PGCE Primary (Lead Partners)

Lead Partners was introduced in 2012 and allows schools to directly recruit students onto teacher education courses run in collaboration with universities. To make sure you have a range of placement opportunities, schools work together in Teaching Alliances. This course is made up of both campus-based sessions - which will give you a grounding in the principles of good teaching practice - and school-based placements giving you the chance to apply your knowledge and experience a wide range of classroom situations. These placements will be in contrasting schools to give you a broad range of experience - they could be in city, suburban or rural schools, in the independent or state sector. The Lead Partners PGCE Primary course will prepare you to teach across the full range of the Primary Curriculum. We will introduce you to the wider context of teaching, including responding to diversity in school and the inclusion of Special Needs Education, as well as equipping you with classroom management and planning skills. By the end of the course you will meet the required professional standards for Qualified Teachers Status (QTS), and will be awarded a University of Leicester PGCE. Our strong ethos of reflective practice will prepare you will for your future career in teaching. The Lead Partners Primary PGCE is run in partnership with a range of Lead Partners partner schools. You can choose which Lead Partners Provider you would like to apply for and then submit your application through UCAS. Each Lead Partners Provider will offer its own unique range of placement experiences and opportunities but will still share most, if not all, of the Primary PGCE taught strands with the University of Leicester Primary PGCE students, giving you a great opportunity to share experience and practice with other students.

You need 2:1 degree (or above), GCSE grade C or above in English Language, Maths and Science. A pass in the Professional Skills Tests in Literacy and Numeracy. Although not essential, you may find it useful to have recent experience working with children and/or observing teaching in a school setting, ideally relating to the age range/subject you wish to teach. When writing your application you should try to reflect on your experience and tell us what you learnt.