Pre-course Information:

You may find this page useful if you have recently gained a place on our course or you are looking to apply.

 

Firstly, if you are looking at this page because you have recently secured a place on our course, CONGRATULATIONS! A PGCE is a very fast and intense year, therefore, we have decided to provide you with some information and ways in which you can start preparing now.

 

School Experience:

We highly recommend getting as much experience in a School environment as possible before the start of your PGCE. The benefits of spending time in school include:

  • Understanding the role of the teacher.
  • Learning safeguarding policies and procedures.
  • Learning how to build professional relationships with staff and children.
  • Understanding the roles of teaching assistants.
  • Beginning to learn behaviour management strategies.
  • The importance of being involved in wider school life including extra-curricular clubs.
  • Understanding the local context.

When spending time in school we recommend you keep a reflective journal, this is something you will be expected to do in your training year. Within this journal you can record what you have observed, your evaluation on the observed practice, how you have contributed to children’s learning and an evaluation of your input. It is also somewhere you can record good ideas for lessons you would like to ‘magpie’ from other teachers and try yourself in the future. School experience also helps you to highlight any areas of the curriculum and subject knowledge you might need to brush up on.

If you have been accepted onto our course and do not already have school experience or are looking for further experience contact your PPL (Gillian Bruce).

 

Pre-course Reading:

To get ahead with the required reading for the course please see below the pre-course reading list:

Pre-course reading

Updated: 10/02/2022 187 KB
 

 

Below are some book recommendations from our ex trainees:

  1. Planning the national curriculum: a complete guide for trainees and teachers – Keira Sewell
  2. When the Adults Change, everything changes – Paul Dix
  3. Running the Room - Tom Bennett
  4. The Writing Revolution – Judith C. Hochman
  5. Teach Like a Champion – Doug Lemov
  6. Why Don’t Student’s Like School? – Daniel T Willingham
  7. Closing the vocabulary gap – Alex Quigley
  8. Getting the buggers to behave - Sue Cowley 
  9. Learning Theories Simplified -  Bob Bates
  10. Carol Vorderman help your kids - English (Good for enhancing your subject knowledge)

 

Subject Knowledge audit:

You are expected to have a good level of subject knowledge in all areas of the curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6. During the course we regularly ask our trainees to audit their subject knowledge and revise areas of the curriculum they are not as confident with, this is something you can start now! Below is a link to the KS1 and 2 National Curriculum from which you can identify any areas of weakness.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum 

 

Suggested courses:

1. The following course comes very strongly recommended by our University Partnership Lead, it is Head Start to Postgraduate Study. If you have been out of education for a few years, or need to brush up on your academic skills, preparing for the step up to Master’s level this is the course for you. It comes highly recommended by current students and by staff as a vital way of raising your academic confidence and skill and reducing some of the possible worry later on when you are REALLY busy. It takes you through concepts such as critical analysis, reflective writing, referencing and critical reading. Once on the page select 'Head Start to Postgraduate Study' in the drop down menu.

https://my.cumbria.ac.uk/Student-Life/New-Students/headstart/

 

2. During the first few weeks of your PGCE you will be introduced to Better Start Blackpool who deliver a session on how adverse childhood experiences affect the developing brain. Better Start have recommended the following FREE 20 hour course:

https://www.albertafamilywellness.org/training/ 

Brain Story Certification is designed for those seeking a deeper understanding of brain development and its consequences for lifelong health. The course is also designed for professionals seeking certification in a wide range of fields. 

We agree that this course is a very valuable learning experience when entering education and working with young people.