Our PGCE and PCE PCET programmes at Cardiff Met are well recognised and valued within the sector and provide you with a nationally recognised, professional teaching experience which will qualify you to explore a range of teaching careers in Further and Higher Education, youth work provision, adult and community education, 14-19 sector, work-based education, training in HM Forces, prison education, industry and commercial training departments. Our programmes are also designed to support you if you wish to teach vocational subjects e.g. Beauty Therapy, Health and Social Care, and Media.
There are two courses available depending on your existing qualifications which are aligned with the aligned with the Welsh Government and Education Training Foundation Professional Teaching Standards:
Graduate and non-graduate entrants will follow the same learning pattern and assessments in Year 1, but, in compliance with the requirements of QAA, will be assessed at the differentiated levels for undergraduate study in Year 2.
Our PCET graduates have had great success securing part or full-time teaching in the PCET sector, usually teaching their subject as well as other subject related areas. All graduates are signposted to Cardiff County Council and Cardiff Met's Widening Access department as potential adult education tutors for outreach and summer school activities, as well as signposting to Adult Learning Wales and ACT Training for additional teaching opportunities.
Why Study at Cardiff Met
By choosing to study at Cardiff Met, you will be joining an academic
School that has been delivering Education and Teacher Training for over 75 years and is recognised as one of the largest centres of teacher education and training in the UK. Home to the
Cardiff Partnership for Initial Teacher Education we have an enviable reputation for the quality of our teacher training provision.
Course Content
The PCET programmes have been devised to introduce you to teaching in the post compulsory education and training (PCET) sector including all post 16 education - tertiary, further and higher education, adult and community education, vocational and 14- 19 education, youth work, prison education and pupil reform units, as well as training in the private sector or work-based learning environments, through apprenticeship programmes. These two-year part time programmes will engage you in both academic and practical assignments through course work only.
The PCET programmes are based upon participative student-centred learning which requires you to engage with a range of teaching methods including practical and simulated exercises, class-based discussions, role play and experiential learning tasks and blended learning approaches to maximise effective learning and offer an inclusive learning experience for all students throughout the programme.
The PCET programmes aim to produce teachers/trainers who demonstrate competence across the range of roles and tasks related to design, delivery, management and evaluation of learning in a manner which exemplifies reflective practice and critical enquiry. The programmes seek to equip you to work professionally according to professional standards and effectively in rapidly changing educational environments.
The programmes further aim to provide high quality, professionally appropriate experiences that offer opportunities for you to develop abilities to plan and undertake practice-related projects and to link practice to theory in a critically evaluative way. They aim to equip you with skills to engage with critical reflective practice, creating 'reflective practitioners', and to select areas of professional relevance for your study.
The Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector is an area of growing importance in a world of rapidly evolving economic and social change. As individuals face the need to upgrade their skills in order to meet the requirements of the world of work, educators in the Post 16 sector have a key role to play in helping them to achieve their learning goals.
The overall aim is to create professional reflective practitioners.
Modules:
Year 1
- Level 4 Preparing to Teach in PCET (10 credits)
- Level 5 Delivering Learning and Teaching in PCET (30 credits)
- Level 5 Professional and Reflective Practice 1 (20 credits)
Year 2
The following modules are delivered on both programmes - the PCE PCET are delivered at Level 5 and the PGCE PCET at Level 6.
The Course Team reserves the right to amend the programme to ensure compliance with professional standards.
Preparing to Teach in PCET Short Course
If you are not sure that the two-year course is right for you, there is a short course designed as an introduction to teaching in post-16: Preparing to Teach in PCET.
The Preparing to Teach 10-week course is a teaching toolkit aimed at students with a Level 3 qualification who are considering teaching or who are currently teaching or training in post compulsory education environments. This is a stand-alone module and career progression onto the PGCE or PCE PCET is available on successful completion of Preparing to Teach.
The next Preparing to Teach in PCET course starts on 7 January 2025.
