Postgraduate Certificate in Education - Primary

As one of the UK’s leading and longest-running providers of teacher education, the University of Roehampton can offer students the best foundation for a successful career in the profession. Completion of this one year course will provide students with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) from one of the highest rated providers in the country. PGCE Primary at the University of Roehampton will provide students with 60 credits towards a master's qualification.

If students study PGCE Primary at the University of Roehampton, students will be taught by a supportive, passionate and driven team of academic staff who are all specialists in their subject areas. The academic staff strive to ensure students receive the best education and will encourage students to become a confident and successful teacher. The University of Roehampton also has a range of support departments to help students with everything from dealing with money matters, to support with their studies.

This postgraduate course gives students the tools to build a successful career in teaching while providing a holistic view of the profession; students will look at the role of the child, the curriculum and the teacher. Students will apply to specialise in a pathway for either 3-7 or 5-11 year olds.

Students will cover all of the National Curriculum Core and Foundation Subjects, examine learning across the curriculum and the relationship between the subjects in these two groups.

Students will study a range of modules which will hone their expertise and effectiveness as a teacher. Students will learn how to manage a classroom, how planning and preparation contribute to the effectiveness of their teaching, how best to work with parents and other adults, and gain an understanding of children’s behaviour.

The subject rooms are set up to include resources students will find in a primary classroom environment. This is important for students' full immersion into the school environment and familiarity with the way classrooms are structured, and the type of resources teachers need on a daily basis.

Two assessed teaching placements in the University of Roehampton's partner schools will provide students with invaluable hands-on work experience, giving them the confidence for their future career and a better understanding of how teaching works in practice. The opportunity to review pedagogy in other schools is also provided.

All the academic staff have extensive teaching experience in schools, and many have served in local authorities or subject associations as advisory teachers, as Ofsted inspectors or as consultants. This means that the programmes are based on the reality of the classroom and the education system. Many work at the cutting edge of research in teacher education, which has a positive impact on the quality of provision for all of the students.

This one year programme will build students' confidence in the classroom and will provide them with the subject knowledge to effectively teach the whole primary curriculum.

Students will select an age group that they would like to focus on, and each of their modules will be tailored to the academic requirements or the different ways of teaching children of that particular age. All of the learning will ask students to reflect on their own experiences in their school placement with a consideration of current issues and research. These reflections will then allow students to review and adjust their teaching methods to improve their own practice.

The three modules are covered during the year are:

Each is assessed through 100% attendance, completion of directed tasks and a written assignment. The Professional Studies assignment requires a critical analysis of how children learn focusing on a current priority in teaching, for example SEND, EAL and behaviour for learning. In the Core Curriculum, the focus will be on English, Maths or Science and students will plan a sequence of lessons which they will deliver relating to a current area of research in their subject. A written essay will then provide a rationale for their lessons and an evaluation of the learning which took place. The Wider Curriculum assessment allows students to focus on one foundation subject and plan a medium-term plan which they will then write a rationale for.

Students will undertake two blocks of assessed school experience, one in the autumn term which is approximately seven weeks, and the second in the spring term lasting around thirteen weeks. During the placements, students will progress from participant observer, via support teacher and sharing teacher, to lead teacher.