PGCE PRIMARY (KEY STAGE 1 AND LOWER 2 WITH PRIMARY LANGUAGES - FRENCH)
PGCE PRIMARY (KEY STAGE 1 AND LOWER 2 WITH PRIMARY LANGUAGES - FRENCH)
You’ll join this 38-week, full-time course in September and finish the following July. You’ll spend the majority of time in schools – with 120 days (minimum 24 weeks) in placements and up to 60 days in taught sessions at UEA. Your placements will be in two different schools, helping you to develop an understanding from contrasting experiences.
Our course has been designed so that you’ll graduate as a confident and highly reflective newly qualified teacher (NQT) with additional expertise and experience in the teaching of French.
UEA’s PGCE is based on the principle that you can only inspire and teach children well if you really understand them. We aim to develop reflective and inspirational teachers, who value and build upon the rich variety of backgrounds and experiences children bring to the classroom. We’ll prepare you to plan, teach, assess learning and manage children’s behaviour effectively. You will be well prepared to teach across the primary curriculum, and to work with other professionals in the classroom.
UEA’s Primary PGCE has a long-standing reputation as a successful teacher training programme. The latest Ofsted report (2014) acknowledged the high quality of our training and the expertise of our tutors. Ofsted also praised the commitment of our partnership schools, noting the quality of the collaborative support between school staff and UEA tutors to ensure continuity of support in your learning during your school placements.
About
A teacher who is knowledgeable and skilled can have an amazing impact on a child during their time at school and beyond.
Teaching in the 5–11 age range - specialising in Years 3 to 6 - you will play a vital role in motivating children to be engaged and excited about learning across the curriculum, with an additional focus on teaching French at Key Stage 2.
The delivery of languages is now a statutory part of the primary curriculum. A high quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity, develop their self-confidence, broaden their horizons and encourage positive attitudes.
Developed in close partnership with primary schools throughout East Anglia, our Primary PGCE course is designed to help you become a confident and capable teacher who can motivate children and manage a class effectively.
Upon successful completion of your PGCE, you will graduate with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and 90 Master’s level credits.

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Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.After the Course
You will graduate as a confident and highly reflective Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) in the Primary years, with a specialism in teaching children in Key Stage 2 and additional expertise and experience in teaching French to children aged 7–11 years.
Alongside your PGCE you will be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and 90 Master’s level credits. UEA’s employment rates are excellent and were identified as one of our key strengths in our latest Ofsted inspection report. UEA will continue to support you in your first year teaching as an NQT and you will have the option to build on your Master’s credits by continuing to study part-time for an MA.
Career destinations
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Teacher
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Curriculum leader
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Head of year
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Deputy head
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Head teacher

