Primary Teaching leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) PGCE
Subject and course type
- Education and Teaching
- Postgraduate
Become a confident, well-rounded teacher. This Primary Teaching leading to QTS PGCE at Kingston University will give you essential training in all aspects of primary teaching.
Following an ambitious, fully developed curriculum, you’ll learn the ITT Core Content Framework (CCF) in line with DfE requirements.
You are reading:
Transform the lives of children in their communities
You'll gain the skills you need to become an effective, inclusive and evidence-informed educator.
Studying this primary-focused PCGE leading to QTS at Kingston University will give you the training you need to become a primary teacher. Many graduates also go on to management roles, or even to progress their studies in further education.
During the course, you’ll learn through a mix of taught subject days and school experience. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to develop practical teaching skills, with support and feedback from expert subject mentors, teachers and colleagues.
This programme will help you develop into a reflective, research-engaged teacher with the skills to drive improvements in young people's learning and wellbeing through evidence.
When you graduate, you’ll have both Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and a PGCE – everything you need to progress to the next stage in your professional development as an Early Career Teacher (ECT).
Although the PGCE has been one of the hardest years of my life, it has also been one of the most satisfying. Leaving my first placement class knowing that I'd actually taught them something was a great feeling and showed me that coming to Kingston to do a PGCE was a fantastic decision.
Why choose this course
Kingston University has been training teachers for more than 100 years. We’ve partnered with over 200 schools to make sure your learning experience is rounded and diverse, and we’re ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
On this course, you’ll spend 120 days teaching pupils in a primary school setting. You’ll work alongside experienced teachers, develop your professional skills and take increasing responsibility for children’s learning.
Your main placements will be in two different schools to give you experience of different settings and pupils. Most of our partner schools are within 25km of Kingston University, but we also have relationships with schools across Surrey, Hampshire and other London boroughs.
When you’re not putting your skills into practice at a school, you’ll be taught by experienced professionals at our Kingston Hill campus. Facilities here include an outdoor learning environment with a cubby house, pond, beehive and nature trail – great for simulating teaching with natural materials.
Inside, you can use our subject based classrooms to practise your lessons. You can also access a wide range of teaching resources – from children’s books and music to artefacts and kits – from our library at the Nightingale Centre.
Course content
You will learn about pedagogy (the art of teaching), including learning theories and child development, alongside the subjects of the national curriculum and the early years foundation stage framework. Together, this learning will help you understand how best to teach each subject to children of different ages, needs, attributes and experiences. You will also explore key professional issues, such as safeguarding and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
We model good teaching as we train you, so you can transfer what you have experienced into your own practice.
Modules
Core modules
0 credits
Non-credit bearing module
This module focuses on developing your ability to teach, assess and undertake your professional responsibilities in your chosen phase of education. It is part based at the University, where lectures, seminars and online learning will provide you with research, theory and practice based insights into effective learning and teaching. It is largely based upon your practice in school and settings, where you receive formal training, experience of working alongside professionals, experience of being the lead practitioner in a classroom/setting and experience of the wider aspects of being a teacher.
30 credits
This module introduces you to theories of reflective practice and the value and purpose of reflection for teachers. This will enable you to develop in-depth understanding of how you reflect in order to identify issues and develop solutions in your professional settings.
The main features of the module are critical explorations of factors that affect how children develop physically, socially and as learners. You will critically analyse issues relevant to your current practice, considering your own position as an effective teacher.
Through completion of a reflective journal during the module, you will develop critical, reflective and reflexive skills to inform peer and colleague discussion within a learning community. You will be encouraged and supported to challenge and develop your professional practice.
30 credits
This module enables you to locate yourself as an emerging professional within wider discourses about teaching as a profession. It allows you to evaluate your own identity as a professional and reflect on the values that you and the wider profession hold. You will critically analyse discussions and debates which affect classroom practice. These debates will focus on specific areas to exemplify wider issues in education. The focus of these discussions will be on inclusive teaching and learning and the legislative frameworks which provide codes of practice.
A key focus of the module is to develop your ability to make sense of education research and to apply this in the context of your school or setting.
