PGCE Further Education and Skills (FES) PGCE

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Overview

The PGCE Further Education and Skills (FES) (formerly the PGCE PCET) is a professional teacher education course that will qualify you to teach in the Further Education and Skills sector.

The PGCE FES course is designed for graduates with degrees from a wide range of subjects, including those not widely taught in secondary schools (such as sports science, health and social care, psychology, performing arts, and law). It'll equip you with the necessary tools to teach young people from 16+ years old and adults, and allow you to share your knowledge in a way that helps others fulfil their potential.

Why us?

Specifically designed to support you to teach in the Further Education and Skills sector
Helps you to plan and teach lively, interesting, and challenging lessons with confidence and expertise
The course is directly informed by both the national and international educational research and development work of the University of Sunderland Centre for Excellence in Teaching Training (SUNCETT) team

Unique opportunities are provided for you to work collaboratively to research and improve your teaching in ways employers really notice
You'll be taught by a highly qualified team who are extremely research active and lead on a number of sector research projects
Teacher Training Subject Specialist support bursaries ranging from £15,000 to £30,000 are available

Course structure

Contact time for the PGCE Further Education and Skills is eight hours per week in an encouraging and productive learning environment. The course provides trainee teachers with opportunities, time, and space to develop their theory knowledge. Trainee teachers refine their teaching practice throughout the year alongside highly experienced and research-active practitioners.

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'll also be expected to successfully complete a minimum of 150 hours of teaching practice, 100 hours of professional practice, and ten observations during the course.

Assessment methods include essays and reflections, presentations, dialogic conversations, micro-teaches, and formative and summative observations of teaching practice.

This course is for people who don’t have previous experience of teaching.

Course modules

Core modules:

Emerging Professional Practice in Further Education and Skills (30 credits)

This module will help you develop the ability to reflect upon and evaluate your own teaching and you’ll learn the key principles that impact on how we plan and teach learners. You’ll demonstrate effective planning and management of learning through a series of professional observations and work with experienced subject specialist mentors to refine your craft. Throughout the module, you’ll use relevant literature and theory to justify and demonstrate your ability to develop, improve, and sequence the lessons you deliver in practice.

Developing Subject Curriculum and Implementing Policy in Further Education and Skills (30 credits)

This module will allow you to explore the wider context of curriculum design including intent, implementation, and impact of teaching, learning, and assessment strategies, plus developments in digital technologies, fluencies, and literacy. You’ll evaluate models of curriculum development, as well as national governmental and global policy initiatives that have significantly influenced the Further Education and Skills sector.

Professional Practice and Research in Further Education and Skills (30 credits)

This module continues to assess your ability to reflect upon and critically evaluate your approaches to teaching in your subject specialist area. You’ll reflect on your journey and set targets to prepare for your professional formation year. You’ll continue to demonstrate your ability to develop your lessons and further refine your knowledge of the wider curriculum as it applies to your subject specialism and professional practice. You’ll also work with expert colleagues and peers to investigate, research, and improve an aspect of your subject curriculum. You’ll learn how to conduct research in a way that will allow you to judge the effectiveness of your teaching and take informed steps to implement a curriculum intervention you’ve developed.

Optional modules (choose one):

Preparing to Teach my Subject in Further Education and Skills (Generic) (30 credits)

This module will introduce you to the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education and Skills sector and explore appropriate teaching and learning approaches in your subject specialist area. You’ll gain a sound understanding of teaching your subject in a sustainable manner including resource development, assessment strategies, and ways to support your learners’ progress. You’ll explore mechanisms of supports and approaches to behaviour management and refine your ability to create inclusive learning environments.

Preparing to Teach my Subject in Further Education and Skills (English: Literacy) (30 credits)

This module will introduce you to the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education and Skills sector and explore appropriate teaching and learning approaches in English Language. You’ll gain a sound understanding of teaching English Language in a sustainable manner including resource development, assessment strategies, and ways to support your learners’ progress. You’ll explore mechanisms of supports and approaches to behaviour management and refine your ability to create inclusive learning environments.

Preparing to Teach my Subject in Further Education and Skills (SEND) (30 credits)

This module will introduce you to the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education and Skills sector and explore appropriate teaching and learning approaches in SEND pedagogy. You’ll gain a sound understanding of teaching SEND learners in a sustainable manner including resource development, assessment strategies, and ways to support your learners’ progress. You’ll explore mechanisms of supports and approaches to behaviour management and refine your ability to create inclusive learning environments.

Preparing to Teach my Subject in Further Education and Skills (Maths: Numeracy) (30 credits)

This module will introduce you to the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education and Skills sector and explore appropriate teaching and learning approaches in mathematics. You’ll gain a sound understanding of teaching maths in a sustainable manner including resource development, assessment strategies, and ways to support your learners’ progress. You’ll explore mechanisms of supports and approaches to behaviour management and refine your ability to create inclusive learning environments.

Preparing to Teach my Subject in Further Education and Skills (Computing) (30 credits)

This module will introduce you to the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education and Skills sector and explore appropriate teaching and learning approaches in computing. You’ll gain a sound understanding of teaching computing in a sustainable manner including resource development, assessment strategies, and ways to support your learners’ progress. You’ll explore mechanisms of supports and approaches to behaviour management and refine your ability to create inclusive learning environments.

