St Mary’s
University
School
Direct (SD)
Advice
Information
and Guidance
(AIG) for
partners
supporting
trainees
in 2015-16
St Mary’s University
Postgraduate Teaching at St Mary’s 2014
School Direct
School Direct enables schools
to:
u select and recruit their own
trainees – with an
expectation that trainees will
be employed by the school
or partnership of schools
once they are qualified
u choose which teacher
training provider to work
with
u agree the content and focus
of the training programme
depending on the needs of
both the trainees and the
school
u decide how funding will be
split between the school and
the training provider
Training places are allocated to
the lead school on behalf of the
partnership, usually for one year.
The lead school has overall
responsibility for requesting
places from the National College
for Teaching and Leadership
(NCTL) and ensuring that the
criteria for School Direct are met.
School Direct has two main
pathways: the salaried route
and the tuition fee route.
School Direct Salaried (SDS)
School Direct (salaried) is primarily for graduates
with at least three years’ work experience, but
schools can consider exceptional candidates
who do not meet these criteria in hard to fill
subjects such as mathematics, physics,
chemistry, languages and computing.
A school within the School Direct partnership
must employ the trainee for the duration of the
training. The trainee must be employed as an
unqualified teacher and need not be in a
‘supernumerary’ position (i.e. in addition to your
regular teaching staff numbers). The school is
responsible for meeting all employment
responsibilities. Trainees in LA maintained
schools must be paid at least the minimum of the
unqualified teacher pay scale. Trainees in
academies and free schools must be paid at an
advertised rate.
For the Salaried route a fee of £3000 is payable
to St Mary’s University for the support the trainee
receives to obtain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
As with any ITT route, the trainee must receive
training, informed by their training plan received
at the start of the course. All salaried trainees
must undertake two school experiences, lasting a
minimum of 6 weeks, each one of which must be
in a different school (in primary this must also
cover two key stages). Please note we require
the name of both school placements when the
course commences in September.
This route carries the award of qualified teacher
status (QTS) and may also lead to the award of a
postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE).
PGCE cannot be awarded on this route unless
attendance at St. Marys PGCE sessions is
guaranteed. A higher tuition fee of £6000 is
payable for the award of PGCE with QTS.
NCTL provides funding to lead schools to cover
training costs to achieve qualified teacher status
(QTS) and subsidise the trainee’s salary.
School Direct Tuition Fee
(SDTF)
School Direct (tuition fee) is open to all high
quality graduates. The trainee is deemed to be a
student of higher education for the period of
training. The course is funded by tuition fees paid
by the trainee, either directly or with a Student
Loans Company (SLC) loan. Trainees may be
eligible to receive training bursaries and
scholarships. Please see Appendix 4 for 2015-16
bursary rates.
ITT providers will receive the tuition fee from SLC
and the training bursary funding from NCTL (on
behalf of the eligible trainee). Trainees on this
route without a loan must pay tuition fees to St
Mary’s; these are currently set at £9000 for
2015-16.
In 2015-16 there is a payment of £3000 for each
SDTF trainee, paid by St Mary’s to the lead
school, to cover the cost of both school
placement administration and training for the two
placements. The SDTF trainee must also join
their relevant PGCE course at St Mary’s to obtain
PGCE with QTS. Lead schools will be required to
name the first and second school placements in
the September the trainee begins their course.
This route carries the award of Postgraduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE) with QTS.
Trainees may also gain 60 Masters level credits
(CAT points) which may be used towards gaining
a subsequent Masters degree.
General entry requirements for
St Mary’s PGCE programmes
Secondary SD Salaried:
• 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including
mathematics and English
• degree classification of 2:1 or above
• at least 3 years relevant work experience
Trainees will not need to pay fees to cover the
cost of the QTS award. The trainee will not be
eligible for a training bursary or student finance.
However, schools should ensure the candidate is
aware of any expectation to pay for any
additional academic qualifications, such as
PGCE.
Trainees are eligible to take up places on this
route if they:
• are eligible to work in England as an
unqualified teacher; and
• possess three or more years’ work
experience.
