APPGTAPM - Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA) in Primary (7 – 11) with QTS and PGCE

Each PGCE apprenticeship course (labelled i-iii in sections 1b and 3 above) is a distinctive and separate route within the Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA) programme. Apprentices may not transfer between routes once they have been accepted onto one route, except by applying afresh via DfE Apply system.  

The PGTA programme offers a regulated programme of employment-based professional training enabling apprentices to gain the necessary qualifications to teach in schools in England. It is undertaken as a one-year course, which leads to three outcomes:  

1. Recommendation for QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). The university provides training including two School Experience placements which will lead to assessment against the Teachers’ Standards and a recommendation to the Department for Education (DfE) of an award of QTS. The rules governing QTS are set by the DfE. 

2. PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) 60 credits at master's Level. 

3. Postgraduate Apprenticeship qualification

The course consists of a blend of taught sessions at the university and school-based training, comprising 20% ‘off the job training’.  The PGCE is an additional element of the apprenticeship which is not funded by the apprenticeship levy, but offered free by the university.

Taught sessions at the university include a comprehensive and stimulating programme of activities which enable apprentices to develop and hone the skills needed to support a sustained career as a teacher in schools: this includes introductions to all of the key knowledge, core practices and professional behaviours for a teacher, which are developed initially in a low-stakes ‘safe space’. This work includes approximations of practice, rehearsals of practice, modelled session, peer-evaluation and expert feedback through our Intensive Training and Practice modules. The PGTA course includes a schedule of individual development tutorials with the apprentice’s personal tutor to review progress and set personalised targets. 

School-based training is undertaken under the guidance of trained expert mentors, who will lead the apprentice through a development programme from initial introduction to class teaching, through to enhanced practice and towards developing mastery. School-based training allows apprentices to gradually take on the role of a teacher, to build experience and good practice within the specified subject specialism and age-range. Regular observation, formative feedback and target setting from university and school staff support the apprentice to make progress in their own learning. 

During the school-based training there is a programme of online learning, both live and asynchronous, using the university’s virtual learning systems.

There are two school-based work placements during the year: a main placement, in the Employer School and a second school experience in another school. Apprentices will spend 152 days in school (80% of the legal requirement for a teacher of 190 days), which exceeds the minimum requirement for ITT of 120 days in school.

The main educational aims of the PGTA with PGCE are to integrate theoretical principles of teaching and learning with evidence-based practical applications for teaching.

Philosophy:

1. For apprentices to develop a critical understanding of the key philosophies that underpin our curriculum, based on the principles of Education for Social Justice, Critical Pedagogy and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
2. To prepare apprentices to teach in a range of contexts, with a focus on teaching in multilingual, multicultural schools, working closely with families, communities and other professionals and to develop a sense of professional identity which reflects this.

Professional Practice – Teaching:

1. To provide apprentices with a secure subject knowledge and critical understanding of developments in the curriculum areas. 
2. To develop the full range of skills, competencies and attitudes needed to enhance their employability, by enabling them to attain the professional Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by the end of the course.

Knowledge and Skills
3. To enable apprentices to take active responsibility for their own learning and development as professionals.
4. To enable apprentices to reflect upon, critically assess and research their own practice

On successful completion of this course apprentices will be able to:

Philosophy:

1. Draw upon a wide range of understanding to be able to meet the needs of a range of contexts with regard to multilingual, multicultural schools linking to the philosophies taught.  
2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the Rights of the Child and a sense of professional identity which reflects this. 

Professional Practice – Teaching:

3. Make appropriate use of their subject knowledge and understanding of the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) to teach competently in a school or early years setting.
4. Demonstrate attainment of and adherence to the professional Teachers’ Standards/Early Years Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Knowledge and Skills – Theory:

5. Learn and develop independently as professional practitioners.
6. Be reflective, critically self-aware practitioners, adapting their practice as necessary to integrate theoretical principles of teaching with practical necessities.

No Subject Benchmark Statement exists for Teacher Training. The course is regulated by Department for Education.

