Primary 5-11 years PGCE

Top reasons to choose this course

• You'll train to teach with an Ofsted ‘outstanding’ provider.
• 2nd in the UK for education courses  – Guardian University Guide 2025.
• Placements opportunities with schools in large, small, urban and rural settings.
• Learn in specialist classrooms that replicate those used in schools and our curriculum centre with its 30,000 resources for student teachers.
• Brighton has an expert team who have their own successful experience as primary education practitioners.
• Our teaching graduates benefit from excellent employment rates that are consistently above the sector average.
• We work closely with local authorities, schools, colleges and educational organisations ensuring that you're kept up to date with the changing world of education.
• We have a dedicated team to help you after you qualify, through our Early Teacher Career support programme.

Course structure

This is an intensive year, with two-thirds of the course based in partnership schools and the remainder in lectures, seminars and independent study. Inherent to this programme are the government's national priorities and we will give you support while thoroughly addressing these issues.

In line with government requirements, you will spend the majority of your course gaining experience in schools, where you will spend 24 weeks teaching under supervision. Our tutors and mentors will advise and support you throughout each placement. We will give you plenty of comprehensive feedback during this time, which will enable you to see what you are doing well and where you might need to improve.

You will benefit from experiencing school-based training in two different schools and age-phases. The first phase of school-based training runs simultaneously to the University-based programme, which ensures that teaching theory is effectively integrated with practice.  

We believe in nurturing and facilitating your opportunities to discuss and critically evaluate effective teaching practices through small interactive seminar groups, which complement larger-group lectures.

All students are enrolled onto the Postgraduate Certificate in Education but an alternative exit award, the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education, which also includes QTS, is available if you do not achieve the masters-level elements of the postgraduate programme.

Areas of study

You will explore the subject curriculum areas for Key Stages 1 and 2, and practise the strategies and skills that encourage you to interpret the curriculum confidently and creatively. The programme is designed to encourage teaching practice that you can continually reflect upon and critique.

You will study modules that investigate learning and teaching throughout the two Stages within the context of child development as a whole. 

Our teaching and learning strategies go across and beyond subject areas, to ensure inclusive practice and equal, effective teaching of children from a diverse range of backgrounds. 

You will engage in a masters-level school-based Professional Enquiry module, focusing on an aspect of your own professional development.

School-based training

Ofsted identify our approach to training in schools as a key strength of this course, with an excellent balance between university tuition and school-based training.

You will spend a minimum of 120 days on school-based activities, with your training shared between the university and the partner school. 

Your school-based training will include observing primary practitioners, working with individual pupils and groups of pupils, team teaching and independent teaching. Your training will also entail completing specific subject tasks and developing your knowledge of school policy and effective practices.

You will maintain a professional training portfolio and be supported to review your work critically and analytically as well as to set appropriately challenging targets. We will also develop an action plan with you to identify strengths, development needs and actions, so that your practice is continually developing.

Key aims of the school-based training:

• advance the development of your professional attributes, skills, knowledge and understanding
• provide a variety of practical and specific experiences that enable you to critically analyse your professional practice and take responsibility for your own professional development
• enable you to work collaboratively with colleagues in order to develop an understanding of the ways in which the attainment, development and well-being of all learners can be achieved with a unified support and teaching system
• provide opportunities that enable you to adopt a creative and constructively critical approach towards your practice, supported by appropriate reading and research.

During your school-based training, university tutors, school mentors and teachers will support you and take shared responsibility for your professional development.

Your progress will be observed and assessed throughout your placement by university and school staff, followed by feedback sessions to discuss your development. Your e-portfolio will also be evaluated as part of the overall assessment.

Organising your school-based training

Our Partnership Office will organise the school-based training for you. Each year we organise over 2,500 placements for our students. We work hard to ensure that you have placement opportunities that will give you valuable and varied experiences in the area of education in which you are interested.

How it works

We will ask you to complete a placement information form when you start your course, and will use this information to match you to a suitable placement. We will consider your previous experience, travelling distance, the age ranges you wish to teach, and your current needs.

Once we have matched you with a placement, the team in the Partnership Office will confirm the placement as quickly as possible with the school or organisation. They will then contact you with the placement details. Almost all of our placements will be with partner schools or organisations in south-east England, most of them in East and West Sussex. 

Ofsted 'outstanding'

Graded 'outstanding' by Ofsted for primary and secondary in our 2024 Initial Teacher Education inspection.

Ofsted commended us on many aspects of our courses saying:

• Trainees shine at Brighton’s long-established and highly impressive teacher training programmes.
• The care and dedication shown by staff towards trainees is superb.
• Trainees are at the heart of everything. They are valued and expertly supported throughout the course.
• The curriculum skilfully equips trainees in safeguarding, behaviour management and supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Trainees impress the placement settings they work in because of their professionalism and aptitude to apply what they have learned.

Facilities

Our facilities include a curriculum centre which contains more than 30,000 specialist resources for trainee teachers including books, DVDs, games and an online catalogue.

Our Falmer campus also houses specialist classrooms that replicate those used in schools so you’ll feel at home when you go on your school-based training and start your career.

Teaching facilities include:

• science labs
• art classrooms
• kiln room
• dark room
• design and technology workshop
• performance studio.

Meet the team

Chloe Berrisford - course leader 

"I have worked in early years and primary education for over 26 years, teaching in schools in West Sussex before joining the University of Brighton in 2008. 

"My areas of expertise are early years education, language and literacy development, and Primary English, but as a teacher in school I also had responsibilities for leading art, science, ICT and teaching and learning. 

"I am currently co-leader for the academic subject of early years and primary ITE, which sees me working across teacher training courses to lead and manage the teaching of primary education. My particular interests lie in the transformatory potential of reading, what it can do for human lives and why it is important, plus language acquisition and the role of talk in learning and teaching, access to outdoor learning, equality and social mobility. 

"I am a trustee for a refugee welcome charity in West Sussex and I help organise literary events and Book in the Park community activities as part of WORDfest, in Crawley, West Sussex." 

Other key members of the teaching team: 

• Emma Johnston - PGCE Primary Year Lead
• Carey Beattie - PGCE Primary Practice Learning Lead
• Mel Bradford - Admissions Lead

School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried

School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried are alternative routes to gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The University of Brighton works with a number of schools to deliver this programme across a range of secondary subjects as well as in the primary phase. 

To train as a teacher through the School Connect PGCE or the School Direct Salaried programme you need to apply directly to a school for a training place. Schools advertise their vacancies on the Department for Educations 'Find Postgraduate training courses' website. 

Find out more about School Connect PGCE and School Direct Salaried.

Course fees

As a postgraduate trainee teacher there is a range of funding available which you could be eligible to receive whilst you are studying:

• Tax-free bursaries and scholarships – these depend on the subject you are training to teach and your highest relevant academic award. 

On our website you will find information about other funding including:

• the student finance package from Student Finance England – tuition fee loans and maintenance loans
• Parents’ Learning Allowance
• Childcare Grant
• Care leaver’s bursary
• Disabled Students’ Allowance.

If you're not a UK citizen, you are unlikely to get help funding your training unless you have permission to live permanently in the UK.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2025–26.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

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