Uni based pgce or school based pgce?

[FrenchFancie]

I’ve been applying for ITT and am in the great position of having two offers to chose from, and I don’t know which way to jump! My options are:

A) university PGCE and local ex-poly type uni. Definitely more university based although with significant school experience. Uni isn’t particularly well respected but not bad either. Staff were lovely when I went round. 40 minutes drive from home, placements might be further away.

b) ‘lead provider’ based pgce, mostly in schools but backed by local ‘plate glass’ uni. More schools based, in a school from day 1. The uni department backing the pgce is very highly rated, although it’s not clear how much time you are actually in Uni and how much at the ‘lead provider’. Staff also lovely. 20/25 minutes from home and placements up to an hour away.

i’ve been a TA for five years so not new to working in schools. Still scared of being chucked in at the deep end with option b.

which would you go for? I’m quite an older student (mid 40s!) and worry about being the oldest one on the course!!

I would go for the school based one. You've got experience as a TA which will be beneficial to you. You'll be fine whichever option you take 🙂

I had people in their 50s on the last course I ran :)

Personally I would go with b, but I would check first about where the placement schools for both are, especially if travel time is a concern.

I would definitely go with B. Being in school from day 1 will be a great experience and the SCITT trainees we get are fully immersed into school from the start.

You will still build up gradually- you won't be chucked in the deep end.

Congratulations 🎊

Absolutely go for the school based training, especially with your experience as a ta!

Neither, if possible. I'd find a school you like and see if you can train there, as a salaried employee. There's zero need for the "academic" side of teacher training imo, and it's much less of a gamble to stay in a school that you know is good for the vast majority of your training time. You'll probably only spend a few weeks in a different school, for a bit of contrast. With a PGCE, either school or Uni based, it's a real gamble, you could be placed anywhere, and it's the quality of the school placements that make or break the training year. I'd just approach any schools that you're interested in, emphasising your TA experience, and see if any can take you on as a trainee directly.

Probably the one nearest to home.

Just to.say, I did a PGCE at 40, was definitely the oldest one on the course, had an absolute ball with the younger ones. Even went out with them every now and again. Don't worry about it. Am still teaching 15 years later, although moved to an independent some years ago.

Route B 100% for me. Our Uni based PGCE ECTs struggle a lot more in yr 1 of ECT vs our SCITT route ECT's. The biggest issue being the jump in hours.

I have spent many a free in the office with our uni PGCE students (from a highly regarded course) moaning they have to teach 10 lessons that week!

Maybe something to find out would be the contact time by the end of the course.

Definitely school based. Wish that had been an option 25 yrs ago!

School-based. I did a University-based PGCE, felt deluged with subject knowledge, however it's classroom practice and behaviour management which is most important to the role I believe, everything else comes after that, especially with schools as they are at present, in my opinion.

I'd say route b, but clarify how much time is University based!

My daughter is in her second year of teaching (secondary). She chose route B and is very glad she did. Obviously she has nothing to compare it with though!

All trainees had a "home school" where they spent their first and third term, and a second contrasting school, in which they spent the spring term. My daughter was made to feel part of her "home school" from day one and was well supported by her mentor and other teachers,

The off-the-job training took place in another school (part of the same training consortium) and she didn't go into the university at all, though staff there marked her dissertation.

Most trainees were offered jobs either by their "home school" or by another school in the consortium. In my daughter's case, the head of her home school said he'd like to have been able to offer her a job, but didn't have the space. Instead he took the trouble to mention her to his consortium colleagues and one of them offered her a job, where she is doing well and is very happy.