The lead school should take responsibility for
ensuring that the candidate is eligible to take up
employment as an unqualified teacher in
England, before they are offered a place on the
School Direct (salaried) route.
• evidence at application of the ability to
demonstrate a high standard of written English
• successful completion of skills tests in
mathematics and English prior to
commencement of course
• health and physical capacity to teach
• an acceptable Disclosure and Barring Service
check (DBS)
Secondary SD Tuition Fee:
• 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including
mathematics and English 1
• degree classification of 2:2 or above – PE
demands a 2.1 degree classification
• evidence at application of the ability to
demonstrate a high standard of written English
• successful completion of skills tests in
mathematics and English prior to
commencement of course
• health and physical capacity to teach 5
• an acceptable Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) 6
3
Primary SD Salaried:
• 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including
mathematics, English and science
• degree classification of 2:1 or above
• at least 3 years work experience
• at least two weeks experience in the
relevant KS classroom environment
• evidence at application of the ability to
demonstrate a high standard of standard
written English
• successful completion of skills tests in
mathematics and English prior to
commencement of course
• health and physical capacity to teach 3
• an acceptable Disclosure and Barring
Service check (DBS) 4
Primary SD Tuition Fee:
• 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including
mathematics, English and science
• degree classification of 2.2 or above
• at least two weeks experience in the relevant
Key Stage classroom environment
• evidence at application of the ability to
demonstrate a high standard of written English
• successful completion of skills tests in
mathematics and English prior to
commencement of course
• health and physical capacity to teach 5
• an acceptable Disclosure and Barring
Service (DBS) 6
1
PE candidates to have a C grade at GCSE in
PE or Science preferably Biology. Secondary
applicants with a GCSE pass in only one of the
two required subjects – Mathematics or English –
will be considered for Secondary training if they
sit or resit the other examination in the summer,
before starting the programme. The applicant
may also undertake the GCSE equivalency test in
mathematics or English through St Mary’s. A fee
is payable for undertaking these tests.
2
Legislation does not specify that teachers must
have a degree in a particular subject or discipline.
It is the standards for QTS that specify the
subject knowledge required for the award of
QTS. All trainee teachers must meet these by the
time they complete their training. Applicants for
the Secondary PE course are required to have a
degree classification of 2:1 or above.
3
School Direct Salaried candidates must
complete a health questionnaire. The
responsibility for organising this lies with the lead
school.
5
School Direct tuition fee candidates must
complete a health questionnaire for scrutiny by
our occupational health provider. The
responsibility for this lies with St Mary’s
University. Candidates are currently responsible
for the cost of obtaining occupational health
clearance, which is approximately £45.
6
School Direct tuition fee trainees will be asked
to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure certificate
from the DBS as a requirement of entry to the
course. The responsibility of this lies with St
Mary’s University
u
For Subject-Specific Expectations and
Requirements (secondary) please see
Appendix 5
For a list of St Mary’s Personal requirements
at interview please see Appendix 6
4
School Direct Salaried trainees will be asked to
apply for an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from
the DBS as a requirement of entry to the course.
The responsibility of organising this lies with the
lead school.
4
St Mary’s University School Direct
Eligibility Checks
Eligibility Criteria
Comments
When Checked
GCSE A-C in
mathematics and
English (or equivalent)
Candidates need to have
these qualifications before
they can begin the
course. St Mary’s runs
equivalency tests in
English and mathematics
for candidates without the
English or mathematics
GCSE grade C. There is a
£50 charge to the
candidate
Before the point of
offer; a conditional
offer will be recorded
if the candidate
does not have these
already
The candidate must have
a suitable degree before
starting the course.
