Department of Primary Education
The Department of Primary Education working in partnership with local primary schools provides three routes to QTS (undergraduate and PGCE full time and flexible) supporting our commitment to offering a diversity of provision to meet a broad intake profile. Within the full- time PGCE, there is a small cohort of students taking a French language specialism.
Programmes available:
- BA (Hons) in Primary Education (with recommendation for QTS)
- Post Graduate/ Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (with recommendation for QTS)
- Post Graduate/ Professional Graduate Certificate in Education with French specialism (with recommendation for QTS)
The Department of Primary Education works in partnership with schools in London, Kent, Essex and the south east of England and can offer a varied teaching experience to students ranging from the inner city to the rural and suburban context.
Our teacher training programmes provide you with the skills, knowledge and understanding to enter the profession with enthusiasm and confidence as a newly qualified teacher, so that you are able to motivate and inspire young learners. A measure of our success is the very high employment rates shown on completion of our primary teacher training courses.
In our inspection of December 2007, Ofsted graded us as 'good' identifying the following key strengths in provision:
- The quality and cohesion of centre- based training;
- The swift response to any issues or concerns that are raised;
- The good attention paid in centre based training to supporting individual trainees needs;
- The effective selection and recruitment procedures which result in the selection of appropriate trainees
Training to be a primary teacher takes place through taught sessions at the university and periods of school based training undertaken in primary schools who work in partnership with the university.
Who are the staff?
Tutors in the department are 'well-qualified and enthusiastic' and 'inspire trainees' confidence, model good primary practice and provide valuable opportunities for trainees to reflect on their learning. Lectures and workshops are well planned and provide a mix of practical and relevant activities. As a result, trainees are confident when they begin a school placement and are up-to-date in their understanding of initiatives such as the Rose Report on the teaching of early literacy skills. Ofsted (2007).
All primary teacher training courses take place at our Avery Hill Campus.