Offered a PGCE placement - what do I need to know now?!!!!

[youknownothingofthecrunch]

Being rather clueless here

Have accepted a place on PGCE, Secondary 11-18, teaching English.

So what now?

We will be moving to a new area, so I need to find primary schools and a nursery, what grants are available? Who do I apply to for them? The council there, or the council here or the university (we will be moving permanently-ish)?

Is there anything I haven't considered at all? I'm sure there's lots.

I'm a little bit overwhelmed by it all TBH!

Any help welcome! TIA

congratulations
nursery grant/vouchers are transferable and no applying required. Just fill in the forms the nursery will give you when you start and notify your present nursery that you are leaving.
Not sure about other grants - presumably if you phone up the Uni they will have a department/phone number to give you with people specifically set up to help student finances.

Thanks BB

Will do that, just wanted to be vaguely prepared with what I might expect.

Studying for my PGCE was (one of) the best years of my life
Such a big learning curve and a lot of fun. As a parent already, you have a fantastic head start too.

Thanks Bagelbird, that is just what I need to hear. Currently working in a Secondary School anyway, but only PT as a TA. Quite terrified of making this leap.

You have made me

oooh well done!!!!!

i am applying for Secondary English for 2009.

Good Luck!!

Don?t be scared of the leap youknownothingofthecrunch! You have a lot going for you already. As a parent, you have a great start with insight from the parent and the child?s POV. Equally, having already worked in a school, you already know how it feels to be in a classroom around lots of children, the atmosphere with other colleagues, working methods, expectations, pressures etc. You really are half way there in terms of knowing what to expect. That is definitely half the battle.
Before I stopped teaching, I worked as a PGCE schools link tutor. I worked with a lot of mature students and found that those who were open and friendly, happy to admit that they are nervous and have concerns etc were the ones who invariably were also open to learning and developing into fantastic teachers. It was those "I am an adult and have worked as a professional in business for years and could do this standing on my head" people that often found it much tougher.

One little tip : be prepared to be exhausted and keep your weekends free for the first part (at least) of your course. The change into intensive study, learning and concentrating can be mind boggling. There is a huge amount of listening, talking and thinking and you are going to be really really tired. If you can prepare for this beforehand and talk about it with family/other half/friends who could help you out with childcare and taking over a few of your usual jobs around the house it will help enormously. This is particularly true when you start doing practical teaching. The evaluations, observations, planning etc takes a huge amount of time at first (if done properly). You will need free time and quiet space to do this. It does get faster once you are in a job as you start to develop full schemes of work, become accustomed to marking evenly without constantly going back and checking grades for consistency etc. I remember spending whole evenings planning one 40 minute lesson as a student and then a whole evening evaluating it! Once in a job with 6 lessons a day, that obviously changes dramatically!
You can do it! I look forward to reading posts about how you are getting on in September )

Thank you so much for all of that BB. I am expecting to be thoroughly exhausted for the whole of the next two years. It's good to hear such a positive take on it.

I do love working with teenagers (currently in classes with 15-17 year olds), they keep me on my toes The only thing I find difficult about being a TA, is that I want to do more! I work with a brilliant English teacher who lets me get really involved in the classroom. All the staff have been so supportive of my decision - to the point of writing cards of encouragement when my resolve was wavering

It's going to be a real shock to the system, but a worthwhile one.

Am utterly that they are getting rid of the golden handshake and reducing the grant for English teachers as of August. I've missed the boat it seems. Which adds to the stress of coping financially for the next year - DH will be staying in our home here, while I move away with the DCs to be close enough to a University and family support (the other side of the country).

It all seems so enormous right now.