Please see below for
further information
Before the point of
offer; a conditional
offer will be recorded
if the candidate
does not have this
already
St Mary’s Registry will
check all applicants
degree certificates
before they officially
register for the course
Candidates need to have
these qualifications before
starting the course
Before the point of
offer; a conditional
offer will be recorded
if the candidate
does not have these
already
The School. St Mary’s
will check for the
completion of skills
tests prior to the
course starting
The candidate
needs to be made
aware of this prior to
the course starting
For SD tuition fee
trainees, St Mary’s
Registry will check all
applicants. For
Salaried SD trainees it
is the responsibility of
the school to complete
this check
*Plus Science or PE
GCSE for Secondary
PE candidates only
**Plus GCSE A-C in
science for primary
Degree
Skills tests
Right to work in the
UK
Trainees may undertake
the SD Tuition fee route
without this, but will not
be eligible for SLC loans.
Salaried trainee must be
eligible to work in the UK
Checked by
The school
administrator or school
SD co-ordinator.
St Mary’s Registry will
check all applicant
eligibility
Writing Entry Profiles
The entry profile is one of the main ways that
applicants will find out about school alliances
and programmes. The entry profile needs to
have clear information about the course and,
ideally, make the course appealing.
Much of the text in the following sections is
taken from the UCAS Teacher Training set up
guide.
www.ucas.com/members-providers/teachertraining/managing-training-programmes
Example of Entry Profile
General:
• programme content and structure
• specific entry requirements e.g. the amount of
school experience, including those that are
additional to essential requirements
• the qualities and experience you expect of
trainee teachers
• information about the teaching, supervising
and mentoring staff
• the nature of the teaching placements
• the size, location and different schools within
the alliance
• different training locations and their significant
characteristics
• whether trainees will need to move between
training locations
School Direct Salaried:
• whether you offer a PGCE in addition to
awarding QTS
• your salaried rates and/or the fees for feebased places
Occupational health
DBS
Candidates must have a
suitable level of health to
teach
Candidates must apply for
a DBS check and be
suitable for teaching
Eligibility checks are carried out after any offer is
made. Candidates without suitable qualifications
can still be interviewed and a conditional offer
made. Any offer made would be conditional on
gaining the necessary qualifications prior to
starting the course. We recommend that you
consider the issue of eligibility at the onset of the
recruitment process.
The candidate
needs to complete
the questionnaire
before the start of
the course
The candidate
needs to complete
the check before the
start of the course
For SD tuition fee
trainees St Mary’s will
check all applicants.
For Salaried SD
trainees it is the
responsibility of the
school to complete
this check
For SD tuition fee
trainees St Mary’s
Registry will check all
applicants. For
Salaried SD trainees it
is the responsibility of
the school to complete
this check
• information on your partner schools – or links
to their websites – and the structure of your
partnership
• details on application deadlines, likely
interview dates and holiday dates when staff
may be unavailable
• if applicable – success statistics e.g.
employment rates – linking to further details
on your website and/or case studies of your
trainees and training programme
Further information:
• link to specific parts of your own website
• support for particular groups of trainees e.g.
disabled or international trainees
If an applicant has an overseas qualification or a
degree that is unusual in some way please
contact St Mary’s Registry who will clarify
whether the qualification is suitable for the
purposes of teaching.
5
Recruitment
Overview of the UCAS System
for Recruitment 2015-16
Shortlisting Form and
Feedback
Interviews for SDS
(Secondary Provision)
The first phase (Apply 1) is planned to start in
November 2014. Applicants can apply for up to
three courses/pathways simultaneously. Many
candidates will choose one pathway (e.g. salaried
route) but others may choose to mix the
pathways and providers. Each of the three
chosen schools/providers has 40 working days
to reject or make an offer. If no offer is made in
this time, the application will automatically show
as rejected by the school/provider. The three
choices are processed simultaneously so an
applicant may receive an offer from all three and
will have to make a choice within 10 working
days of confirmation of the outcome of their final
interview.
We advise the use of a short listing form.
St Mary’s does not offer automatic feedback to
applicants who have been rejected. However, if
applicants ask for feedback/reasons then the
shortlisting form is used to generate this.
Applicants are informed of the criteria that they
were judged as failing to meet. Make sure your
own criteria are in line with St Mary’s regarding
qualifications and national ITT requirements. You
may have other criteria that you feel are essential
for your school/cluster.
