Primary Teaching leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) PGCE 2024
Welcome to the course
Welcome to the PGCE Primary course at the Department of Education, Kingston University. We hope that you will enjoy your year with us and find it stimulating and rewarding. The course has proved to be highly successful with a very high percentage of students gaining a first teaching appointment.
The PGCE course consists of a challenging combination of modules designed to stimulate your thinking and develop your knowledge of the primary and 3-7 age range curriculum. It will prepare you to teach the Primary National Curriculum subjects or Early Years Foundation Stage framework depending on your chosen pathway, and consider how overarching themes, such as creativity, critical thinking, identity and cultural diversity are necessary components of a child's experiences at school. Specifically, you will develop your understanding of how teachers encourage children to be successful learners and confident individuals who can make positive contributions to the school and wider communities.
The course is challenging as it combines intensively taught components with experience in school and wider educational contexts. In addition, there will be many opportunities to work collaboratively with your peers, tutors and teachers to help you meet the demands of post graduate study leading to the award of Qualified Teacher Status. Working in this way reflects the high priority given in the teaching profession to working in a team with colleagues.
There are further opportunities to develop your areas of interest through personal research and seminar discussions at masters level, supported by reflections of school experience. This work, together with fieldwork, visits and a course programme enriched with inputs from school colleagues and your tutors, should enable you to extend your knowledge and skills of innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
This introductory material provides you with important information and also outlines some required activities, to be undertaken before you commence the course in September. This will start to prepare you for what will be a demanding year. It will be essential for you to carefully organise your study time in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Your personal tutors are looking forward to meeting with you and will also play a key role in helping you to get the most from the course and realising your full potential.
In the meantime, if there is anything further you wish to know or have clarified, please get in touch.
Banna Millar
PGCE Primary Course Leader
Course checklist
| Action | When | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Complete and submit your Occupational Health questionnaire | Within two days of receiving Fit 4 Jobs email |
| 2 | Complete online DBS application and take original documents to Post Office for verification | As soon as you receive the online DBS activation email from First Advantage Know Your People and no later than five days. |
| 3 | Sign up to the Update Service and submit completed form | Within 19 days of your DBS certificate issue date |
| 4 | Obtain a Certificate of Good Conduct if you have spent time living overseas for more than 3 months in the last 5 years. | Submit as soon as possible. |
| 5 | Upload outstanding qualification certificates to OSIS in order to meet offer conditions. | As soon as possible. |
| 6 | Preparatory reading and complete pre-course tasks. | May to September 2024 |
| 7 | Complete the School Experience Placements form | Within five days of receiving the pre-course website link. |
| 8 | Read and submit completed Placement Policy Form | As soon as possible. |
Term dates
| Term | Term dates | Reading Week |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | 2 September 2024 to 20 December 2024 | 28 October 2024 to 1 November 2024 |
| Term 2 | 6 January 2025 to 4 April 2025 | 17 February 2025 to 21 February 2025 |
| Term 3 | 22 April 2025 to 10 July 2025 | 26 May 2025 to 30 May 2025 |
These are provisional dates and may be subject to change.
You may find that your school half-term does not fall in the same week as the reading week, particularly in October. If this is the case, you will be expected to go into school during the reading week.
Please also note that although the course finishes in July 2025, you are advised not to book any holidays until at least the end of July in case you have to make up any missed days at school.
First day
Monday 2 September 2024
Programme for your first week at Kingston University
Enrolment and other important information
School Experience Placements
Please complete these forms for your School Experience placements:
Reading lists and tasks
Fees, funding and bursaries
DBS and Occupational Health information
Please visit the DBS and Occupational Health page to complete your DBS, Update Service and Occupational Health information.
FAQs: General information
FAQs: DBS and Occupational Health
FAQs: School experience placements
Support for students with disabilities or dyslexia
Useful contacts
| University department | Contact number | Email address |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Education | 020 3308 9932 Press Option 4, then 2 and 2 again to get through to Education Admissions. |
education@kingston.ac.uk |
| Main Switchboard | 020 8417 9000 | |
| Accommodation services | 020 8417 7311 | accommodation@kingston.ac.uk |
| Fees and funding (undergraduate) | 020 8417 7312 | studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk |
| Fees and funding (postgraduate) | 020 8417 7312 | studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk |
| Student life advisory | 020 8417 7312 | |
| Disability and mental health support | 020 8417 7314 | disability@kingston.ac.uk |
| Contact details for external organisations | Contact number |
|---|---|
| Kingston Hill | |
| Student Finance England | 0300 100 0607 |
| Disabled Students' Allowance | n/a |
| First Advantage Online Disclosures | 0115 969 4600 |
How to find us
Your course will be taught at the Kingston Hill campus, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 7LB.
View campus information, directions and public transport options on the Kingston Hill webpage.