Rejected by university for a distance learning course

[BuzNuz]

I don't even know if i am posting in the right place, but i am a mum of 3 kids (age 6, 2.5 and 8 months) and was thinking about doing a distance learning primary pgce as i need to keep my job! Just found out that i have been unsuccessful at gaining a place and feel absolutely gutted! I phoned them before i applied, they told me i have the right qualifications and i just need 2 weeks work experience. I phoned tda and they said i would qualify for a bursary. i managed to get 2 weeks work experience at a school and i would come home at lunch time to feed baby (i am breast feeding, and expressing/bottle feeding is just not working!). But now i find out that they rejected me and there is no reason why! I have one more choice left which is a SCITT, but my husband has been made redundant and i do not know how i will afford to do a full time SCITT course as mortgage and bills still have to be paid! i just found out this evening after looking on the GTTR website and don't know if i can even contact the university on monday as they might have finished for the christmas holidays!!!

Just feel so down at the moment. Does anybody have any practical advice or should i just pack in the idea of pgce, espcecially in light of husband's redundancy and just keep working in my current job.

[3duracellbunnies]

I work as a part time tutor on a distance learning course, not on a pgce course, and certainly my course is fairly demanding for those with young children. There are deadlines every month, and loads of reading. If a child is sick and off school that can throw out your timetable, half term sometimes falls just before a deadline and mums panic as they have extra children on their hands.

I know that isn't why you were rejected, but from experience it might not be such a bad thing to wait for a few years until you are in a better position. I would say that other than feeling not able to do it, issues with young families and death of parent are the other main reasons for dropping out of my course.

My children are yr2; yrR and 2yrs, and though I know the course and am experienced I still sometimes find marking a challenge due to the pressures of family life (I don't use any childcare, so probably fairly similar to many students - it is evenings and weekends for me). I know I may sound a bit negative, but even if you are 40 (I am basing that on the oldest you are likely to be based on ages of your children), you could still have 27 years left to train and be a teacher, and teachers do have long days which would mean long periods of time away from your little ones.

Or if your dh is willing to take over childcare for a year maybe see if you could do a fulltime course and completely immerse yourself in it. Do get in touch with them and see why you didn't get a place, but it may just be that places are limited and others had more experience. Good luck.

[BuzNuz]

Thank you so much for your comments 3duracellbunnies, it has helped me gain some perspective. I could not sleep all night as i was so upset. I loved the teaching experience and i was thinking of going back to work 4 full days a week and then coming home and getting everybody to bed and then studying. If i am realistic, i do not think that i could have managed it, especially if i consider what you have said. I guess i will have to either consider full time teaching course or as you said, just wait until my youngest is 5, which will make me 39!

[ninah]

def ask for feedback, if you make a future application this will be so useful
and at 39 you are 5 years younger than me, I am on GTP and by no means the oldest
you get paid while training on GTP, is def the way to go imo

[StitchingMoss]

Have you looked at the employment opportunities for primary teachers in your area? It's pretty dire in a lot of places and will be something else to consider before training.

[BuzNuz]

Admittedly, i have not looked at primary teaching opportunities at all StitchingMoss. Ninah, i didn't think they did GTP for primary, but i do know that it is really competitive and i wouldn't think that i would be able to secure a school for it anyway. It was hard enough trying to secure 2 weeks work experience!

[StitchingMoss]

I don't want to burst your bubble, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to secure employment as a teacher in some areas, especially in the primary sector. It would be worth doing your research and finding out if you have a realistic prospect of getting a job before you embark on such an arduous course.

[TheFallenMadonna]

How does a part time OFFS work?

[SantaAteAllTheBiscuits]

3duracelll.... I've been foing OU since my youngest was 8 months and I've found it fantastic. As long as I get ahead to have some leeway in case anyone gets ill i'm fine time wise and I can study easily enough with kids in the house (ds2 is 2.10 and not at playschool yet so I never don't have a child at home)

[TheFallenMadonna]

Oh good lord. Phone

How does a part time PGCE work? How do you do a block practice and keep another job?

[3duracellbunnies]

Santaateallthebiscuits, I'm not saying it can't be done, each year I have many parents sucessfully completing the courses, however of those who do drop out, it is often parents (well mothers) who are bringing up young families. It only takes one thing to upset the balance. A PGCE is a big commitment, as is the job which follows. Most of us have more years left in us than we think, according to the government. If the OP is about 34; even if she waits until all her children are in school she will still have almost 30 years being a teacher.

I am sure that she will make a good teacher, but as she wasn't sucessful on this occassion I think it is also important to get some perspective. If she reapplies next time, her LOs will be a bit older and it will be easier to study and to be a teacher. Postgraduate study is demanding, my dh is completing a masters and I have had to take the children out countless days on the weekend to give him time to study. I finished off a diploma with dd1 feeding on my lap, but it didn't make for the most relaxing time with my baby. Good luck to you all with your studies.

