Below, you will find an overview of the two campus-based and one distance-learning primary ITE programmes running in 2022/23 for which placements are required.
If you would like to see further information about the placements themselves, please click on THIS LINK.
BA Primary Education
The BA (Hons) Primary Education programme is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to become an outstanding primary teacher in due course. Over the three years of their programme, students gradually gain the knowledge, confidence and skills to equip them for teaching.
In their first year, students will undertake two placements; one a two-week block in an early years setting or nursery and the second a 6-week block in a school setting. The students’ initial two- week block placement takes place in an early years setting or nursery and focuses on developing an understanding of young children’s development and learning and how to plan and assess for learning. During the second block placement, it is expected that the students will teach from the teachers planning on a regular basis whilst in school. Students will spend half of the time (3 weeks) in one age phase (Early years and Key stage 1 OR KS2) moving to the opposite age phase in February for a further 3 weeks. These full weeks offer students an opportunity to teach sequential lessons in each age phase. At the end of this placement the student will choose whether to train for 3-7 years or 7-11 years in 2nd and 3rd year.
Building on this placement in their second year, students are trained to deliver an accredited reading intervention programme and work with identified pupils over a 20-day period. Whilst this is a fantastic opportunity for the placement school to utilise intervention support for their school, the student needs to have regular time to plan and teach each day that they are in school, albeit non-assessed. This may be the foundation subjects. This will support the students’ understanding and preparation for their 8-week block placement within the same school, in which the student undertakes up to 50% whole class teaching, preferably working as a pair in the EYFS, KS1 or KS2.
BA final-year placement overview
In their final year, BA3 students
undertake a paired internship placement that enables each pair to spend time in one school over the
course of the year as follows:
An initial four-week non assessed placement focusing on planning and teaching whole class lessons in science and foundation subjects and gaining greater experiences in whole class pupil progress tracking.
At the end of the spring term pairs of students will return for a final assessed placement in
which they will be expected to undertake a 70% teaching commitment to gain experience of planning, teaching
and assessing the progress of the whole class across the primary curriculum. By the end of placement, under the guidance of their mentor,
students will be able to demonstrate sustained pupil progress in the classes in which they are based.
This internship placement is an opportunity for both schools and students to build a sustained relationship over
the course of the year, which we hope will be of mutual benefit. Link tutor support will be provided in both phases of this internship placement.
PGCE
The PGCE year begins with an initial non-assessed placement in which students deliver an accredited speaking and listening intervention programme.
This paired placement exposes
students to the world of teaching through small
group and whole class teaching, with involvement in planning and assessing children. Students will progress from observation through collaborative
working with both their peers and educational professionals to independence as a teacher, developing appropriate learning
opportunities for all the children.
The students remain at the same host school for the assessed
portion of the placement, which takes place in the spring term and remains paired. Across
this placement the main focus will be on behaviour for learning and assessment
for learning.
The
PGCE Primary students will continue their University base training across this
first placement, with seven half day
call backs on Tuesday afternoons.
In the summer term, students will commence their final block placement. This will, generally, be a paired
experience and be focused around assessment and pupil progress to enable students to embed critical depth into their practice and understanding.
During the PGCE programme,
students must teach in at least two different settings and at least two different primary age-phases. They also need
to gain significant KS1 experience, particularly in the observation and teaching of phonics.
PGCE Early Primary Education
This programme is coming to an end in 2022/23. To this end only the final placement is required.
This is a unique programme which is distance-based over the course of two years, focusing upon Early Years and Primary Education with a specialism in the Early Years.
Within the programme students are required to complete professional
development portfolio (PDP) placements (26 days equivalent in their first year and 24 days equivalent in
their second) where they complete a range
of school-based tasks, two focused placements (Inclusion and Diversity (SEND) and Behaviour Management) and two assessed, paired placements.
The first of the assessed placements has been re-designed to provide students with a unique insight into the
transition from Early Years to Key Stage
1 (KS1); the second mirrors our PGCE campus-based students’ final placement (though it is a week shorter in
length) and can be completed in either EYFS or KS1.
There are two compulsory
university-based weekends where students attend lectures and tutorials in the autumn and spring term of each academic year.