Schools must lead on the recruitment process by
vetting applications, short listing and informing
candidates for interview. As the school is offering
a paid contract the applicant should be
interviewed in the employing school in the first
instance. St Mary’s should be immediately
informed if the school wants to accept the
applicant. St Mary’s will call the applicant for
interview and if applicant is accepted the school
will be informed so that an acceptance can be
made on the UCAS website. Conditions of entry
will be conveyed to the school. All conditions
MUST be met before an applicant may enter a
course. If an applicant fails to meet the
conditions St Mary’s reserves the right to refuse
admission in September 2015.
Apply 2 starts in January 2015. Any applicant
unsuccessful in Apply 1 may use Apply 2 to
apply for a range of courses. These are
processed sequentially – so each school/provider
will have 40 days to make a decision and the
application will be exclusive to that
school/provider for this period.
Shortlisting
Schools/clusters will need to look at each
application and either reject or invite for interview.
For consistency we recommend that the same
criteria are applied to each application.
St Mary’s uses the following criteria and you can
also add your own
Coherent and well-presented application
Suitable academic profile
Adequate teaching/school experience/advice
from schools*
Favourable references
Good quality supporting statement
Subject specific criteria
*For Primary it is essential that any candidate is
able to demonstrate they have spent a minimum
of two weeks is a primary school that teaches the
English National Curriculum and is able to use
this experience to enhance their application.
When decisions have been made schools should
update the UCAS Teacher Training (UTT) system
by either rejecting applicants or inviting to
interview. The UTT system should allow you to
enter a date and time for the interview, which will
automatically be emailed to the applicant. We
strongly recommend the school also emails the
applicants. This allows the school to establish
contact and to give any pre-set tasks/
instructions/guidance for the interview.
6
St Mary’s University School Direct
Using a short listing form enables the process of
giving feedback to be centrally completed. The
administrative team/lead for SD at the lead
school is able to outline which of the criteria the
candidate was considered to be weaker on by
referring to the form, rather than by contacting
any member of staff.
It is vital that all decisions are made within the 40
day framework. In some cases St Mary’s staff
may be present at the school interview to assure
the quality of the interview process.
Interview Procedures
Interviews for SDTF and SDS
(Primary Provision)
Our primary model requires applicants to attend
a St Mary’s interview date in the first instance. St
Mary’s paperwork must be used by the school
for the purpose of inviting an applicant to
interview. If successful they should be interviewed
by the school. All conditions MUST be met
before an applicant may enter a course. If an
applicant fails to meet the conditions
St Mary’s University reserves the right to refuse
admission in September 2015.
Interviews for SDTF
(Secondary Provision)
Schools will lead on the recruitment process by
vetting applications, short listing and informing
applicants for interview. In most cases secondary
applicants will be first interviewed by the school
and when considered acceptable passed to St
Mary’s for interview. St Mary’s will interview and if
the applicant is accepted the school will be
informed so that an acceptance can be made on
the UCAS website. Conditions of entry will be
conveyed to the lead school at the same time. All
conditions MUST be met before an applicant
may enter a course. If an applicant fails to meet
the conditions
St Mary’s reserves the right to refuse admission
in September 2015.
u
Please see the diagram in Appendix 1, 2 and
3 for Interview Models
The Interview Process
Providers must consider how information from
interviews has helped to identify trainees’ specific
needs during training, including any exemptions
from programme requirements on the basis of
prior achievement. The interview process might
include classroom observation, discussions of
professional portfolios and discussions of prior
achievement. We do not encourage whole class
teaching for interviews as the applicant is not an
NQT, but a trainee who wants to train to teach.
Equality
To comply with equality legislation, providers
must ensure that interview procedures promote
equality of opportunity and avoid discrimination.
Under the 2010 Equality Act schools must
ensure they do not discriminate against
applicants with disabilities or special educational
needs.
Please note: Applicants with disabilities are
under no obligation to disclose their disabilities.
Schools must ensure processes at interview do
not place applicants with disabilities at a
disadvantage.