Career opportunities
You’ll complete this course with the skills, knowledge and qualification you need to become a teacher in a primary setting. Many previous graduates have progressed on to middle and senior management roles, while others have used the PGCE modules studied to count towards an MA in Education.
While you study, you’ll benefit from our work with a range of industry partners. These include:
- A network of schools and settings
- Special schools
- Teaching school alliances
- Multi-academy trusts
- Schools and settings-centred Initial Teacher Training providers
- Local authorities
- Teaching unions;
- Universities around the country
Research is a big part of our work in the Department of Education, which means your tutors bring best practice and cutting-edge thinking to their teaching. Kingston University’s education research includes work on:
- Subject pedagogy
- Curriculum design
- Planning
- Assessment
- Safeguarding
- SEND and inclusive practice
- Early Years
- Educational technologies
- Supporting more able learners
- Educational inequalities
- Policy
- The history of education
Teaching and assessment
Your taught sessions will be a mix of seminars, lectures, practical workshops, field trips and work with pupils. Peer-led critical support groups will also feature in the programme. Most of your sessions will be taught by university tutors but there may also be guest speakers, such as headteachers or subject leaders.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the online virtual learning platform.
As a student at Kingston University, we will make sure you have access to appropriate advice regarding your academic development. You will also be able to use the University's support services.
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 300 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 570 hours
- Placement: 120 days
- Intensive Training and Practice (ITAP): 4 weeks
Contact hours may vary depending on your modules.
You will not be required to take any exams. Your academic work will be assessed through coursework, such as essays and presentations.
At the end of each school placement, your teaching will be assessed to ensure you are making appropriate progress and have engaged with the five core areas as outlined in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (DfE, 2024). This will ensure that you are able to meet the Teachers' Standards (DfE, 2021) by the end of the course.
The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows:
- 100% coursework (portfolio-based)
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Lectures, seminars and workshops are taught between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.
During your school placements, you will be required to be there from 8am to 5.30pm.
Fees and funding
| Fee Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | PGCE full time £9,535 |
| International | PGCE full time £18,500 |
| Fee Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | PGCE full time £9,250 |
| International | PGCE full time £17,800 |
Funding support for PGCE students
Eligible UK and EU students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.
Please be aware: although this course is at postgraduate level, as it is possible to obtain a tuition fee loan for PGCE courses they are to be treated as undergraduate courses when it comes to tuition fee liability as a result of withdrawal or break in studies.
Scholarships and bursaries
Interested in studying Primary Teaching leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) PGCE? The following funding support is available:
International postgraduate students could receive up to £5,000 towards tuition in their first year of study.
For more information on how to apply for these scholarships, visit the International Scholarship page.
If you are a Kingston University 2024/25 undergraduate progressing to a 2025/26 postgraduate degree (taught or research), you could get a 15% reduction in tuition fees.
For more information on how to apply for this scholarship, visit the Postgraduate Progression Scholarship page.
Kingston University offers a 10% discount on full and part-time postgraduate degree course tuition fees (including PGCE courses) to our alumni.
For more information on how to apply for this discount, visit our alumni discount page.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
You will need to cover the costs of travel to and from school placements. These can vary depending on your location and mode of transport.
For certain professional courses, you will be required to complete a Declaration of Health and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. As these are necessary for your course, we will guide you through the process once you receive and accept an offer from Kingston University London.
We are pleased to offer the DBS check at no cost to applicants who have accepted the offer and chosen to study with us. You will need to subscribe to the Update Service for £16 per year. This allows universities and potential employers to view any changes to your DBS.
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply
You can apply for this course through the UK Department for Education portal.
Please enter institution and course details clearly and correctly on your form.
The code for Kingston University is K84
The course code for Primary Teaching leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) PGCE is X100
Interviews
After your interview, Kingston University will make a decision and let you know through the UK Department for Education portal.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
What our students and graduates say
I decided to apply for the PGCE at Kingston, largely because it was conveniently located for me and because of the University's excellent resources to support PGCE students.
Although the course has been extremely demanding, both physically and mentally, I've definitely made the right decision.
