Primary Early Years PGCE

About the course

Develop as a creative innovative and reflective teacher specialising in working with the youngest children in primary schools (aged 3-7) on a course that meets the requirements for Qualified Teacher Status.

This course offers all the benefits of our Primary Education PGCE but with a focus on the 3-7 age range. Through specialist placements in Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 you develop a secure understanding of early years teaching and learning supported by experienced early years and primary teachers.

You attend subject-specific sessions lectures and seminars designed to develop awareness and understanding of general professional issues; the content of the National Curriculum; and practical guidance on aspects of teaching such as lesson planning and assessment.

When you successfully complete the course you achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) enabling you to work as an early years or primary teacher.

Why choose this course?

• Study at our Bedford campus home to one of the largest education providers in the region with a long history of teacher education and an impressive graduate employment rate

• Benefit from our well-established links to schools across the eastern region a network that puts us at the forefront of educational developments

• Hone your skills of critical self-evaluation and gain confidence in analysing your own practical experience during your school placements

• Engage with relevant research literature and develop the skills of a reflective practitioner

• Develop your creativity and team-working skills preparing you to influence and lead in educational settings while enhancing your own sense of independence

What will you study?

Studying our Primary Early Years PGCE course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills around education, teaching and curriculum. You will start by building your understanding of teaching and learning, as well as how to apply that knowledge into practice in our Evidence Informed Primary Teacher (Level 7) unit.

Based on key literature, you will focus on developing evidence-informed teaching and subsequently be critical of your own practice in The Reflective Primary Teacher (Level 7) unit. This will help you prepare for work within complex and unpredictable early years classroom settings that demand innovative thinking and actions.

In areas of practice, you will have the opportunity to undertake a school placement where you will build your experience to independently plan and deliver lessons based on your observations and learning in our School Experience 1 – The Primary Early Years Teacher unit. You will learn to apply useful management strategies in a school context while aligning with behaviour management policy.

In the second part of this unit; School Experience 2 – The Primary Early Years Teacher; you will continue to develop and apply your experience from the first unit while also learning methods to adapt teaching, effective use of assessment and to promote good progress.

School Experience 1 - The Primary Ey Teacher

As part of this unit, you will undertake a school placement designed to enable you to observe and practise the procedures which support effective preparation for beginning to demonstrate the teaching and learning in respect to achieving the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2012) by the end of the course.

This placement’s teaching pattern is designed to ensure that you successfully make the transition from observing and supporting lessons to independently planning and delivering lessons during the placement.

It also aims to help you to develop a range of school contextualised behaviour management strategies, which you are increasingly able to apply effectively and appropriately in keeping with the placement school’s behaviour management policy.