Selecting Candidates
After each of the selection stages (application,
interview at school, interview at St Mary’s) it is
the responsibility of the lead school to
communicate the outcome to UCAS, the
applicant and St Mary’s
(victoria.coles@smuc.ac.uk).
We ask that schools update the rejected
interview applicants on the UTT system as
quickly as possible, but NOT the selected
applicants, as these will still need to be approved
by St Mary’s. Once we have all agreed and
approved the applicant and the applicant has
accepted the offer, St Mary’s will send a
welcome pack to all School Direct Tuition Fee
trainees. The school will need to consider
acceptance packs for School Direct Salaried
employment based trainees.
Interview Feedback
Unsuccessful applicants requiring feedback
should be informed of the criteria that they were
judged as failing to meet by the school.
If St Mary’s deem the applicant to be
unsuccessful after approval by the school we will
alert the school and then the applicant. St Mary’s
is accountable to Ofsted for the quality assurance
of the courses and therefore the decision of St
Mary’s will be final.
u
For St Mary’s Personal Requirements please
see Appendix 6
Post Acceptance Induction
for Trainees
It may be that the applicant you select has also
been selected by two other providers. In order to
ensure you are able to convert this application to
a firm place on your SD course it is advisable to
contact the applicant as soon as possible in
order to:
• send them a welcome pack
• invite them to an induction day at the
lead/cluster school
• invite them to any celebration activities taking
place
• introduce them to other successful applicants
The Training Programme
Partnership Agreement
Together with your ITT provider you should
decide which elements of the training are going
to be provided by the lead school, partner
schools and your chosen provider. This should
include any fixed locations or days, for example,
trainees are always in school on a fixed day of
the week. You should also think about the best
use of expertise available across the school
partners and from your ITT provider. For example,
you may choose to involve outstanding teachers
to provide subject knowledge training and your
provider for assessment and quality assurance.
You will need to ensure you have the capacity to
deliver the aspects of training that you agree to.
A formal partnership agreement with the lead
school, partner schools and the ITT provider
should specify:
Employment
• whether the training fees for School Direct
(salaried) places will just cover the cost of
training to achieve QTS and whether trainees
will be expected to pay for any further
academic qualifications, such as PGCE
There is an expectation but not a guarantee that
trainees will be employed as newly qualified
teachers (NQTs) in your school alliance once they
are qualified. This should be a factor in
determining how many School Direct places to
request.
Trainees can be employed within an individual
school or group of schools in which they have
been trained.
• the roles and responsibilities of each partner
• whether the award is that of PGCE as well as
QTS
• how funding will be distributed between the
lead school, alliance schools and ITT provider
and how it would be recovered by NCTL if
trainees withdraw or complete early
• the tuition fee to be charged for School Direct
(tuition fee) places, what this includes, and
how and when fees will be shared between
the lead school and ITT provider
• how administration costs are covered
• how recruitment and selection decisions will
be made and who is responsible for
communicating with applicants
• which parts of the training schools will provide
and which parts the ITT provider should cover
• the schools in which training will take place
7
Useful Contacts
This page contains the useful names and contacts for School Direct
St Mary’s contacts
For all enquires about School Direct admissions
process and course administration please contact
Victoria Coles
020 8240 4145
victoria.coles@stmarys.ac.uk
Registry School Direct Admissions
Shuet Kwan Tang
020 8240 2367
shuetkwan.tang@stmarys.ac.uk
NCTL contacts
Your school cluster should be allocated a named NCTL lead.
If you are not sure who this, or have general NCTL enquiries,
please contact school.direct@education.gsi.gov.uk
8
St Mary’s University School Direct
Appendix 1: Interview Model
Application Process by Candidate
9
Appendix 2: Model 1
School Direct Application Process Secondary
10
St Mary’s University School Direct
Appendix 3: Primary Model
School Direct Application Process Primary
11
Appendix 4
2015-16 Payments and Bursaries
Eligibility1
2015/16
Physics
Maths
Chemistry
Scholarship
£25K
£25K
£25K
First Class/PhD
£25K
£25K
2.1/Masters
£25K
2.2
Others
Languages
Biology
Primary
Maths
Geography
English
History RE
£25K
£25K
£15K
£12K
£12K
£9K
£20K
£20K
£20K
£12K
£12K
£9K
£4K
£15K
£15K
£15K
£15K
£10K
£12K
£4K
£0
£9K
£9K
£0
£0
£0
£9K
£0
£0
Financial incentives for those who train in AY 2015-16
12
St Mary’s University School Direct
Appendix 5: Subject-Specific Expectations and Requirements
Secondary Courses
English 11-18
Applicants would normally be required to have
gained a good honours degree 2.2 and above in
a related degree.