Assessment on the PGTA is carefully designed to be formative throughout the year, based on a reflective cycle which is undertaken as a collaborative, dialogic process with full engagement of school-based mentors and university tutors:

· Apprentices undertake regular reflective writing as part of the weekly cycle, focusing on aspects of professional practice, which is shared with their mentor as a part of the dialogic process and with the university tutor. This is undertaken on the PebblePad portfolio system and leads to the regular completion of the Professional Development Journal, under the supervision of the school mentor.
· As the PGTA includes a full master’s level PGCE, academic practices are at the heart of the programme, and are specifically taught and developed across the year.
· Key Progress Points allow apprentices to see how they are progressing towards the intended learning outcomes, with clear guidance and feedback from mentors and tutors. At each progress point (with a maximum 12 week gap) a tripartite assessment is undertaken between the apprentice, university tutor and school mentor.
· The main assessment points for QTS and the PGCE modules fall towards the end of the year, with formative feedback and guidance given throughout the year.
· Feedback in all its forms is required to be timely, constructive and developmental with achievable ‘SMART targets’.
· Assessment criteria and processes are shared from the start of the course in an Assessment Overview document, which is referred to and further explained as the necessary as the year progresses.
· The End Point Assessment (EPA) is undertaken once apprentices have passed through the Gateway. It is led by an EPAO agreed with key stakeholders. The EPA consists of a lesson observation by the external assessor alongside the school mentor and, where possible, the university tutor, followed by a ‘learning discussion, at which the external assessor will ask a series of questions to elicit the apprentices understanding of and adherence to the Standards.

There are two school-based work placements during the year: a main placement, in the Employer School and a second school experience in another school.

Apprentices will spend 152 days in school (80% of the legal requirement for a teacher of 190 days), which exceeds the minimum requirement for ITT of 120 days in school.

School professionals work closely with the university as expert mentors to support the training and assessment of apprentices, and their professional development as aspiring teachers. They lead seminars and lectures on practical implications of current policy, participate in apprentice and staff interview panels, support apprentices on placement, in collaboration with university link tutors, support apprentices applying for jobs, and invite apprentices to on-site learning sessions.

The main school placement and second school placement (in contrasting setting and, for primary, opposite end of age group) will enable apprentices to gain the full range of experience and support that they require to learn the knowledge, skills and behaviours of a professional teacher.

The Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship has been designed in accordance with, and conforms to University Academic Regulations, the PGTA Standard and to the Department of Education’s Apprenticeship Funding Rules. Specific regulations covering the ITE programmes are below:

PGCE Course Regulatory Schedule

Status

This schedule forms part of the Regulations for all PGCE / ITE courses as they specifically apply to Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeships and should be read alongside the University’s Regulations, which govern courses and the responsibilities of apprentices.

This regulatory schedule lays out a number of programme specific regulations, which reflect the statutory requirements upon ITE courses established by the Department for Education as outlined in the Statutory Guidelines for ITT, which are update annually, together with any successor guidance from relevant government departments.

Some of the regulations refer to specific issues where additional requirements apply to PGCE / ITE apprentices, including:

a. the professional code of conduct, which all apprentices must sign and abide by
b. the Teachers’ Standards, which all teachers must abide by, and which apprentices will be required to meet by the end of the course.

For areas that are not addressed in this document, apprentices should refer to the regular student regulations.

1-5 Preamble

1. All University students are bound from the commencement of their course or from the point of enrolment, by all relevant Regulations, Procedures and policies. Postgraduate apprentices are primarily employees of a school and as such are also bound by the terms and conditions of their employment.

