Can you 'pause' a pgce?

[scissormister]

I've seen an education related job I could apply for (not teaching) and would like to apply for. It is really relevant to my whole skill set which not many jobs
are which is why I'd like to at least try. However it would start in the middle of the pgce course. Just wondering if I could put the pgce on hold if by some chance I got it, or if it would mean having to quit entirely. It's a school centered course if that makes a difference.

yes, you can, especially if they offer a flexible PGCE - you would need to ask the course provider. I had a baby in the middle of mine!

Oh thanks, that's good to know. A baby is a very good excuse!

I tried to pause mine until Jan 2018 and was told I’d have to have a very good reason e.g. a doctors letter to do this. Mat leave would be a very good reason. Having said this I could defer and start the whole thing next Sept, this was approx 4 weeks into the course.

Mine was specifically a flexible pgce, which was designed for people to stop/start, take breaks, or do part-time alongside a job or whatever. I'd just found out I was pregnant not long after I started the course, so I was shunted onto the flexible PGCE, which meant I carried on with the course and got most of it out of the way before baby was born. I only had to do my final placement, which they sorted out when I was ready. It ended up being about a 9 month gap that I took.

That was well over 10 years ago, I don't know if universities are still doing the flexible courses? I'm in the midlands, and I think at the time Warwick, Nottingham and possibly Leicester were doing them?

I could defer one term OR one year on medical grounds. So I stopped in May and could have returned in September or the following Easter. I needed a letter from my doctor though.

A SCITT PGCE might not be as flexible as the university ones described above.

The alternative would be to apply for the job and then ask if you could defer the start date. You’ll presumably be available from late June