Primary with SEN (Special Schools) PGCE

Overview

The primary teacher education course is designed for graduates who are committed to becoming primary school teachers. It trains you to teach children in the five -to-11 age range.

You could also be eligible for the highest range of tax-free training bursaries.

As a trainee, you will learn how to teach the entire primary curriculum as well as choosing a particular route.  The SEN: Special Schools route is designed to give you the skills and confidence to meet the needs of pupils in special schools.

East London offers multicultural, multilingual and vibrant schools in which to learn, but your training at UEL will qualify you to teach anywhere in England or Wales.

Our PGCE team is made up of experienced practitioners who have worked in a range of primary and Early Years settings across London as classroom teachers, curriculum coordinators, advisory teachers and school leaders.

At UEL you will be part of a diverse community of students. We want to bring to east London a teacher workforce that reflects the local community and, in 2013-14, 24 per cent of our Primary PGCE trainees were men.

Course modules

Year 1

Active Enquiry and Intervention: Impacting upon Learner Progress Core Module

The aims of this module are:

• To develop knowledge and understanding of critical thinking, reflective practice and educational research;

• To develop an awareness of action research - its processes, practices and relevance for reflective educational practice and change;

• To develop knowledge of pedagogy, through primary research and the critical evaluation of theory and literature;

• For trainee teachers to carry out a classroom intervention informed by reading and research activity and to reflect critically on the process;

• To demonstrate a practical appreciation of evidence-informed teaching;

• To identify appropriate classroom strategies to develop learning and teaching which are informed through educational research, evidence and scholarship.

• To apply classroom strategies informed by scholarship to a specific educational context and setting.

Developing and extending understanding of a specific area/subject (SEN) Core Module

The aim of this module is:

• To support trainees in engagement with theory/research to support and reflect on classroom practice and pedagogy.

• To understand the development of children’s learning, drawing on the contribution of key theorists and identify different pedagogic models.

• Provide a critical review of the relevant background reading.

• Monitor and evaluate, through observational records, the development of the children’s learning

• Provide a critical appraisal of learning with reference to a focus student.

• To reflect on the implementation of the pedagogic model/ theoretical perspectives and to identify modifications or adaptations for future practice.

School-Based Learning: Reflections on Practice (Mental Wealth) Core Module

This module focuses on the development of professional practice in a practical context. It provides an initial experience of teaching and learning in a secondary school environment. This module focuses on best practices in secondary teaching, based on current research. With the support of an experienced mentor, this module aims:

• to support students in understanding a range of key issues and curriculum initiatives related to teaching practice, and to implement this knowledge during their school-based experience

• to enable students to meet the relevant Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status

• to enable students to support children’s learning and development effectively in the classroom

What you'll learn

You will learn how to be a primary class teacher. By the end of the year, you will understand how to teach the entire primary curriculum to a class of 30 pupils and be confident and competent in doing so.

You will leave the course with outstanding subject knowledge across the curriculum. You will have an understanding of how to plan and deliver engaging and motivating lessons and how to support your pupils' progress.

You will learn how to identify the strengths and needs of your pupils and make sure that everyone in your class is included and challenged.

You will understand how to assess pupils' learning, how to spot the gaps in their learning and how to plan to fill those gaps.

Everyone on the Primary PGCE learns how to teach the whole curriculum. We will give you the confidence and skills you need to teach every subject. 

You will also have extra sessions that will enhance your skills in meeting the needs of pupils in special schools and develop your understanding of particular Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

You will learn to think critically about what is meant by 'special needs'. You will discuss strategies for teaching and assessing children with various needs and try to find solutions for the challenges you might encounter. 

You will also spend some of your training placement in a Special Needs school.

How you'll learn

You will spend most of the first five weeks at the School of Education and Communities, in our purpose-built education building. Here we will look at pedagogy (how to teach) and curriculum (what to teach).

You will develop your knowledge of all subjects and your understanding of how to support pupils' learning across the curriculum.

There are keynote lectures, with follow-up seminars in which you will discuss aspects of teaching, such as behaviour management and pupil progress, with your fellow trainees.

In addition, you will spend 12 hours over the year developing your knowledge and understanding of SEN. 

Each session will have a specific focus and before each one, there will be reading, tasks and research to complete. 

There are two blocks of full-time school-based training on the course, each twelve weeks long. Your first teaching placement will usually start at the beginning of October.

Your UEL tutors will decide where you go on placement and arrange for it to be as convenient as possible for you.

You will be teaching, not helping, on the placement. You will start off working with groups of pupils, but your role is not to help the teacher - it is to support and increase the pupils' learning.

You will have a school-based mentor (a teacher employed by the school) as well as a professional tutor from UEL who will visit you during each placement. This is partly to moderate and assess the quality of your work, but also to give you support, guidance and feedback.

In principle, your two placements will be in different schools. However, schools sometimes ask for trainees to return for a second placement. 

How you will be assessed

Your course will lead to the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). You also have to complete assignments that contribute to your understanding of teaching and learning and carry academic credit, leading to the award of a PGCE.

You will complete two Level 7 (master's level) assignments. For both of these, you will need to read and understand literature about good practice and then think and write about your own practice. The 60 Level 7 credits will contribute to the PGCE award.