Learning & Teaching
The programme team recognises that adult learners bring with them experiences which can be used as a resource for learning. Consequently formal lectures are not a feature of this programme. We expect all sessions to involve students actively participating in their learning.
The overall emphasis will be on working together and effectively utilising the experiences and skills that the individual learners bring to the group in addition to the knowledge gained in every module. This student-centred approach allows students to take responsibility for their own learning and apply their learning to their teaching practice experiences. Tutors are seen as facilitators of learning, providing resources, supporting, stimulating and challenging where appropriate. Students will be required to attend sessions on campus and meet the 80% attendance requirement for this professional programme.
To this end, each module will use a range of appropriate and inclusive teaching methods, including:
- Self-evaluation and reflective practice
- Group work and group evaluation
- Student led seminars, tutorials and discussion
- Paired or group learning
- Role-play and analysis
- Team building exercises
- Discussion
- Experiential and reflective exercises
- Case studies and evaluation
- Self-directed private and self-guided independent study, reading and open learning
- Interactive lectures and discussion
- Blended learning / hybrid learning
Contact Hours
You are required to attend class on one day a week usually between the hours of 2pm and 8pm. Times will often vary depending on the module being studied, the content and the assessments. You will be informed of any changes to the modules throughout the course. In addition to class contact, you are required to undertake teaching hours in Year 1 and Year 2 of the course (see specific module information), as well as engage in self-directed learning tasks, research and updating their subject specialist knowledge throughout each module.
Teaching Hours
Both in-service qualifications require a minimum of 30 hours of contact teaching in the first year and 100 hours in the second year (to be carried out between September and May). You will be responsible for arranging your own teaching hours and finding a suitable subject mentor to support your professional teaching practice. Funding can be provided for FE teaching placements if required.
Support
The course team prides itself on the level of support offered to our students, which student and external examiner feedback continues to confirm. A range of support is provided prior to, during and on completion of the programme, including access to:
Open door policy (online and on campus) to access support from staff, especially programme director, personal tutor, year tutor and module leaders
Personalised Open Days / interviews to identify personal needs for the course
Student Charter / Induction Programmes / University Student Handbook
Student Programme and Module Handbooks
Study skills support packages including online Digital skills training through MS Teams
Library and learning resources are supported with online training sessions and one-to-one support
Tutorials (scheduled and bookable throughout the course)
Mentoring support from work-based mentors, course tutors and former students who offer to link with new students in similar disciplines
University wide IT facilities as well as 24 hour computer rooms
Access to Student Services including those offered by Disability support, Counselling, Wellbeing
Mental Health support, Finance and Welfare advice, I-Zone, Out of Hours assistance, Chaplaincy and Health Service
Student Union representation and services including advocacy and support
Technology and Facilities
Modules are primarily delivered face to face and are well supported by the various learning and assessment tools available on Moodle (VLE). The VLE is extensively used in the School to make available learning material and resources. Other features that are used to engage students in their own learning include podcasts, blogs and discussion groups. In addition, the VLE is also used in both formative and summative assessments and to communicate with students. Students also receive support via email as well as face to face assistance as appropriate. Students are encouraged to participate in online discussions, experiment with digital applications when teaching and are fully supported with digital skills training and development to be able to integrate these into their teaching practices.
Microsoft Teams is also used as a tool to enhance flexible learning and will form part of the learning experiences. You will have the opportunity to undertake training in Digital Skills to enhance their use of various applications and apply these to their Microteaching assessments and professional teaching practice.
Staff expertise
Staff teaching on the course have extensive experience of teaching in higher education, further education, prison and the adult and community sector. All staff are fellows and senior fellows of Advance HE and have good working relationships with other recognised professional bodies. The role of the programme team is to provide students with a full range of teaching and learning strategies, and to model best practice in the deployment of these in the classroom in order to provide high quality teaching and learning experiences for students. As such the programme itself seeks to provide role models and exemplars to the students. Staff engage with previous PCET students to share their experiences with new cohorts as part of induction.