Geography 11-18
Applicants need good subject knowledge and a
good class of degree with, ideally, a balance of
human and physical geography to be able to
teach Geography to A level. It is recommended
to apply early and put us first to be considered
for Geography, which traditionally fills its allocated
relatively small quota very quickly.
History 11-18
Applicants would normally be required to have
gained a good honours degree 2.2 and above in
a related degree.
Mathematics 11-18
We wish to recruit well-qualified mathematicians
who are enthusiastic about teaching
mathematics to secondary school pupils in the
twenty-first century. We are looking for applicants
who can convey that mathematics is fun as well
as useful, can show enthusiasm for teaching
topics in a relevant and interesting way. You
should be prepared to link your teaching to real
life situations and problem solving scenarios, as
well as wanting to find ways to help pupils to
overcome difficulties and misconceptions. You
should adopt a positive approach to inclusion in
the classroom and be receptive to learning via
collaborative working, as much emphasis is
placed on sharing best practice. The course here
places great emphasis on promoting practical
and resourceful approaches to the teaching and
learning of mathematics.
We welcome applications from graduates of
Economics, Psychology, Science, Engineering,
Computing and other mathematics or education
related degrees. In such cases we expect you to
have at least a good grade in ‘A’ level
mathematics and preferably other appropriate
undergraduate mathematical studies.
Mathematics Subject Knowledge Enhancement
Courses, MECs, are courses designed for
applicants whose subject knowledge is deemed
insufficient at the time of application/interview but
who obviously have the potential to become
good teachers. An offer on the Mathematics
PGCE may be conditional on you completing one
of these courses.
Modern Languages 11-18
We are particularly keen on applicants with a
good standard of spoken French, German or
Spanish, sufficient to teach it to A level, and
preferably at least some knowledge of at least
one other modern foreign language, perhaps to
be taught to Key Stage 3 (age 11-14). French is
still popular in most schools. We will also
consider native speakers of European languages
with English, linguistics or literature degrees.
Late applicants may find the course full, so early
application is recommended. Italian or other less
commonly taught first language specialists will
need a high level of French (preferably), German
or Spanish as support for a career as a foreign
language teacher in schools. Since German,
Spanish and Italian training places are limited,
such linguists will likely need to apply early having
put us first. If we feel you are otherwise suitable,
we may require you to attend a NCTL funded (i.e.
free) 1-2 week subject knowledge short
enhancement course to develop your knowledge
or give you a conditional offer subject to you
attending a 12 week French or German
Enhancement Course, (e.g. at London
Metropolitan, Portsmouth or Anglia Ruskin).
Both long and short SKE courses are currently
funded at £200 per week. This needs to be
confirmed for 13-14.
Physical Education 11-18
To qualify for a place on the PGCE Physical
Education course applicants are expected to
have achieved an Upper Second class (2:1)
degree classification in a closely related degree
subject and have GCSE grade C or above in
English Language, mathematics and PE or a
science preferably Biology. Applicants must be
able to demonstrate confidence and competence
across the range of invasion, net and wall,
striking and fielding and target games. In addition
candidates must be able to provide evidence of,
and demonstrate recent and relevant experience
in, dance and gymnastics (performance or
coaching) and the ability to swim 25 metres
unaided.
Applications for the PE PGCE course hugely
outnumber places available, so normally only
early first choice applicants are considered and
then only if meeting all expected criteria.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate at
interview:
• problem solving, teamwork and
communication skills
• an awareness of current initiatives and
national agendas in PE
• an understanding of teaching and learning
• a positive approach to inclusion
• an awareness of PE in the key stages
preceding and succeeding key stages 3
and 4.
