Primary Advantage Federation is seeking to appoint excellent applicants like you for the School Direct Primary (Tuition Fee) Programme next year. This route looks identical to the PGCE programme on offer- the only difference is that you apply directly to our schools rather than the university itself. That way you know where you’ll be placed for the entire year.

This training route is provided with the Institute of Education (IOE); The IOE is a global leader in teacher education. Their programmes are recognised by Ofsted as “outstanding” in every criterion across Primary and Secondary Education. All UCL School Direct students have full access to UCL student support services and facilities.

The primary PGCE is a highly popular course known to develop effective, confident teachers whose classroom practice is informed by an advanced knowledge of educational theory, and who continue to learn and reflect throughout their careers.

As a trainee you will be warmly welcomed and supported in our schools.

You will start the year at the IOE and early in September join one of our schools for your first placement. You will have the chance to observe and participate in class at first and gradually be coached to lead activities and teach small group and whole classes as your placement progresses, with the guidance, nurture and support of your class teacher.

You will spend about a third of your training at the Institute of Education. In addition to this Primary Advantage offer weekly hub sessions which provides the bridge between the theory and your classroom practice.

You will benefit from a very strong support network which includes an IOE tutor, school mentors, class teacher mentors and the student peer group. Most importantly you will love working with our children.

As part of our support programme you’ll come together for a weekly Hub training session with some of the best teachers in our federation for training, observations, and reflecting on practice. We have found this creates a really strong peer group which students find incredibly supportive and valuable. It also adds an important third dimension to your teacher training experience.

How school placements work on the School Direct Training (Tuition Fee) Routes

You will benefit from working across Early Years Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 during the course of the year. You will be able to select your route as either EYFS/KS1, KS1/KS2 or KS2 only. You will start in one of our schools for the first placement. You will then do a short alternative placement outside our federation half way through the year to broaden your experience, and then rotate into one of our other primary schools in Hackney in the final part of the year, teaching in a different age phase. These placements will be co-ordinated and finalised between us and the IOE once you start on the programme.

Assessment

You will be assessed in two ways:

• on your practical teaching and your progress in achieving the standards for Qualified Teacher Status
• on assignments and portfolio tasks.

Successfully completing all aspects of the course at masters level will gain you the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) which also carries 60 M-level credits that may be used towards a subsequent masters degree. The course also leads to the award of QTS (Qualified Teacher Status).

Please see full course details at:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/courses/teacher-training/primary-school-direct-pgce

Entry Requirements

We are looking for excellent graduates with a degree of 2:2 or above.

• You must have a GCSE pass minimum grade C /5 in English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject by the time you start the PGCE.
• It is recommended you have a minimum of 10 days experience within a mainstream primary school setting prior to you starting the course.

Fees

• Home/EU  paid to UCL – Institute of Education – see their website for up to date fee information
• Home and EU students may be eligible for a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of tuition fees charged. This is available through Student Finance England
• No trainee will need to pay the cost of tuition charges up front. They will only pay once they are in full-time employment and earning above a certain threshold.
• You can calculate an estimate of your loan repayments on the GOV.UK website

Our Federated schools are:

• De Beauvoir Primary School,
• Gainsborough Primary School,
• Springfield Community Primary School,
• St John & St James Primary School,
• Holy Trinity Primary School,
•  Morningside Primary School,
• St John the Baptist Primary School,
• St Matthias Primary School.

All our routes will be open on the DFE site from October 2021 for the 2022/23 academic year 

To view all our courses in detail please search the DFE ‘Find a Postgraduate Teacher Training‘ website where you will find further information and application links to apply. All applications for Teacher Training places must be made through: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-teacher-training