Assessment
A variety of assessment methods are used across all modules on the programme and as trainee teachers, students are exposed to a number of assessment methods used in the PCET sector (either formally or informally) and their viability within the various disciplines is discussed within class sessions. These may include:
- Group discussions and activities within modules
- Individual exercises and activities within modules
- Case studies; written assignments
- Practical teaching assessments
- Seminar presentations with tutor and peer feedback
- Personal and group tutorial discussions and feedback
- Poster presentations
- Reflective written tasks
- Simulated experiences using role play scenarios
Summative assessment will be undertaken through successful completion of the module assessment task/s for each module undertaken and application to the professional teaching standards.
Students will be fully supported throughout their assessments and will receive an assignment briefing session, ongoing feedback when completing assignments and throughout their practical teaching placements via subject mentors and course team. Students often comment on the quality of support they receive whilst on the programme. Students also undertake peer assessments of practical teaching sessions, where the topic of providing support is discussed as part of the teaching cycle. Students find these particularly useful in terms of developing skills in giving feedback themselves.
Employability & Careers
The PGCE and PCE PCET will qualify you to teach in any post-16 education setting including Further and Higher Education, youth, adult and community-based education, alternative education (14-19 years), work-based education and training including apprenticeships, HM Forces, prison education, industry and commercial training departments.
Students who have completed this course have gone on to part-time or full-time teaching in the post compulsory sector of education and training, usually teaching their subject and other subject related areas. All graduates leaving the course are signposted to Cardiff County Council, Adult Learning Wales, ACT training and Cardiff Met's Widening Access department as potential adult education tutors for outreach and summer school activities. Some students are offered teaching opportunities by their mentor once they have graduated and networking with peers can also be useful in terms of future teaching opportunities. Cardiff Met's Career Services Team will also be available for students throughout, and after their programme of study.
Professional Accreditation
Students working in the FE and work-based learning sectors are required to register with the Education Workforce Council (EWC) and this process is facilitated through Programme Team links with EWC representatives.
Students wishing to teach in HE are signposted to membership of Advance HE as part of their CPD.
Progression Routes
Non-graduates successfully completing the PCE (PCET) will gain 120 credits at levels 4 and 5. Students would be able to progress on to a degree programme in their specific subject discipline or other related CPD qualifications.
Graduates completing the PGCE (PCET) will gain 120 credits at levels 4, 5 and 6. Students can then progress onto Masters programmes within their particular subject area. e.g. MA Education (with pathways) at Cardiff Met.
Entry Requirements & How to Apply
Applicants to the Professional Certificate in Education (PCET) should have:
- A qualification at Level 3, or above in the subject they intend to teach
Applicants to the PGCE (PCET) should have:
- A degree
- A qualification at Level 3, or above in the subject they intend to teach
Criminal Records Check
You will be required to complete a PCET Self Declaration form with regard to any criminal conviction(s) before the start of the programme. It is likely that you will be required to undergo the DBS process before commencing a professional teaching placement.& Criminal convictions may prevent you from carrying out a professional placement; please speak to the course team if you are in doubt.
DBS Checks
PGCE/PCE PCET students are encouraged to register with Cardiff Metropolitan University's DBS and updating service. DBS checks are normally required by educational establishments including those employing PGCE /PCE PCET students as part of their professional work placements.
International Applicants
Students whose first language is not English will need to provide evidence of fluency to at least an academic IELTS 6.5 standard with no sub-score lower than 5.5 or equivalent. For full details about how to apply and English Language qualifications please visit the International pages on the website.
Additional Information
Tuition Fees and Financial Support:
For up to date information on tuition fees and the financial support that may be available please refer to
www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/fees (see undergraduate part time per 10 credits on fee table). Students can also contact
Student Finance Wales for further information about financial support.
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