Does anyone has any experience of premier pathways

[welliesandsequins]

Hi all,

I really want to get into teaching in the next couple of years. I have been researching PGCE alternatives and come across premier pathways.

Does anyone have any experience of it?

I am just wondering if it’s as good as it sounds, whether many schools use them etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

TIA

[noblegiraffe]

If you qualify for a PGCE why would you want to do a course that takes 2 years instead of 1? And where there’s a 6 week period at the start where schools can decide that they don’t like the look of you and just chuck you off the course?

[welliesandsequins]

Because you get paid a salary while you’re doing it. And I have two children and a mortgage.

At the moment I am just trying to work out the best way of doing it.

[noblegiraffe]

You can do Schools Direct which only takes a year and get paid to do it, or Teach First, if you have a good enough degree. Then you get paid on the teacher salary scale after 1 year.

It does help if you have experience of working in schools before doing a PGCE. This option seems to have you working as a teaching assistant before you actually start teaching.

[welliesandsequins]

I am also going to look at schools direct.
Teach first isn’t an option as I will have to stay local.
Yes you do a couple of terms as a TA with premier pathways, but that would work for me so bit a problem.

[noblegiraffe]

Schools direct will pay more as you are paid as an unqualified teacher. I would expect that the website that says pay ‘up to £15,275’ per annum on the Premier Pathways website in reality pays much less, especially when working as a TA.

[rillette]

There are school direct and PP trainees in my school. SD salaried have a uni day once a week. PP work all week and gp to university training days during school holidays! I know which I'd prefer.

[CarrieBlue]

If you train in a shortage subject you’ll be paid much more than pp. I’d be wary of University of Buckingham too - UK’s only private university.

[welliesandsequins]

Thank you all for your help. I think I am going to apply to schools direct, and to do a pgce as a backup.