PGCE Primary and SEND Education with QTS Full-time

This teaching course helps you learn about teaching and practise it in real classrooms. You'll spend time in different schools to understand what it is like to be a primary school teacher, including teaching children who need extra help.

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A group of primary school children sitting cross-legged on a classroom floor, listening

Start date/study mode:

Course codeQ510

Duration1 year

Fee(s)View fees

LocationOn campus

Course summary

This course prepares you to become a primary school teacher in England. You can choose to study this course full-time for a year or part-time over two years.

You'll study teaching and gain hands-on experience in real classrooms. The course includes 120 days of school placements, helping you learn how to teach all children, including those who need extra support.

With partnerships across more than 650 schools, colleges, and other educational settings, we'll support you in finding a placement that matches your career goals.

We design placement tasks and assessments to check that you can apply your knowledge and skills in different contexts. This allows for purposeful integration between the university-based curriculum and practice in placements.

During placements, you'll need to observe, take part in, investigate and record various aspects of teaching, learning, and assessment and classroom procedures and processes. This includes Intensive Training and Practice (ITAP) weeks which give you the chance to explore different teaching methods in detail.

On completion, you'll be a qualified teacher, eligible to teach in any state primary school in England.

What you'll study

Many of our courses include a range of modules you can choose from. Some options may only be available if you’ve already studied specific modules. If you’re not sure what you need before picking a module, your course leader can help.

How you'll learn

This course includes learning at university and training in schools. By the end, you'll have the knowledge and experience to work in primary schools and in settings for children who need extra support.

School placements are an important part of the course. You'll learn by teaching in real classrooms, with support from teachers, tutors, and other students. You'll spend at least 120 days in schools, in at least two different places. This includes a primary school and a setting for children with special educational needs.

You'll be assessed in different ways. These include written assignments, case studies, and reviews of your teaching. We will also check your subject knowledge to help you see your strengths and where you can improve. Your tutors will guide and support you.

Also, you'll have extra days in schools linked to your university learning. These will help you explore and practise important parts of teaching. These include:

The Early Years Foundation Stage
KS3/4
Experience of diversity and inclusion in school
English as an additional language (EAL)
Experience in an Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) (a specialised unit for SEND pupils within a mainstream school).

Entry requirements

You'll usually need a 2:2 (or above) honours degree from a UK Higher Education institution or an equivalent qualification and be deemed suitable to train to teach by the University.

You must have a grade C or above in mathematics, science, and English language, or equivalent qualifications. If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above. We'll only accept equivalencies from equivalencytesting.com(opens in new tab).

In addition to academic qualifications, you must also:

Have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
Complete a medical pro forma (based on DFEE Circular 8/92)
If English isn't your first language, obtain International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at a score of 6.5, with at least 6.5 in writing, and no section below 6.0.

Your numeracy and literacy competency will be assessed continuously throughout the course, following the DfE’s removal of the Professional Skills Test.

You may have work experience in a mainstream primary school to gain knowledge of Key Stage 1 and 2, but this isn't essential. You'll be assessed on your potential to learn and not your experience.

All successful applicants will be invited to an interview. Interviews start early November, so we recommend that you apply as soon as DfE opens in October.

Please note, applicants with a foundation degree will need to supplement this qualification with at least 60 credits at level 6 (HE level 3) in order to attain an equivalent single qualification.

Fees and finance support

If you study for this PGCE, you'll pay the same yearly tuition fee as an undergraduate Home student.

Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. If you're a Home fee-paying student, the fee for your first year of study for 2026/27 will be £9,790. You'll pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

Check your fee status(opens in new tab).

Tuition fees for this course are eligible for funding through the Student Loans Company (SLC). Please apply via the government website(opens in new tab), or contact studentfinancialguidance@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

See all course tuition fees.

Apply now

Start date/study mode:

If you're applying for a postgraduate initial teacher training course, you should apply via the government website(opens in new tab).

For more information, please contact our Student Helpline team on 0191 515 3000(opens in new tab) or email student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

Disclaimer

We want to make sure you have clear and accurate information about our courses. Our website always shows the latest updates. If you’ve applied and you're offered a place, we’ll contact you in writing if anything important changes.

For more information, view our programme specifications. These include course content, learning outcomes, and the skills you'll gain.