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Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Secondary PGCE PE

3 replies

BrightMauveLion · 20/02/2025 19:32

Does the Secondary PGCE PE train teachers to teach specific sports, or is it just all general sports? Does this include swimming or do teachers need a different qualification to teach swimming?

OP posts:
shardlakem · 20/02/2025 20:28

I can't imagine it would include swimming as barely any schools have swimming pools... can you check the course outline at your local training provider?
You can be a swimming teacher without doing a PGCE.

JaffavsCookie · 21/02/2025 20:02

The one our school is involved with trains them to teach all sports, it’s considered really important.
Obviously all pe teachers/ want to be teachers will be passionate about sport, but often they come from a background of having been exceptionally talented in one particular sport. Our training aims to make them competent in teaching all the main school offerings ( swimming would definitely be an exception though in the state sector).

SpencerTheRover · 26/09/2025 05:59

I have been qualified to teach swimming for 40 years now. I also coach swimming and synchro/ artistic swimming and have my adult and child qualification. I also trained teachers for the STA but that was soul destroying.

Over the years I have met PE teachers who don’t really ‘do’ swimming, and we teach the school classes and in other pools the PE teachers, take the swimming lessons and the swimming teachers silently provide constructive criticism 😀

Check out Swim England’s qualification page.
https://instituteofswimming.org/school-swimming
You can teach swimming without supervision with a Level 2 qualification (not linked to schools), the framework does involve the curriculum but links in the swim stages of whatever organisation you are qualifying through (Swim England, Scottish Swimming, STA - I have qualifications from all of them and the swim stages closely align).

The level 1 qualification is the assistant qualification, you are supposed to work supervised by a Level 2. Although I have seen this provision stretched to insanely ridiculous limits.

Institute of Swimming

We're the leading provider of Swim England Qualifications and aquatics courses, and we're here to support your career progression.

https://instituteofswimming.org/school-swimming

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