![[The University of Leicester]](unilogo.gif)
TeachFirst Primary
Mode: Full time, Placement-based.
Entry Requirements:
Fees (UK/EU/Overseas):
Non payable.
Earn salary as unqualified teacher in Year One and as NQT in Year Two
Application deadline:
Course Start Date: June 2012
Length of course:
2 years
This innovative Primary 5-11 programme is being run at the University of Leicester for the first time in 2011-12 as part of the expansion of TeachFirst into the Primary field. TeachFirst is a national education charity well known in the Secondary sector.
TeachFirst offers a route into teaching unlike any other. It is a two-year commitment which sees participants employed full time in schools in challenging circumstances. They work as unqualified teachers studying for PGCE and QTS in Year One, and then study towards a Masters in Education in Year Two.
A range of top-flight universities, including the University of Leicester, provide six weeks of intensive training at the Summer Institute before participants take up their posts. Tutors then visit participants fortnightly throughout the year to map out and support their progress towards PGCE and QTS, as well as providing six further days of training that is highly responsive to individual trainees’ needs. In Year Two contact with university tutors is replaced by coaching from a TeachFirst Leadership Development Officer (LDO).
It is hoped that most participants will remain in teaching after their two year TeachFirst contract and so far in the East Midlands around 80% of the Secondary participants have chosen to do so. However those that are teaching first before taking up another career are expected to act as Ambassadors for the programme, and education more widely.
Programme aims
We aim for our TeachFirst Primary provision to provide the very best teacher training which:
- encompasses the development of highly effective pedagogies with critical reflection on the policy, practice and philosophy of education
- provides sessions that are highly interactive and practical
- draws on recent research on education and teaching from both within the School of Education and the wider community.
Programme structure
|
Summer 2012 |
|---|
|
School Orientation experience - one week in a primary school |
|
Summer Institute training - six weeks |
| Completion of first assignment (diagnostically marked) |
| Autumn 2012 - Summer 2013 |
|
Take up post in your placement school:
Teach 60-80% of full NQT timetable with four half day training sessions at the University to support your development.
Teach 80% of full NQT timetable with half termly whole day training sessions. |
| July 2013 |
| Awarded QTS and PGCE at Masters level upon successful completion of all assignments and reaching the required QTS standards. |
| Academic Year 2013-2014 |
| Continue as NQT in your placement school. |
| Start Masters (optional) |
| Coaching by TeachFirst LDO to continue your Leadership development |
Assessment
Over the first year participants complete a range of assignments, some of which are marked at Master’s Level. Successful completion of these leads to the award of 60 Master’s credits.
You will also be assessed against the standards for NQTs as on all other PGCE routes.
Next Step: How to Apply
