PGCE Further Education and Skills (FES) PGCE
Share your love of learning. Use your specialist subject knowledge every day. Help people discover new interests and careers.
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Share your love of learning. Use your specialist subject knowledge every day. Help people discover new interests and careers.
The PGCE Further Education and Skills (FES) (formerly the PGCE PCET) is a professional teacher education course that will qualify you to teach in the Further Education and Skills sector.
The PGCE FES course is designed for graduates with degrees from a wide range of subjects, including those not widely taught in secondary schools (such as sports science, health and social care, psychology, performing arts, and law). It'll equip you with the necessary tools to teach young people from 16+ years old and adults, and allow you to share your knowledge in a way that helps others fulfil their potential.
Contact time for the PGCE Further Education and Skills is eight hours per week in an encouraging and productive learning environment. The course provides trainee teachers with opportunities, time, and space to develop their theory knowledge. Trainee teachers refine their teaching practice throughout the year alongside highly experienced and research-active practitioners.
We use a wide variety of teaching and learning methods including interactive teaching, lectures, seminars, practical teaching workshops, tutorials, directed learning, and group work.
You'll also be expected to successfully complete a minimum of 150 hours of teaching practice, 100 hours of professional practice, and ten observations during the course.
Assessment methods include essays and reflections, presentations, dialogic conversations, micro-teaches, and formative and summative observations of teaching practice.
This course is for people who don’t have previous experience of teaching.
Our typical offer is:
Qualification | Minimum grade |
---|---|
a Canadian bachelor's degree | GPA 2.40 |
a USA bachelor's degree | GPA 2.5 |
If you already hold a postgraduate qualification, please see our Applying for additional postgraduate degrees Help and Advice article.
If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.
If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.
You'll usually need a 2:2 (or above) honours degree from a UK Higher Education institution or an equivalent qualification and be deemed suitable to train to teach by the University of Sunderland.
You must also have:
If you're invited for an interview, you'll be asked to complete a pre-interview written task, participate in a group activity, and complete a short in-house literacy and numeracy assessment.
If English isn't your first language, you'll also need International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at a score of 6.5, with at least 6.5 in writing, and no section below 6.0. If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.
Applicants with a Foundation Degree will need to supplement this qualification with at least 60 credits at level 6 (HE level 3) in order to attain an equivalent single qualification.
There may be times when physical face-to-face classes are unable to be held. There's also the potential for remote or online classes to be held in the future. We suggest the following to make the most of your PGCE FES learning experience:
Fees are:
Read more about EU fees and funding in our Help and Advice article.
See the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
A limited number of Teacher Training Subject Specialist support bursaries awarded by the Department for Education (DfE) may be available for those studying English Language, Science, Computing, Maths, or SEND, ranging from £15,000 to £30,000. Your eligibility for these bursaries will be discussed with you in your interview. Terms and conditions apply.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
When you complete the Further Education and Skills course, you'll have a PGCE that will qualify you to teach in the sector.
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to employment within Further Education colleges, sixth form colleges, training organisations, charities, universities, prison education, and community and adult organisations.
After completing this ITE course, you can progress towards Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status which is recommended for teaching in the Further Education and Skills sector. QTLS has legal equivalence to QTS and is recognised by some head teachers in schools. This qualification is completed through the Society for Education and Training (SET). Visit the SET website for further information on QTLS and to check your eligibility.
Teaching placements are an essential part of the PGCE Further Education and Skills degree. We'll help to arrange a minimum of 150 hours of teaching practice across two placements in the Further Education and Skills sector over the one-year course. Your teaching practice placement will provide you with valuable opportunities to work alongside experienced teachers and to learn how to design, deliver, assess, and evaluate teaching and learning in the sector. You'll be supported and guided by a subject specialist mentor who'll be allocated to you through the University of Sunderland’s Placement Office. Please note that you'll be expected to pay for your own travel to and from placement. When you’re ready to start searching for a teaching job, you'll already have a wide network of professional contacts who can help you find the right opportunities.
The Enhanced Mentoring pathway is a bespoke Initial Teacher Training option accredited by the University of Sunderland. Training as part of this pathway gives you the opportunity to learn on the job from the very beginning. You'll benefit from working and learning every day in a Further Education environment, gaining immediate insight into what teaching involves. The Enhanced Mentoring option as part of the PGCE Further Education and Skills is a fee-paying route into teaching, delivered in-house at Durham Sixth Form or Hartlepool Sixth Form College, accredited by and in collaboration with the team at the University of Sunderland.
This pathway option is delivered by qualified in-house staff who possess a high level of expertise. It allows you as a trainee teacher to immerse yourself in post-16 education. You'll benefit from this vast knowledge and experience, demonstrated through the academic programme that's been devised to cover a broad range of training areas. These areas include an introduction to teaching and learning, embedding effective assessment, enrichment, and developing action research skills.
Teaching will be supported by contemporary academic writing and educational research to ensure you're provided with a thorough knowledge of current educational policy and practice.
I feel confident going into my first teaching role and recommend the course to any future teachers.
Thanks to the support of my tutor, I continued with my studies and it’s the best decision I've made.
The modern feel of Sunderland was like a breath of fresh air.
The way my course was structured allowed me to build my confidence and shaped who I am as a teacher.
My time at Sunderland has let me develop further than I ever thought I could.