PGCE Secondary Art and Design with QTS

Our one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) prepares you to teach the secondary school art and design curriculum for the 11-16 age range.   

You’ll learn teaching methods through interactive workshops – we’ll teach you as though you’re a pupil in a school art class.  

This helps you to experience what it’s like to learn the same way as students and explore the different ways you could teach art activities. 

You’ll have sessions across art, craft and design, from drawing to printmaking, ceramics to lens-based media such as photography. 

For specialist mediums, such as ceramics and papercraft, we usually organise a series of guest lectures, inviting artists with expertise in these practices to teach you. 

And, you’ll share your specialist art and design skills with your group too (students from past years have shared skills including bookbinding and Photoshop™).  

When you’re at Manchester Met, you’ll mainly study with your art and design group. You’ll consider how to plan lessons, reflect on your planning, look at ways to develop your teacher persona and understand how research can develop and influence your teaching practice. 

Features And Benefits

• Employability – You’ll have the knowledge, skills and experience to teach art and design at Key Stage 3, GCSE and potentially A/AS-level. 

• Teaching experience - You will spend at least the minimum Department for Education (DfE) required time in schools (approximately 120 days) on placements in schools, gaining experience in mainstream secondary schools.   

• Postgraduate credits - When you graduate, you’ll achieve 60 masters’ level credits (this is one-third of a masters degree). You can put these towards a masters degree to help you develop your new career. 

• Partnerships - We have partnerships with over 500 schools, colleges and educational organisations, meaning we are able to provide students with a range of school experiences. 

• Research-led teaching - Our research centre, the Education and Social Research Institute (ESRI), ranks in the UK’s top 10 for research power in education (Research Excellence Framework, 2021). 

• Application process - You can apply directly to Manchester Met or through one of our lead partner schools. 

Course Information

On the PGCE, you’ll have lectures and seminars at Manchester Met and will typically spend a minimum of 120 days on two teaching placements across the North West.  

At university, you will mainly study with students in your subject specialism. You’ll learn how to plan and deliver lessons through interactive, hands-on seminars. As part of the Manchester Met curriculum you will explore the fundamental theories of pedagogy, behaviour management, assessment, curriculum and professional behaviours.

In addition to this you will examine key themes such as research informed practice, career focussed teacher development, subject and age phase expertise and teaching for the community. 

You’ll develop research informed practice during lectures and seminars, where you’ll analyse the latest educational research and theories and use this knowledge in your practice. 

In addition to your subject studies, you’ll have time to develop all aspects of your professional practice, as well as your ability to reflect critically on your learning. There is also an emphasis on personal tutoring and employability to ensure that you are well-prepared to become an early career teacher (ECT) after completing the course.  
When you first arrive, we’ll give you a full overview of the year to help you to stay organised throughout the course and know what to expect and when.

During your first weeks in university taught sessions, you’ll explore subject pedagogies, professional responsibilities and expectations. You’ll work in groups as well as independently to update your subject knowledge and gain confidence before your first teaching placement. 

You will go on your first placement in late September, where you’ll gradually put the skills you’ve learnt at university into practice and build your confidence in the classroom. You will start your placement with a period of induction followed by two intensive training and practice weeks in both university and school where you will develop foundational key skills.

You’ll be supported by a subject mentor and progressively take on the responsibility of whole class teaching. This will include planning, teaching and evaluating your lessons, assessing the children’s progress, and contributing to other aspects of a typically busy school life. Your first placement will be followed by time in university before you start your second placement.

 In this placement, with support and mentoring, you’ll progress to teaching an 80% timetable. During both placements you will develop your subject knowledge and understanding of subject specialist teaching.   

While you’re on placement, your subject mentor will support, guide and coach you. You’ll also receive support from your personal tutor at university and a university visiting tutor. 

When you graduate, you will gain a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in your subject, and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and can work at any level in schools and colleges.

 You will also be awarded 60 masters’ credits (a masters degree is 180 credits), which you could put towards further study and career development.