Should I turn down my PGCE place?

[PlomBear]

I have been offered a place on a PGCE in September, I’m currently studying a Master’s degree.

I’m having serious doubts about it. I’ve volunteered in schools for a couple of years but recently started a job as a 1:1 TA in a primary school. It didn’t go well, the child had lots of additional needs and I wasn’t able to handle it. Attacking other children and myself and running away and then screaming at me and hitting, biting and scratching.

At the end of the first day I spoke with the deputy head and apologised saying the role wasn’t right for me. I hadn’t been told at the interview about the child’s severe SEN.

So how can I train as a primary school teacher if I can’t cope with this?

The difference would be you would have support with a child like that and also training!

There's no doubt teaching is tough but you would be better informed about individual children.

It's shocking that you weren't aware of the extent of the problems before starting the job. It sounds like you need experience in a better school tbf!

There’s about one day of SEN training in a PGCE.

The difference would be you would have support with a child like that and also training!

Hahahahahahahahaha!

There is very little SEN trainignon the PGCE, though you might get some 'on the job' training depending on the class you have on placement.

Help with a violent SEN child - entirely depend. Not always. It will depend on how successful the school has been in applying for an EHCP with funded hours, and how badly stretched their funding is anyway (schools have to find funding for the first tranche of support themselves, not easy when school budgets are stretched so thin). Many schools have support only for those children with the most severe SEN, which may be nominally 1:1 but sometimes (illegally) shared, and there may also be times of the day when you have to manage the child within the class alone if funding is not full time.