education and teacher training placements

PGCE Secondary Education

There are two school placements, designed to take place in contrasting schools. We follow what we refer to as an AàB model for placement. This means you attend placement at one school, usually between October and February and second placement, in a different and contrasting school, between February and June.

PGCE Primary Education

All trainee teachers are required to complete 120 days in school placements. The placements need to be in at least two different schools and in the appropriate age phases for the course. You will complete a placement each term.

BA (Hons) Secondary Education

There is a placement during each year of the course. Year 1 placement is around 30 days, Year 2 40 days and Year 3 is around 60 days.

Associate Teachers are allocated to placement schools by considering a range of information, for example:

• Your home postcode
• Being within a 90-minute commute of a school placement
• A school making an offer to host a placement in your subject (some schools will specify the specialism of the Associate Teacher they are able to host)
• A school having the mentoring capacity to ensure you will receive the support required by a beginning teacher

Placement schools are contacted in the Spring Term and are asked to notify the University of their capacity to host placements in our range of subjects for the coming academic year. Once students are enrolled onto the PGCE the university, our Partnership and our Subject Teams begin allocating students to placements based on the information above. Once placements are confirmed, this information is sent to the student via email, informing them of their placement school name, post code and contact details for both their Professional Mentor and Subject Mentor. Following the school placement briefing, students are asked to contact their placement school to introduce themselves so that arrangements for their first day of placement can be made. This usually includes what time the school would like you to arrive, where to report to, school dress code specifics and documents the school wish you bring with you; namely a safeguarding reassurance letter (provided by the University) and a form of photo ID.

Placement details are usually released to students at least a week before the planned placement start date. This information will be shared with you via email using your BCU student email address.

We avoid placing students in schools within walking distance, to avoid school pupils knowing where an Associate Teacher may live. We also avoid placing Associate Teachers in schools where they were a pupil themselves. This ensures you receive a breadth in your understanding of how schools work.

No. The University will source and select your placement school for you.

PGCE Secondary Education

There are two placements during the PGCE Secondary Course. The first placement typically runs from October to February, where Associate Teachers attend placement Tuesday to Friday, and remain based at the University for study on a Monday. The second placement typically runs from February to June. For the majority of this placement, Associate Teachers will attend placement five days a week.

BA (Hons) Secondary Education

There is a placement during each year of your course. During Year 1, placement days are a mix of Mondays and full week blocks.

During Year 2, you will do an eight week block during the Summer term and in Year 3 there is a 12 week block in the Spring term.

The vast majority of placements are in and around Birmingham and its central areas, however, we also work with placement schools in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and West Bromwich on a regular basis. We also have partnership schools in Nuneaton, Hereford and Leicester.

The most important thing to consider is that support is always put in place to avoid a failed placement, ensuring you are able to close identified gaps in practice within a short period of time. However, we must acknowledge that it is possible to fail a school placements. If you fail a school placement, you are offered one resit opportunity, which may incur an additional cost. You will then be found a different placement school in which to undertake your resit and the beginning of placement will be supported by a Rapid Improvement Target plan, ensuring you make the most successful start to placement possible. It should be noted that a failed placement will extend the length of the course and could mean your PGCE continues into the following academic year.

You will be assessed against the BCU Initial Teacher Education Core Curriculum, which considers your ability and practice across a range of areas:

1. Critical Enquiry and Research Informed Practice
2. Behaviour Management      
3. Subject Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge
4. Planning and Assessment of Pupils
5. Adaptive Teaching
6. Professional Behaviours

Assessment in these areas will bring together recorded progress against weekly targets in school, feedback on your teaching, engagement with Intensive Practice and Training (ITaP) experiences and review meetings with your university Lead Mentor.

PGCE Secondary Education

Many PGCE Secondary subjects are supported by DfE bursaries, which are designed to support with living costs during the PGCE, which includes travel. We are aware that these bursaries are not available to all students and the course may mean you are unable to work part time. The University can help to subsidise travel to placement if your daily travel cost is above £5.50.

Placements take place in settings which work with children, young people, and families. The emphasis is on working with organisations who deliver services directly to these groups of people and, through their work, address issues associated with social injustice.

You may be placed within statutory services such as schools and health services, however, you can also work for organisations such as charities, faith organisations, youth work, cultural settings, play organisations, charities and youth work.

You can do their placement as paid work, internships or voluntary positions.

Students starting their course in or after September 2024 will undertake:

• 16 days of placement at Semester 2 of your first year.
• 16 days of placement in second year.
• An optional placement module in your final year.

You expected to find your own placement, with support.

This support includes regular updates about specific opportunities such as HELS Go Abroad and opportunities on offer via specific partnerships.

You will share your ideas with the module lead, who approves them in principle. You will then complete an information form sent out via the placement team. You will get advanced notice that you are responsible for this and a clear timeline to illustrate what is expected.

The placement team then contacts the prospective placement and checks they are suitable and, if so, confirms that you can start the placement.

At any setting which works with children, young people and families and addresses issues associated with inequality and social injustice. This can be in Birmingham, or in another location that is suitable for you to travel to easily.

Students starting their course in or after September 2024 will undertake:

• 16 days of placement at Semester 2 of your first year.
• 16 days of placement in second year.
• An optional placement module in your final year.

We allocate one day a week, but you can negotiate different ways of delivery if it does not clash with your studies. Similarly, you can start your placement earlier if it is approved.

Normally in Birmingham but they can be in your home community or overseas.