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Original poster

DD on cause for concern PGCE

113 replies

feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:15

My DD is on her PGCE, she has been on a cause for concern which has been reviewed and she’s been told she’s made good progress in some of her targets but there are some areas that need fine tuning and working on still. Because of this she has been put on the next stage of a cause for concern.

DD is feeling worried about passing but I’ve told to try her best and just listen to and respond to feedback, which she is determined to do.

OP posts:
PonyPatter44 · 27/04/2022 22:16

Are you missing a question?

Original poster
feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:17

DD feels like she is in a minority and most trainees will be miles ahead of her.

OP posts:
Whynotnowbaby · 27/04/2022 22:19

Ok, what do you think you might be being unreasonable about?

OutDamnedSpot · 27/04/2022 22:21

Well, yes, if she’s on cause for concern, she will be in a minority. Most trainees aren’t. What do you want to know?

sunshineandshowers40 · 27/04/2022 22:21

What are her targets? Are the related to behaviour management, subject knowledge or something else?

Whynotnowbaby · 27/04/2022 22:22

PGCEs can be challenging and some people are more “natural” than others, but most areas can be improved on. If your dd is following the advice she is given and working on her targets, that will hopefully mean she can up her game. If she doesn’t manage to make the improvements in this placement, there is usually a chance of adding an additional placement to give further opportunities for development and extending the PGCE by a term.

DelphiniumBlue · 27/04/2022 22:24

At this point in the year she should have acheieved most of the standards, and if she hasn't, maybe there are other problems. Is she being properly supported? IME, decent schools support their trainees through frequent meetings, observations and feedback. I would expect issues to have been raised before now.
Can DD contact her university mentor to review the situation and to ask for help with how to proceed?
Cause for concern is not just fine tuning, but it can be quite subjective.
Obviously your advice to listen to and respond to feedback is good, but presumably she has already done that. Is she aware of specific issues that she can fix?

ICannotRememberAThing · 27/04/2022 22:24

Is she enjoying teaching or is she finding it’s not for her?

PGCE teaching practice can be brutal.
What areas is she finding most difficult?

STARCATCHER22 · 27/04/2022 22:25

feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:17

DD feels like she is in a minority and most trainees will be miles ahead of her.

I did a PGCE and to be honest I think her concerns may be valid. In my group of 40, there wasn’t anyone who was a cause for concern.

What areas are her targets in? Has she been given advice and support to make progress? Is this the first time she’s been told she’s a cause for concern during the course? What are the university/her placements doing to offer support?
If she is struggling, it’s up to the university and her placement schools to help her to turn it around. They shouldn’t just tell her she’s a cause for concern and leave her to fix it herself.

ClaudiusTheGod · 27/04/2022 22:25

What is your question?

Do you think she is really up to it? If she is struggling, it may well get worse in her NQT year. There is no shame in saying ‘this job is not for me’ especially if it’s going to break her spirit. She’s young, it might be better in the long run for her not to spend her early twenties having a miserable time.

pinksquash13 · 27/04/2022 22:25

Is it a primary or secondary PGCE? I don't want to sound negative but teaching is really hard. It's unlikely to get easier. Is she sure it's the right career for her? If she's still young then she can gain confidence and skills if she is set on it. Tell her to listen to her mentors. They may extend the year so she won't finish it until Oct half term. Has she got a job for Sep?

Original poster
feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:27

DD is in a year 4 class, one of her main areas of development is forming relationships with children. DD is quite shy and school have said she doesn’t speak much as she should to the children when she’s not teaching.

OP posts:
Jalepenojello · 27/04/2022 22:28

Did you post this in the wrong place? Report it and you can get it moved to education 😊

FrownedUpon · 27/04/2022 22:34

TBH if she’s struggling that much, it may be that teaching isn’t for her. Teaching is brutal & even teachers who breeze through their PGCE can still struggle in the first few years. Perhaps she needs to rethink?

SignOnTheWindow · 27/04/2022 22:37

Does she come out of her shell while teaching, though? What sort of things is the school expecting her to do with the kids when not teaching?
The PGCE and NQT years are challenging - she needs time out from constant interaction with the kids to recharge. I hope the school isn't treating her as a get-out-of- playground-duty card for the rest of the staff. I've seen that happen.

PeachCottonTree · 27/04/2022 22:38

Relationships are fundamental in teaching. Without a good rapport with pupils and their respect everything else is an uphill struggle. Does she have much experience working with children prior to her PGCE? If she is struggling it may be worth considering a break for a few years to gain more experience with children and then going back to the PGCE if that’s still what she wants to do.

Original poster
feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:38

School expect her to interact with children during playground duty and get to know them for example.

OP posts:
Wheresmywoolyjumpers · 27/04/2022 22:38

better that she knows now so she can find out if she can do what she needs to? not nice for her, but I would guess this is pretty rare so they must be concerned to raise it. If she is very shy, teaching may not be a good match for her.

STARCATCHER22 · 27/04/2022 22:38

feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:27

DD is in a year 4 class, one of her main areas of development is forming relationships with children. DD is quite shy and school have said she doesn’t speak much as she should to the children when she’s not teaching.

From my experience this is really important. At job interviews, this is always something that schools are looking for (during observation lessons and school council interviews etc). This is potentially something that could impact her greatly moving forward.
Teaching is not a job where you can really be shy (or at least if you are shy, you’ve got to fake it). Building relationships with the children is a huge part of teaching in terms of getting them on side to follow instructions but also to help them feel safe and confident. This is something that your daughter is going to need to get over if she really wants to be a teacher.

STARCATCHER22 · 27/04/2022 22:40

PeachCottonTree · 27/04/2022 22:38

Relationships are fundamental in teaching. Without a good rapport with pupils and their respect everything else is an uphill struggle. Does she have much experience working with children prior to her PGCE? If she is struggling it may be worth considering a break for a few years to gain more experience with children and then going back to the PGCE if that’s still what she wants to do.

This is really good advice. Particularly if your daughter is young.
The school are not asking for anything out of the ordinary. PGCE and NQT years are tough and everyone needs a break from children but this doesn’t seem like an unreasonable expectation from the school.

YetDespiteTheLookOnMyFace · 27/04/2022 22:42

If I’m honest and having had students of my own, it’s not a great position for her to be in. This is the easy part really. Is it really really what she wants to do?

LittleYellowDog · 27/04/2022 22:44

feelikeraindrops · 27/04/2022 22:38

School expect her to interact with children during playground duty and get to know them for example.

Thats a very basic ask, the TAs, lunchtime supervisors, cleaners, office staff and caretaker all do that.

whoopsnomore · 27/04/2022 22:45

It does sound as if she needs to push herself to go towards the children and make moves to get to know them and be approachable. Maybe if she thought in terms of making it possible for them to come to her rather than vice versa if that makes sense? As in it's not about "making them like her" but showing she can listen and interact. If she is really not comfortable doing that, then she may not be cut out for teaching. If it's a shyness and getting over the first interaction hurdle, then she needs to practise and then carry out the basic openers: "Hello, how are you? It's lovely today, do you like the wind, I do! That looks like a difficult game. Gosh, you're trying very hard with that ball, etc"

LittleYellowDog · 27/04/2022 22:45

Being a teacher is being on stage in a performance for 7 hours a day every single day of the school year.

Wolfiefan · 27/04/2022 22:47

Of course they expect her to get to know the children she teaches. If she’s shy and doesn’t feel able to do this then maybe teaching isn’t for her. Why did she want to teach?