Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) Postgraduate Certificate PGCE

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Overview

The PGCE (PCET) is a professional teacher education programme that will qualify you to teach in the post-compulsory education and training sector.

This programme is designed for graduates with degrees from a wide range of subjects, including those not widely taught in secondary schools (such as Sport Science, Health and Social Care and Dance). It will equip you with the necessary tools to teach adults and young people and give you the opportunity to share your knowledge in a way that helps others to fulfil their potential. The programme benefits from its direct link to the University of Sunderland’s Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (SUNCETT). The programme is directly informed by both the national and international educational research and development work of the team.

This pre-service course is for people who have not necessarily had any previous experience as a teacher, but who want to make a positive difference in the Further, Adult and Vocational Education sector. 

If you are already employed in the PCET sector, we also offer an In-Service Part-Time PGCE (PCET).

Why us?

  • The course helps you to plan and teach lively, interesting and challenging lessons with confidence and expertise
  • Gives you the opportunity to work with highly qualified research leaders in further education
  • 'World-leading' research in Education, according to the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF)
  • The programme is led by a highly qualified team who are extremely research active and lead on a number of sector research projects
  • Provides unique opportunities for you to work collaboratively to research and improve your teaching in ways employers really notice

Course structure

Contact time is 8 hours per week in an encouraging and productive learning environment that provides student teachers with opportunities, time and space to develop their knowledge of theory, and refine their teaching practice alongside highly experienced and research-active teachers and teacher-educators. 

We use a wide variety of teaching and learning methods, including; interactive teaching, lectures, seminars, practical teaching workshops, tutorials, directed learning and group work.

You will also be expected to successfully complete a minimum of 100 hours of teaching practice placement over the course.

Assessment methods include assignments, seminars, presentations and formative and summative observations of teaching practice.

There is a specialist pathway for students who would like to train to teach English Language to adults. Students on this pathway may be considered for a bursary of £15,000 after completing registration. For more information contact the student helpline on 0191 515 3000 or student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk.

This course is for people who don’t have previous experience of teaching. If you are already employed in the Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector, you may be interested in our part-time Post Compulsory Education and Training in-service PGCE.

Modules on this course include:

  • Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (20 credits)
  • Developing Theories of Teaching Learning and Assessment in PCET (20 credits)
  • Subject Specialist Knowledge and Pedagogy: English Literacy (20 credits) English pathway only
  • Practical Teaching and Professional Development 2 (20 credits)
  • Developing Curriculum and Implementing Policy in Post Compulsory Education and Training (30 credits)
  • Advancing Subject Specialist Teaching through Critical Reflection and Professional Development (30 credits)

 

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Read more

  • You can access free Wi-Fi throughout the University campus, so you can work from anywhere. If you don't want to carry a laptop around, just use one of the University’s PCs or Apple Macs. We have hundreds of computers for you to use in the Murray Library, St Peter's Library, and the David Goldman Informatics Centre. If you ever have any technical problems, just ask the friendly helpdesk team.

    IT provision

  • We’ve got thousands of relevant books and e-books, with many more titles available through the inter-library loan service. We also subscribe to a comprehensive range of print and electronic journals so you can access the most reliable and up-to-date academic and industry articles.

    Resources which will be particularly useful for your course include:

    • Community Care Inform, which helps professionals who work with children and young people to make, and evidence, their decisions
    • JSTOR (short for ‘Journal Storage’), which provides access to important journals across the humanities, social sciences and sciences
    • EBSCO Professional Development Collection, which is a specialised collection of over 500 education journals
    • Professional Development Collection, which features hundreds of education journals and reports
    Library Services - education
  • Map and directions

Facilities

You'll be based at The David Goldman Informatics Centre, situated on the award-winning St Peter's riverside campus. The location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

Entry requirements

You will 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 School of Education at the University of Sunderland.

You should also hold a GCSE grade C or above (or equivalent qualifications) in Mathematics and English. If you have studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade then you will need to achieve a grade 4 or above.

You must also have:

  • An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
  • A completed medical pro forma (based on DFEE Circular 8/92)

If you are invited for an interview, you will be asked to complete a pre-interview written task, participate in a group activity and complete a short in-house literacy assessment.

Please note the professional QTS Skills tests in Numeracy and Literacy are not required for this course.

If English is not your first language, you will also need 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. If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements. 

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

The annual fee for this course is:

  • £9,250 if you are from the UK / EU

If you are not sure whether you qualify as a UK, EU or international student, find out more in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

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This information was correct at the time of publication.

City Campus by night

Employment

When you complete this course you will have you will have a PCET PGCE, the full award for teaching in the post-compulsory education and training sector.

According to our 2015 Ofsted inspection, “the training of good-quality Further Education and skills teachers enables them to make a valued contribution to the colleges and settings in which they work”.

Teacher Training Placement

Placements are an essential part of this degree. We will help to arrange a minimum of 100-hours teaching practice placement in the Learning and Skills sector, over the course of your one year of study. Your Teaching Practice Placement will provide you with valuable opportunities to work alongside experienced teachers and to learn how to design, deliver, assess and evaluate teaching and learning in the sector. You will be supported and guided by a Subject Specialist Mentor who will be allocated to you through the University of Sunderland’s Placement Office. Please note that you will be expected to pay for your own travel to and from placement. When you’re ready to start searching for a teaching job, you will already have a wide network of professional contacts who can help you find the right opportunities.

 

Career opportunities

Previous graduates of this course have been employed in the following areas:

  • Further Education colleges
  • Sixth Form colleges
  • Training organisations
  • Prison education

Following successful completion of the course, and once in a teaching post, you will be able to apply to the Society for Education and Training (SET) who provide the recognition route to Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status through their professional formation process.

Related courses

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Education and Society.

Page last updated: 18 February 2019

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