaching.

GITEP SCITT works with the University of Bristol to offer the academic PGCE. GITEP and the University both focus solely on secondary teacher training and share a commitment to developing outstanding subject expertise.

GITEP has around 30 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.

Interview process

Interviews take place either at the GITEP SCITT base at Maisemore, near Gloucester, or at one of our partner schools. The interview will normally be with the subject leader and the GITEP leadership team. Interviews typically last no more than two hours.

Covid-19 restrictions have meant that all our interviews have been via video call since March 2020. Although our intention is to interview in person where we can, it is likely that interviews will be via Zoom or Microsoft Teams for the early part of the recruitment cycle.

The interview will include a teaching episode presented to the interview panel and a formal interview. 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.

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

Support and advice

For questions about this course you should contact the training provider using the contact details above.

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