Religious Education 11-18
Those with a good honours first degree, majoring
in Theology or Religious Studies, will normally be
considered, preferably with sufficient accredited
knowledge of one or more of the 6 major world
faiths in order to be able to teach the subject to A
level. We are also prepared to consider trainees
with a Philosophy degree. Other degrees may be
considered and, if accepted, places offered, with
a likely condition that a world faiths enhancement
course is undertaken and completed before the
end of June in the year before you begin. Early
application is therefore needed conveying
understanding what teaching the subject involves
in 21st century England. Our training qualifies you
to teach in all secondary schools, i.e., voluntary
aided/Church schools and secular schools, and
applications are welcome from Catholics and
non-Catholics with appropriate subject
knowledge. We may well require you to continue
to develop your World Faiths knowledge, e.g. via
one of the recommended providers, RE online,
Culham Institute or Keswick Hall Trust. You are
strongly recommended to put us first to be
considered for RE, which filled very quickly in
previous years, and so is now even more
competitive.
Science with Biology 11-18
Science with Chemistry 11-18
Science with Physics 11-18
Our course recognises that most of our partner
schools need you to be able to teach at least one
of the three Sciences (Physics, Chemistry and
Biology) to A level, and to be willing and able to
teach all three Sciences at least to Key Stage 3
and, if possible, up to GCSE. We can help you
learn to do so. We normally expect two Sciences
at (the former) "A" level standard and a scientific
degree but will consider alternatively wellqualified mature candidates or those whose
studies indicate some breadth of scientific
knowledge as a basis for further study both
before and during the course. Early application is
recommended from anyone not "obviously"
qualified but who is interested. We may require
you to attend either a short Physics or Chemistry
enhancement course to develop your subject
knowledge (we run one here, 4 weeks, often in
early July); or we may make a conditional offer
subject to you attending a (24 week, JanuaryJune) long enhancement course (e.g. Physics at
UEL, Chemistry at UEL or Sussex, both run at
Reading) and via an accelerated, mainly
distance-learning, route. It is possible to do the
long enhancement courses elsewhere while
joining us for the PGCE. There are no funded
Biology subject knowledge update courses, so
self-supported study may be needed.
13
Appendix 6
St Mary’s Personal Requirements
u
An ability to communicate clearly and grammatically in
written and spoken English;
u
Openness to advice, guidance and positive professional
criticism as part of development;
u
Ability to show speaking, reading and listening skills and
sufficient understanding of educational language and
terminology to be able to respond appropriately at
interview (and, later, in school);
u
Personal professionalism, including diligence,
organisation, smartness of dress, punctuality and a
commitment to full attendance;
u
u
Awareness of and sensitivity to adolescents' physical,
social, emotional and cognitive needs and to the range of
attitudes and behaviours displayed by adolescents in
school;
Ability to shoulder individual responsibility but also to work
collaboratively as a member of a team;
u
Good health, physical and mental, with ability and
strategies to cope with stress often generated by the
demands of the course and of the teaching profession;
Enthusiasm for your subject while recognising the range of
ability and motivation of pupils you will encounter;
u
Commitment to equal opportunities and sensitivity to the
variety of communities represented in our partner schools;
Knowledge of current educational issues, both general
and subject-specific;
u
A sense of humour and an ability to laugh at yourself;
u
A vision of teaching that is more than just giving
information, interpreting printed materials, textbook or
crowd control.
u
u
u
An openness to learning, including a willingness to unlearn
rules and experiences in order to adapt to current and
future good practice in teaching and learning;
u
At least basic Information and Communications
Technology (i.e. computer) skills, with a commitment to
developing these both for personal and pedagogical use;
14
St Mary’s University School Direct
15
St Mary’s University
Waldegrave Road
Strawberry Hill
Twickenham
TW1 4SX
T +44 (0)20 8240 4000
www.stmarys.ac.uk/pgce