2. Apprentices enrolled on all teacher education programmes leading to QTS are governed by:
· The University’s Academic Regulations which govern the standards of the University’s awards, the responsibilities of apprentices and the formal roles played by staff in relation to admission to courses and programmes of study, assessment of apprentice’s work and conferment of award;
· Regulations which govern the conduct of apprentices, in particular, the Regulations applicable to all apprentices in cases of Misconduct.
· Responsibilities placed upon them regarding not only their conduct but also their professional suitability, as outlined in the Teachers’ Standards and the Statutory Guidelines for ITT, together with any successor guidance from relevant government departments. These responsibilities are governed by the university’s Fitness to Practice policy, together with some course specific regulations outlined below.
· The Code of Practice is a list of statements that describes the standards of professional conduct required of teachers as they go about their daily work. Failure to meet these responsibilities can lead to the termination of training. All breaches of the professional Code of Practice will be progressed in accordance with within the University’s Student Misconduct Regulations. An apprentice may at any time be suspended by the University if in breach, or alleged to be in breach, of professional conduct.

3. In addition, teacher education apprentices on the qualifying programmes have specific regulations governing professional practice placements that are also outlined below.

4. It is the responsibility of all apprentices to read the Teachers’ Standards (and all relevant codes / guidance issued by successor bodies) and the relevant University Regulations to familiarise themselves with all responsibilities and requirements.

5. In the event of receiving an allegation of Student Misconduct, apprentices are advised to seek advice, guidance and support from the Students’ Services.

Full Course Regulations can be found in the Course Handbook

All modules on the PGCE course are core-compulsory.

SDQ017 and SDQ018 must be passed in order to be awarded PGCE.

SDQW23 must be passed in order to be recommended for QTS.

End Point Assessment must be passed in order to be awarded the Apprenticeship Qualification

The PGCE course is designed to encourage apprentices to reflect critically upon their learning and make links between their practice and pedagogic theory and research, becoming critically aware of the range of educational research which may impact upon their practice.

· Assignments incorporate reflection on experience and encourage apprentices to evaluate their practice and explain how they are having an impact on learners.

· Weekly reflections during school experience require apprentices to identify clear personal targets and to reflect on their progress in relation to these targets.

· During school experience apprentices receive individual feedback on their teaching, which enables them to evaluate their progress and set targets for further development.

· In addition, apprentices are required to keep a portfolio of evidence and reflections, which they will present at the end of the course as evidence to demonstrate their achievement of the Teachers’ Standards for QTS.

https://skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeship-standards/st0490-v1-0

Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework

Teachers' Standards

Initial Teacher Training (ITT): Criteria and Supporting Advice

The course is designed for those who wish to become teachers – it is a DfE requirement that we assess their desire to teach. We give advice on many aspects of employability: what to look for in a school, applying for jobs, possible career progression routes and on the professional and legal status of the role. The course is imbued throughout with guidance on how to be a teacher – final assessment is on the Teacher Standards, part 2 of which relates to professionalism. All apprentices complete specific modules on Professionalism, British Values and the Teacher and the Law.

New recruits to teaching are always in demand and it is a very secure job. This initial teacher education course enables apprentices to get onto the first rung of the ladder, preparing them for an enduring career in education.
It leads directly on to the Early Career Teacher programmes in schools, which will enable them to further develop their practical teaching skills in post.

There are also considerable opportunities for continued academic development; the PGCE is worth 60 credits at master’s level and can lead apprentices to continue to study to gain a full master’s degree.

You will be required to have:

• employment as an apprentice teacher in one of our partners schools
• a UK degree, preferably grade 2.2 or equivalent
• GCSE English, Mathematics and Science grade C/4 or above, or equivalent* (*if you undertake a GCSE equivalency test, you may also be required to undertake a Functional Skills test as a part of the course)
• a valid Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Certificate
• confirmation of Fitness to Teach – a London Metropolitan University health check, which you will be advised to apply for after an offer is made
• literacy and numeracy tests — these are university-based tests, which you will be asked to undertake at your interview.

A non-UK citizen is usually eligible for funding if they have permission from the UK government to live in the UK (not for educational purposes) and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of the apprenticeship.

Professional requirements

Before you can be permitted to enrol to this course:

you must not already hold QTS or be qualified to teach in another EU/EEA country
you will be required to undertake a skill scan assessment to ensure that this is the most appropriate route into teaching for you.

International students and English language requirements

Due to statutory requirements, we are not able to offer sponsorship under the Student visa route for this course. We will be happy to consider those falling into this category for an alternative suitable course on request.