What's happening with student teachers, work experience during covid?

[Legoandloldolls]

Posted in chat but maybe it might get replys here.

I was planning on doing my PGCE next September but I cant get work experience as schools are saying they cant have additional bodies in class. Even private schools with 8-10 in a class.

What is happening to student teachers? Is it life as normal doing a PGCE?

Those in school-based training programmes such as Teach First and SCOTT are in the classroom. They many not be being observed by their tutors, due to school COVID policies on visitors and extra people in the building/classrooms.

I am not sure about university-mased PACE students. We can't stop training teachers, though.

*SCITT

We have all our PGCE/school direct students as normal this year. We wouldn’t allow any work experience at the moment though as visitors are being kept to an absolute minimum.

Not sure how it’s working out this year but my son did his SCITT training last academic year.

It came to an abrupt end in March although his one day a week at the training centre became a one day a week zoom meeting.

He was fortunate to have a successful interview and job offer the week before lockdown although he and his fellow students didn’t reach the required classroom hours. They all passed the course though, but on the condition that they meet the number of hours by the end of December.

We are allowing students and work experience placements but they have to stay with one class throughout their placement rather than experience a range of year groups.

It doesnt look like a good time to do the training next September. I really dont want to sign up and not get a full experience as it's a career change for me and hopefully my last career change, I think I will park it and see if I can experience for the 2022 course. I cant even stay in a primary class so no mixing of students or in non mixing junior class of 8 in private

My DSis is currently on placement. At my school there is a student starting next week.

Good to hear it's still going ahead. I knew it would be hard to get work experience this year. I wanted to do a variety of work experience in private, state, infant juniors and secondary and take a year doing that. Time to rethink my plans. I'm best placed to teach A level sciences but I need to know for sure so wanted to get a broader range of experience. I'm guessing it's not a job you can easily move departments or key phases? Or can you? These are things I was hoping to find out

Which science is your specialist discipline?

If you work in a high school you would be expected to teach 11-16 also. Many don't have sixth forms at all. Or you could work post-16 in a sixth-form college.

You might well be able to offer maths - or anything subject you studied at a level tbh.

I would say that you might love your subject, but you really need to be happy working with kids.

Applications appear to be up this year, but dropout rates may mirror this. I don't think it is ever a bad time to train tbh: it is a challenging career and if you can make it in these conditions, you probably have what it takes!

My degree is Biology but I would be happy to do chemistry too. I might be able to cover some physics but I would be one lesson ahead of the kids right now. Definitely not maths as I dont like maths.

Ideally I want to teach in a six form college or work towards a senco type role. I have tought as part of my a lab technician roles in school and then college after graduation. But I have had a complete career change since then.

Sometimes I think I would be better in juniors with SEN, senco type work but sencos are normally on the SMT, pretty hard as a mature NQT I presume. That's why I wanted to get a range of experience.

Plus I am dyslexic. I want to see if that really is comparable as a teacher

In most state secondaries you would teach all three sciences at ks3, possibly to ks4 as well although you would probably teach your specialism in a larger school, though that isn’t standard, plenty of teachers teach all three. Unless you have a huge amount of chemistry in your degree course studies you wouldn’t be accepted for a chemistry pgce (you would still cover all three sciences in the pgce though) without a conversion course. Biology pgce are usually first to fill up as there are fewer places due to fewer biology vacancies in schools so be prepared to apply early.

In a sixth form college you would be able to teach just your specialism but the same requirements for teaching chemistry would apply. Post 16 colleges have had funding massively cut though so you may want to think about that. Teaching a-level is not the easy option - remember that you have studied to degree level which is very very different and is something that a lot of trainees forget at the start of their careers - they pitch lessons at totally the wrong level, expect kids that did gcse a couple of months ago to be able to sit through a lecture and to be far more independent than they are able to be.