[EvilTwins]

Sorry you've had a hard time, OP. Getting onto teaching courses is incredibly difficult at the moment. My Dsis applied for a number last year, and was rejected a number of times. She ended up doing a full time PGCE as that was the only way she could get started. She was also told that she needed to do two weeks' experience, but then was given feedback that two weeks wasn't really enough, and plenty of people who were applying had been working as TAs or volunteering in schools for months or more. Quite rightly, she was annoyed as they had shifted the goalposts.

My Dad is on the board for a teacher training consortium. He said at the time, and has done so since, that primary courses are massively over-subscribed at the moment.

Probably not what you want to hear, sorry!

[breadandbutterfly]

It's the recession, innit.

[EcoLady]

Ring them and ask what you need to do to tick their boxes. There are an awful lot of mums applying for Primary PGCE and you have to stand out from the crowd as offering more than the rest.

Use this academic year to get more time in school - use some of your holiday allowance, any unpaid leave that you could take, etc. Think of it as an investment in your future.

Apply again either next year, or even wait until your youngest has started school, or at least pre-school. I'm doing my PGCE at 43 (10yo DD and 7yo DS) and I am not the oldest on my course.

Seriously consider a full-time course. Yes you'll lose your income for one year, but bursaries are back and there are grants and loans. You'll be in a far stronger position when applying for jobs: many Heads do not regard part-time courses as being as good as the fulll-time ones. If you do get more school experience then you can look at the GTP route, but that is even more competitive than PGCE.

As other posters have said, do check your local situation regarding job availability. Ask the training provider what proportion of last year's PGCErs are now in NQT inductible posts. Shop around - there are HUGE differences.

Read the trainers' Ofsted reports - very telling in how well they support you & sort out your placements.

And good luck!

[BuzNuz]

Thank you for all your advice everybody. it is much appreciated. I am actually taking note every bit of advice - and i do really need it! Now that we are talking of scarce jobs, what is primary supply teaching like?

[EvilTwins]

The problem with supply teaching is that it doesn't count towards your NQT year. Dsis is doing supply at the mo- she did her PGCE last year. Things were v slow at first but she's had a fair amount of work since October and is about to start a term's supply. Depends where you are I guess.

[yellowraincoat]

BuzNuz, I am having the same problem. Been rejected from both PGCE places I applied for this year and feeling so down. Put in 2 more applications today so fingers crossed.

Thing that I'm annoyed about is that I got in 2 years ago but couldn't take the place. And now I can't even get an interview.

It's miserable. Think there's just so many people applying at the moment. Could you get some work as a TA this year maybe?

[EcoLady]

Both BuzNuz and Yellowraincoat - I've been thinking some more.

Have you been able to get a friendly Head to look at your Personal Statement? My DC's Head had some great advice for tweaks that really helped to bring certain experience to the fore and drop in a few key buzz words.

Are your degrees in useful subjects? Science and languages are really in demand as there are relatively few Primary teachers with those skills. Other subjects can be presented as real strengths - but also get in there how great you'll be at covering all of the rest of the curriculum too. That's a real trick for Primary!

Do you know any people who are currently doing or recently did their PGCE at the places that you are applying to? Can they offer any advice on what those places really want? The 'Prospective Student Teachers' forum on the TES is a great place to start asking questions if you haven't already found it. community.tes.co.uk/forums/38.aspx

It's really hard to get it all into the Personal Statement, but that is your chance to demonstrate why you will be a great trainee teacher, so that you stand out from the mum-who-wants-a-job-to-fit-around-childcare applicants and from the youngster-who-hasn't-a-clue-what-they-want-to-do-really-so-they-might-as-well-do-another-year-at-uni ones!

And do check that your referees are selling you as strongly as they possibly can.

Good luck again - chin up.

[yellowraincoat]

Thanks for taking the time to write that EcoLady.

I speak another 2 language beside English AND I've been teaching as an EFL teacher for quite a while...so it's not as if I have no idea of teaching.

It's a good idea about asking a headteacher to look at the personal statement. I'm starting to get paranoid that I wrote something really stupid.

[reallytired]

I think its reasonable to expect applicants to be sure that teaching is really for them. The idea of term time work is very seductive, but the reality is that working in a school is not parent friendly. Its worth getting experience in both secondary and primary schools so that you can answer "Why primary?"

I think that working in a school is a good idea. You would learn behaviour management skillls without having to plan lessons. Lots of secondary schools employ exam invigilators if you want work that relatively easy to get.

[BuzNuz]

Thanks everybody....there was some new advice in those messages for me that i never knew about!!!! Yes, admittedly it is really tough trying to get a look-in. I have been contacted by a full-time SCITT PGCE provider but despite the fact that my manager wrote a glowing reference for me (it was very nice!) I still have to provide a reference from my Masters course AND from work experience and that is before they will even consider interviewing me!! I am more than happy to do this, but it gives you an insight into the whole process.

Will post on here when i find out what my feedback was for being rejected on distance learning course, but i am guessing it will be after Christmas.