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Assessment for Year 1
You’ll complete assignments that are designed to prepare you to be an effective teacher. These relate directly to your professional knowledge and understanding, as well as your teaching experience on your school placements.
Throughout your time in schools you’ll benefit from regular observations of your teaching along with a professional dialogue to ensure you’re always learning and developing. Our helpful guidance and constructive feedback will help strengthen the quality of your teaching and improve your pupils’ learning.
All assessments will be moderated by external examiners from other universities and you will be assessed against both the Teachers’ Standards and Master’s level criteria.
Assessment for Year 1
You’ll complete assignments that are designed to prepare you to be an effective teacher. These relate directly to your professional knowledge and understanding, as well as your teaching experience on your school placements.
Throughout your time in schools you’ll benefit from regular observations of your teaching along with a professional dialogue to ensure you’re always learning and developing. Our helpful guidance and constructive feedback will help strengthen the quality of your teaching and improve your pupils’ learning.
All assessments will be moderated by external examiners from other universities and you will be assessed against both the Teachers’ Standards and Master’s level criteria.
Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.Entry Requirements
Degree classification
2:2 or above preferred.Degree subject
All degree subjects considered.Additional entry requirements
Applicants are required to have achieved a good honours degree (preferably class 2:2 and above) or its equivalent* by the beginning of the PGCE programme in September.
GCSE and A Level requirements
Before making your application you must have a GCSE pass at Grade C or its equivalent* in English Language, Mathematics and in a natural Science subject (ie Biology, Chemistry, Physics or a combination of these) regardless of your date of birth. We would also expect to see a good standard of academic attainment at A Level or its equivalent*.
Candidates applying for the Primary Language courses must have achieved an A Level or gained considerable experience working with or using their chosen language. In certain circumstances we may be able to take into account any experience of living/working in a country which speaks the appropriate language. Linguistic skills will be assessed at the interview stage to ascertain suitability.
*Please note: It is at the discretion of the individual Initial Teacher Training provider as to whether an appropriate level has been satisfactorily achieved. We therefore strongly urge candidates with equivalent qualifications to check with us that these are acceptable before making their application.
Pre-Application classroom experience
From February 2018, applicants are not required to have gained any prior experience within a school.
Although not a requirement, time spent in a school could help you to gain valuable insight into the role of a teacher, how teaching and learning takes place within the classroom, and help you to decide whether teaching is the right profession for you. It is recommended, that where possible, you gain some school experience prior to application.
It would be most useful if experience could be gained across your chosen Primary age range. Applicants to the Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1 specialist Primary course would benefit from observational experience in both age ranges, due to the curriculum differences.
If you are able to gain classroom experience prior to submitting your application there are a number of ways in which this can be achieved:
Contact Your Local School
Try contacting local schools where you live to see if you are able to arrange a time to observe some lessons, or register with the DfE School Experience Programme to help book school experience through their online portal.
Knowledge of the National Curriculum, key contacts and useful links
Applications are considered on an individual basis and being able to demonstrate a strong level of knowledge about the National Curriculum and current issues affecting teaching is advantageous. These educational links will provide you with some useful points of contact to help to get you started!
Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS)
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN: Disclosure of Criminal Background for Those with Access to Children
All applicants for the PGCE course will be required to obtain an EnhancedCriminal Records check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The enhanced disclosure will be used to assess suitability for the programme and information provided may be discussed with the external members of the School's Safeguarding Sub-Committees. Candidates are responsible for payment of the DBS fee. General information about this process can be obtained from the Disclosure and Barring Service Website.
Satisfactory Health Check
You will need to demonstrate your fitness to teach by undertaking and Occupational Health Questionnaire. This will give us information about any special needs you may have, and enable us to assess whether the University and placement areas will be able to provide support. It is therefore, in your interest to provide full answers to the questions.
Students for whom english is a foreign language
We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:
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IELTS: 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in all components)
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PTE (Pearson): 58 (minimum 50 in all components)
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date. Other tests such as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English are also accepted by the university.
Intakes
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.

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Fees and Funding
TUITION FEES
Fees for the PGCE programme will be £9,250 for Home/EU students and £19,800 for International students for entry in September 2020.
MAINTENANCE GRANTS (UK STUDENTS ONLY)
If you are normally resident in England you may be entitled to receive a Maintenance Grant. All candidates from the UK should contact Student Finance England or tel: 0845 300 5090 for full information on Maintenance Grants.
LIVING EXPENSES
Approximately £9,135 living expenses will be needed to adequately support yourself.
Course related costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of other course-related costs.

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How to apply
Candidates are required to apply via UCAS Teacher Training (UCAS). This is the central "clearing house" which deals with all applications for PGCE courses across the country. There is no specified deadline for any of our teacher training courses. However, all candidates are advised to apply as early as possible in the application cycle.
You are advised to ensure that your referees are available to submit their references immediately upon request (usually electronically via UCAS Teacher Training). Your chosen institution will not receive your application until both referees has submitted their references. Please see the UCAS Teacher Training Referee Guidance for information on selection. NB: Candidates are required to supply an academic referee as their first reference if they have completed their studies in the last 5 years.
Preparing your application
Candidates are encouraged to prepare thoroughly. Application forms should be able to demonstrate not only your depth of subject knowledge but also your enthusiasm and commitment to a career in teaching. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with our PGCE Teacher Training Prospectus and the information available from the Department for Education and related educational establishments. These sources will help you to gain knowledge of the current issues facing teaching, specifically in the subject area for which you are applying. During interview you will be expected to be able to answer questions about these issues, and what has prompted your desire to choose teaching as a career.
Candidates are normally chosen on the basis of their application form, references and an interview.
Equal opportunities
The University of East Anglia operates an equal opportunities admissions policy. We aim to ensure that no applicant receives less favourable consideration on the grounds of gender, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin or religious belief. More on equal opportunities.
See also: UEA PGCE Equal Opportunities Document
Students with a Disability (including Dyslexia)
The University welcomes students with disabilities and is working towards the provision of an inclusive environment for all its students, staff and visitors. More on disability support.
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:
PGCE Admissions Office
Email: edu.pgce.admiss@uea.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 592855
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.

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