Course Structure & School Placements

This PGCE programme is a full-time programme which covers the 11-16 age phase with 16-19 enhancement. It runs from September-June and is a school-centred route which means that the majority of your time will be spent in school.

You will complete placements in two different schools during the programme:

Autumn Term	Base placement – Introduction phase	5 weeks observation and team teaching 7 weeks assessed teaching 40-45%. (8-10 hrs) per week
Spring Term	Second placement – Development phase	6 weeks assessed teaching 40-45%. (8-10 hrs) per week
Summer Term	Return to Base Placement – Consolidation phase	10 weeks assessed teaching up to 75-80% (16-18 hrs) per week
Intensive Training & Practice Placements focussed on key aspects of pedagogy and practice
Enrichment week – school based experience planned and delivered in response to your individual training needs

During your school placements, you will begin by observing teaching before gradually building up to delivering parts of lessons and whole lessons independently. Your independent teaching timetable will gradually increase as you gain experience and confidence.

Beyond your teaching commitment, you will participate in all aspects of school life and the wider school, such as attending staff meetings, participating in school training days and other professional development activities, as appropriate. This will help you to experience what it is like to be a staff member of a school community.

Academic sessions take place on Wednesdays and these sessions are either led by York St John University or Hope Sentamu Learning Trust staff. These sessions aim to give you an the academic understanding of effective teaching, learning and assessment practices alongside pedagogical strategies to deploy in the classroom.

Where will I be placed?

We work in partnership with over 15 different secondary schools across York, North Yorkshire, Hull and the East Riding to provide school placements for our training teachers. Wherever possible, we aim to ensure that participants’ placement schools are no more than 45 minutes travel time away from their home address.

Placement schools are carefully selected to ensure that they can provide safe, supportive and stimulating learning environments for our programme participants. You will be supported in your school placements by a Subject Mentor and other school colleagues, as well as university tutors, who are all committed to your education and training and will work together to secure your progress and development.

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We are delighted to work in partnership with Hope Sentamu Learning Trust and York St John to support the next generation of high-quality teachers, believing that it is our duty to support those who are newest to this most rewarding profession. Our subject mentors have the right skill sets and experience to support training teachers to be the best that they can be.”