When to apply for PGCE

[lostsoulsswimminginafishbowl]

I want to retrain as a secondary teacher.

I have a degree which I think means I could either apply for PGCE with history or PGCE with citizenship.

I work as an LSA in the SEN unit at a mainstream secondary school. I've been at the school a little under a year and I am wondering if it is a bit too soon to apply for my PGCE... I could wait another year or more. I have very small dcs and I love my current job and school so I am leaning towards not applying this year, but I'm also worried that I will regret not applying, especially if the process gets more competitive and I can't get a place in the future or something. I'm also 39yo so it would be good if I was paying a bit more into my pension. LSA money is not good, but it is also a lot less stressful than teaching I think, (although it has its own set of challenges).

Any advice gratefully received

Very common for people to apply for a PGCE when they are in their first year or working in a school. Every year, we have multiple LSAs who apply mid year and then begin the following September. The benefit being that they already know the school and then go down the ‘school-direct’ route and train either in our school or one of the others in the ITT partnership. Good idea!

Do history not citizenship though. Very few schools employ specialist citizenship teachers. My school offers GCSE citizenship and it is taught by the historians!

Oh yes, I agree with the history, not citizenship advice.

Thank you! Maybe I'll just have a go. I can't really ask my university for another reference (I've had a few off then over the years)!

I will ask my boss who may be able to.

Of course you can ask you uni for another reference! I agree that your current line manager would also be necessary. Think long and hard about what route you want to go down. I did a PGCE through school direct and loved it because it meant I was in school 5 days a week and at the same school for the vast majority of the year. I then worked there for the next 6 years.

Many people on a PGCE will have come straight from their first degree so will have no more than a few weeks volunteering in schools. A year is plenty.

I did a PGCE with a 2 year old and a 10 year old. Was incredibly hard but I had a good support network for childcare.

I would say that (having taught in both secondary and primary) that there are a lot of late evening school events for secondary which can make it tricky for childcare if you don't have a good support network- I would have found it very difficult with young children when I suddenly and unexpectedly became a single mother for instance. Primary less so. I much prefer secondary teaching though and now my youngest is in year 10 the late evenings aren't really an issue.