Postgraduate Business Studies

Course overview

Business is fundamental to many aspects of our lives and although not all 14 – 19-year-olds will go on to work in business, all require a deep understanding of business knowledge and skills to navigate the world we live in. 

Business teachers, in both the academic and vocational classroom and through extra-curricular activities, help prepare all students for life. Business is a subject that motivates and engages many students and you are in an excellent position to harness this enthusiasm, bringing the subject to life with well-chosen case studies that ‘hook’ students into learning. 

The Leeds Trinity PGCE utilises the latest research to enable you to understand and develop the key pedagogical knowledge and skills essential for excellent teaching and learning in business education enabling students to appreciate its importance and relevance to them.

This is achieved through rigorous, subject-specific professional training, up-to-date teaching practices and, most importantly, your specific needs as a trainee teacher.

On successful completion of this degree and having met the Teachers’ Standards, you will be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). All our PGCE Secondary courses lead to the award of a level 7 Postgraduate Certificate in Education.

About this course

Teaching secondary-age children is your chance to share your passion for your subject and inspire the next generation. Teaching children isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Every subject is different, which is why we make sure our support is centred on subject-specific knowledge, up-to-date teaching practices and, most importantly, your specific needs as a trainee teacher.

Our PGCE Secondary Business course prepares you to teach in the 14 – 19 age phase. There are two stages to your PGCE Secondary Business Studies course.

Stage A – Introduction to teaching (September to December)

University-based training

We use an innovative and supportive model of training. You will get high-quality school experience from the early weeks of the course and have a supportive and gradual introduction to teaching. This combines classroom practice with continued advice and guidance from our expert subject tutors.

This support continues throughout the course, enabling you to become a confident and effective new teacher. So, in stage A, after a short two-week induction programme, you will start a school placement three days a week, which then extends to four days a week.

Every Friday you’ll return to University for subject knowledge and applied pedagogy (SKAP) sessions (see below) and support from your tutor and fellow trainees on the course.

Professional Education Studies

Professional Education Studies is designed to give you an introduction and overview of important topics and issues which will inform your learning, practice and professional values.

These sessions give theoretical insights and practical strategies to tackle issues that you will face in your school placements and in the early years of your professional teaching life.

Subject Knowledge and Applied Pedagogy (SKAP)

In these sessions, our subject teacher experts will give you a good understanding of what it means to teach your subject. You will study the school curriculum, and understand how other expert teachers have taught it successfully.

You will also learn how to plan sequences of learning that address the needs of your pupils so that you can develop your practice and have a positive impact on their learning.

School-based training

Whilst you continue to benefit from one day a week of University tuition, you will also start your first school placement, which will last until the end of Stage A. Our School Partnerships team will source your placements for you, taking into account your passions, preferences and personal circumstances.

You’ll be allocated a subject tutor, who will work with you to ensure you’re prepared and ready to go into school. This will give you the chance to put into practice what you’ve learned so far in a collaborative working environment.

You’ll work closely with your subject mentor based in your school. Every Friday you will return to University to benefit from the support and expertise of your subject tutor, and your subject peer group.

Stage B – Developing your knowledge and preparing for your new career (January to June)

University-based training

Your University-based training will comprise the same elements as Stage A, but you’ll focus on building on the knowledge you’ve already developed to prepare for your next school-based training block. After an initial week at University, you will start your second placement in January. Every second Friday until Easter, you’ll return to University to continue SKAP tuition. 

These Friday sessions are a great opportunity to find out how different schools approach the issues you are facing in your teaching practice, share your experience with your fellow trainees, and continue to benefit from the expertise of your subject tutor.

School-based training

In January, you’ll start a second placement in a different school. This will give you the chance to deepen your knowledge of how students learn and extend your practice in supporting that learning, in a new context. In this placement, you will continue to be supported by your University subject tutor, your school mentor and a link tutor who liaises frequently between school and University.

This placement from January until June gives you the chance to develop your practice in a school, and with pupils that you will get to know really well. This gives you a very good opportunity to make a positive impact on progress in that school.

During your second placement, you will be teaching more lessons and ensuring that you’re teaching classes from across the full age range for which you are training. At this point, you’ll become more of an independent practitioner.

Qualified Teacher Status

During each stage of school-based training, you will be formatively assessed and your progress mapped against core competence statements. A summary judgment will be made at the end of each stage. This summary will provide you with further information about your areas of strength and targets to develop moving forwards.

By the end of your training in school (stage B) you will be expected to have met the Teachers’ Standards and a Summative Assessment will be made using the standards as a benchmark. When you meet the Teachers’ Standards you are then recommended for QTS.

Learning and Teaching

At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.

Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:

• high quality teaching

• an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement

• a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.

We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.

We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:

• Student Involvement and Engagement

• Inclusion

• Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience

• Digital Literacy and Skills

• Employability and Enterprise

To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.

We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:

• Personalised support

• Expert lecturers

• Strong connections with employers

• An international outlook

• Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development