Preparing to Teach my Subject in Further Education and Skills (Science) (30 credits)

This module will introduce you to the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education and Skills sector and explore appropriate teaching and learning approaches in science. You’ll gain a sound understanding of teaching science in a sustainable manner including resource development, assessment strategies, and ways to support your learners’ progress. You’ll explore mechanisms of supports and approaches to behaviour management and refine your ability to create inclusive learning environments.

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

More about PGCE Further Education and Skills (FES) at Sunderland

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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 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
University library services will be central to your study experience and are delivered at our two libraries on campus, as well as online. Our libraries offer a variety of study environments to meet your needs, including areas for groupwork, individual and silent study. You’ll also have access to desktop PCs, space to use your own mobile technology and printing facilities.

The library works closely with academic staff within each faculty to offer specialist, industry standard resources in your subject discipline. The Faculty of Education provides thousands of relevant books and e-books, with many more titles available through the inter-library loan service. You’ll also have access to a comprehensive range of print and electronic journals which are always kept up to date, including the EBSCO Professional Development Collection, Community Care Inform, JSTOR and many more.

To find out more information, visit our University Library website.
Library Services - education
Map and directions

Facilities

You'll be based at the recently refurbished Wearside View, situated on the award-winning Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's. This stunning riverside location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is:

Qualification	Minimum grade
a Canadian bachelor's degree	GPA 2.40
a USA bachelor's degree	GPA 2.5

If you already hold a postgraduate qualification, please see our Applying for additional postgraduate degrees Help and Advice article.

If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.

If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.

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 of Sunderland.

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're invited for an interview, you'll be asked to complete a pre-interview written task, participate in a group activity, and complete a short in-house literacy and numeracy assessment.

If English isn't your first language, you'll 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 isn't 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.

Technical requirements for studying this course

There may be times when physical face-to-face classes are unable to be held. There's also the potential for remote or online classes to be held in the future. We suggest the following to make the most of your PGCE FES learning experience:

You'll need access to a stable internet connection (min. 1MB/s)
The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that you'll need to access to study runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android, or any other device with a modern web browser. Please note that you can't access the Virtual Learning Environment on Internet Explorer.
You'll need access to Microsoft Teams to access classes and Microsoft Word/PowerPoint, or equivalent software, to complete your assignments. Access to the suite of Microsoft applications will coincide with your enrolment on the course.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

The annual, full-time fee for this course is:

£9,535 if you are from the UK*/Europe
£16,500 if you are an international student

*Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £9,535. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

Read more about EU fees and funding in our Help and Advice article.

See the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

A limited number of Teacher Training Subject Specialist support bursaries awarded by the Department for Education (DfE) may be available for those studying English Language, Science, Computing, Maths, or SEND, ranging from £15,000 to £30,000. Your eligibility for these bursaries will be discussed with you in your interview. Terms and conditions apply.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

Career ready

When you complete the Further Education and Skills course, you'll have a PGCE that will qualify you to teach in the sector.

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to employment within Further Education colleges, sixth form colleges, training organisations, charities, universities, prison education, and community and adult organisations.

After completing this ITE course, you can progress towards Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status which is recommended for teaching in the Further Education and Skills sector. QTLS has legal equivalence to QTS and is recognised by some head teachers in schools. This qualification is completed through the Society for Education and Training (SET). Visit the SET website for further information on QTLS and to check your eligibility.

Teacher training placement

Teaching placements are an essential part of the PGCE Further Education and Skills degree. We'll help to arrange a minimum of 150 hours of teaching practice across two placements in the Further Education and Skills sector over the one-year course. 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'll be supported and guided by a subject specialist mentor who'll be allocated to you through the University of Sunderland’s Placement Office. Please note that you'll be expected to pay for your own travel to and from placement. When you’re ready to start searching for a teaching job, you'll already have a wide network of professional contacts who can help you find the right opportunities.

Enhanced Mentoring

The Enhanced Mentoring pathway is a bespoke Initial Teacher Training option accredited by the University of Sunderland. Training as part of this pathway gives you the opportunity to learn on the job from the very beginning. You'll benefit from working and learning every day in a Further Education environment, gaining immediate insight into what teaching involves. The Enhanced Mentoring option as part of the PGCE Further Education and Skills is a fee-paying route into teaching, delivered in-house at Durham Sixth Form or Hartlepool Sixth Form College, accredited by and in collaboration with the team at the University of Sunderland.

This pathway option is delivered by qualified in-house staff who possess a high level of expertise. It allows you as a trainee teacher to immerse yourself in post-16 education. You'll benefit from this vast knowledge and experience, demonstrated through the academic programme that's been devised to cover a broad range of training areas. These areas include an introduction to teaching and learning, embedding effective assessment, enrichment, and developing action research skills.

Teaching will be supported by contemporary academic writing and educational research to ensure you're provided with a thorough knowledge of current educational policy and practice.

Meet the students

I feel confident going into my first teaching role and recommend the course to any future teachers.

Cate Jones
Thanks to the support of my tutor, I continued with my studies and it’s the best decision I've made.

Courtney Newburn
The modern feel of Sunderland was like a breath of fresh air.

Emily Manson
The way my course was structured allowed me to build my confidence and shaped who I am as a teacher.

Kristina Halsall
My time at Sunderland has let me develop further than I ever thought I could.

Liam Atkin

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Learning and Skills Teacher Apprenticeship

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: 24 March 2025

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.