This PGDE (Primary) provides the formal teaching qualification for provisional registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) – giving you the skills, knowledge and experience to build a career as a primary school teacher.
You will cover a wide range of subjects that feature in the primary school curriculum including English/Literacy, Health and Wellbeing, and Mathematics/Numeracy.
The PGDE enables you to develop core skills in planning, teaching, assessment and evaluation strategies, classroom organisation, building relationships in the classroom, and contemporary issues in Scottish education.
Eighteen weeks of school experience placements occur in at least two primary schools/education and childcare settings within local authorities in Scotland. These placements occur in each school term.
Most UWS graduates remain in mainstream teaching in the UK or abroad. Others work in specialist educational areas including working with children with additional learning support needs, adult training, museums, writing and publishing, health education, curriculum development, and social services.
Successful applicants who gain a place on this programme are required to register on the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, managed and delivered by Disclosure Scotland.
Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2017
The Division of Education at UWS is recognised as one of the most innovative providers of education degrees in the UK. From early years to adult education, students gain rich experience from our innovative courses and graduate with unrivalled career prospects.
Our research informs our teaching courses, influences policy and contributes to wider research networks across the world. Our work into the nature and causes of youth violence, crime and gang culture has had an international impact.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
Given the competitive nature of PGDE Primary the School shall only consider applicants who already hold an Honours degree that has been validated by a university in the UK or an Honours degree of an equivalent standard from outside the UK, plus have Scottish Higher English at Grade C or above, or equivalent. In addition applicants must also be qualified in Maths at SCQF Level 5 - SQA National 5 (Grade B), SQA Intermediate 2 (Grade B) or SQA Standard Grade (Credit), or equivalent.
As a result any applications that are received with any of these pending qualifications shall unfortunately be rejected.
You are advised to visit both the The General Teaching Council for Scotland and Teach in Scotland websites for full information on what is required to become a teacher in Scotland.
You are also advised that recent experience of working/assisting in a Scottish primary school classroom is normally required and is certainly desirable.
A bachelor's (preferably at Honours level) or a master's degree that is validated by a university in the UK, or a bachelor's or master's degree of an equivalent standard from outside the UK.
In addition, applicants must either have, or be awaiting the results of the following:
For a list of acceptable alternative qualifications in English and Mathematics, please consult Appendix B of the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Memorandum for Entry to Initial Teacher Education: memorandum-on-entry-requirements.pdf (gtcs.org.uk)
Note: We will accept alternate International qualifications in English and Mathematics where evidence is provided via NARIC (National Recognition Information Centre).
Attainment of the minimum entry qualifications does not guarantee that the application will progress as competition for limited places is extremely high.
An offer of a place on this course is made on the basis of your application and successful interview.
Candidates who meet the academic requirements will be considered for interview. The interview is designed to enable applicants to demonstrate their interpersonal skills; ability to communicate; insight into the role of a teacher; knowledge about current Scottish primary education. Recent experience of a Scottish primary school classroom is normally required and is certainly desirable.
Successful applicants who gain a place on this course will need to register on the PVG Scheme, managed and delivered by Disclosure Scotland. An application form will be sent from the University once you have accepted your offer. The fee for joining the scheme is £59.
Visit the Disclosure Scotland website for more information on the PVG scheme.
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
SOCIAL WORK DEGREES
For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
You will cover a wide range of subjects that feature in the primary school curriculum.
The PGDE Primary is an intense course, comprising 18 weeks of university teaching and 18 weeks of placement in primary schools. The main pedagogy is interactive lectures and workshops. Collaborative tasks and group learning are integral to the programme.
The course comprises three core modules:
All modules are studies at SCQF Level 10. Students have the opportunity to be assessed at Level 11 in School and Professional Studies.
For the Professional Graduate Diploma Education (PGDE), you will study the following modules:
Plus:
Or:
The PGDE Primary programme is an intense course, comprising 18 weeks of university teaching and 18 weeks of placement in primary schools.
The main pedagogy is interactive lectures and workshops. Collaborative tasks and group learning are integral to the programme.
ASSESSMENT
The module Primary Curriculum is assessed by both examination and assignment.
The module School Experience is assessed based on the GTCS Standards for Provisional Registration.
The module School and Professional Studies is assessed by assignment.
You receive the formal teaching qualification necessary for provisional registration with the GTCS, a requirement for entry into the guaranteed one-year Teacher Induction Scheme.
Most UWS graduates remain in mainstream teaching in the UK or abroad. Others work in specialist educational areas including working with children with additional learning support needs, adult training, museums, writing and publishing, health education, curriculum development, and social services.
PGDE programmes are funded in the same way as undergraduate programmes. You can apply to SAAS to have tuition fees paid. Eligibility conditions apply. Check SAAS for more information.
Use the Link below to download details of our full-time, part-time tuition fees for Bachelor, Masters, Research, and English Language pre-sessional courses for session 2023-24.
Tuition FeesTo apply for the PGDE you must apply through UCAS. All PGDEs in the UK are classified as undergraduate courses for the purposes of application/admissions even though you must have at least a Bachelor's/undergraduate degree to apply.
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to complete the initial application form. You will then receive a follow-up email with further instructions relating to your application including documents that you will need to forward to support your application, e.g. degree transcripts and certificates etc.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you.
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to all international students and researchers (apart from exempt nationalities) who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.
Students and researchers who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an ATAS certificate.
An ATAS certificate may be required for certain taught postgraduate master's degrees for international students at UWS.
For the latest information on ATAS and details of eligibility and how to apply for a certificate check the UK Government's dedicated ATAS web pages.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
Use the Link below to download details of our full-time, part-time tuition fees for Bachelor, Masters, Research, and English Language pre-sessional courses for session 2023-24.
Tuition FeesWith cutting edge facilities, specialist knowledge and world-leading and internationally excellent expertise, we aim to develop research outputs that have a tangible, early and positive impact on society across the globe.
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