Why study this course?
This Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA) in Primary (3-7) will allow you to develop your career with confidence in the school where you are currently employed. This rewarding course prepares you to teach three to seven-year-olds (Key Stage 1). It combines a successful ‘on-the-job’ approach within your current school with the best aspects of a university training route.
For this route you are ideally already in a school and are looking to develop your career further. The programme is a nationally recognised route into teaching, which offers a professional qualification with no tuition fees, primarily for those who have a good understanding of what it means to work in a school and have built up some experience as a teaching assistant or similar role.
On completion of this practical course, you’ll gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the master’s level PGCE. Many of our previous apprentices are still employed in local schools, and many have progressed on to act as mentors, supporting newer trainee teachers.
Please note, you should only apply for this route if you are sponsored by your employer. London Met will not provide a matching service. If you wish to find a school to sponsor you through an apprenticeship, please consider applying via one of our school partnerships.
Please only apply for this apprenticeship if you are currently employed in a school.
More about this course
Our apprenticeship is built upon well-established and successful foundations. This course combines the expertise of our course tutors who are experienced classroom practitioners and teacher trainers with a dynamic curriculum designed to cater to your needs as a developing teacher.
You will be employed by your school on the Unqualified Teacher pay scale and will undertake off-the-job training for 20% of your working week (one day per week.) This training time is split between face-to-face training at the University and independent training tasks in your workplace. This allows you to stay in your employer school, giving you consistent immersion in the school environment alongside a comprehensive and strongly supportive university programme and the encouragement of being part of a powerful network of apprentices.
You’ll also be taught by our wider team of education experts to give you in-depth learning experiences on some of the key areas of professional practice. These include the cognitive science of learning, working with children who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and students with English as an additional language.
You’ll be encouraged to reflect upon your own practice and to critically engage with current research, policy and pedagogy, leading to a PGCE award with 60 master’s level credits and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
Assessment
You’ll be assessed by practical work, portfolio and coursework, there are no final exams.
For your modules completed on placement, you’ll be assessed on whether you are meeting the Teacher Standards by the end of the second placement. This assessment is completed by your university tutor, in collaboration with the school mentors and yourself. The assessment is partly based on observations of your teaching and partly on your portfolio of evidence.
Fees and key information
Apply nowEntry requirements
You will be required to have:
- employment as an apprentice teacher in one of our partners schools
- a UK degree, preferably grade 2.2 or equivalent
- GCSE English, Mathematics and Science grade C/4 or above, or equivalent* (*if you undertake a GCSE equivalency test, you may also be required to undertake a Functional Skills test as a part of the course)
- a valid Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Certificate
- confirmation of Fitness to Teach – a London Metropolitan University health check, which you will be advised to apply for after an offer is made
- literacy and numeracy tests — these are university-based tests, which you will be asked to undertake at your interview.
A non-UK citizen is usually eligible for funding if they have permission from the UK government to live in the UK (not for educational purposes) and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of the apprenticeship.
Professional requirements
Before you can be permitted to enrol to this course:
- you must not already hold QTS or be qualified to teach in another EU/EEA country
- you will be required to undertake a skill scan assessment to ensure that this is the most appropriate route into teaching for you.
International students and English language requirements
Due to statutory requirements, we are not able to offer sponsorship under the Student visa route for this course. We will be happy to consider those falling into this category for an alternative suitable course on request.
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).
English language requirements
To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa (previously Tier 4) you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.
If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.
Modular structure
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2024/25 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.
Year 1 modules include:
- This module currently runs:
- all year (September start)
NB: Teaching Period is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.
The Curriculum Studies module aims to ensure that all students have appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to teach their chosen specialism as an effective practitioner, in fulfilment of all relevant aspects of the Core Content Framework.
To support the student:
● to develop an understanding of the curriculum knowledge and pedagogical knowledge that they will require as a teacher, including the ability to interpret this to plan, teach and assess engaging lessons which promote pupil progression.
● to develop their own subject knowledge to ensure they are confident to teach their chosen specialist subject and/or phase, through a combination of assessment, self-assessment, target setting, personal study and engagement with university teaching and learning sessions.
● to develop a critical appreciation of the relevant traditions in pedagogy, assessment and children’s rights related to the areas they will be required to teach, and to use this knowledge to make decisions about planning, teaching and assessment which promote pupil progression. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start)
- all year (January start)
- autumn semester
NB: Teaching Period is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.
The Professional Inclusive Practice (PIP) module aims to ensure that student teachers are prepared for all aspects of professionalism and professional thinking as a teacher. It aims to ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the broader knowledge, skills and behaviours beyond individual subject or phase specialist topics, in fulfilment of all aspects of the Core Content Framework.
To support the trainee:
• to develop a critical understanding of the key philosophies that underpin our curriculum, based on the principles of Education for Social Justice, Critical Pedagogy and the UNCRC.
• to teach in a range of contexts, with a focus on teaching in multilingual, multicultural schools, working closely with families, communities and other professionals and to develop a sense of professional identity which reflects this.
• to develop the full range of skills, competencies and attitudes needed to enhance their employability, by enabling them to attain the professional Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by the end of the course.
• to enable students to reflect upon, critically assess and research their own practice. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start)
NB: Teaching Period (whole course) is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Placement Module dates are set at 24 weeks minimum. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.
The module will be comprised of two school experiences placements in contrasting schools or other appropriate settings to support the trainee to:
• Develop their professional practice as a teacher.
• Gain the skills and understanding outlined in the Core Content Framework for ITT.
• Become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.
• Acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.
Information for Employers
We’d love to hear from employers interested in offering apprenticeships, you can contact us at apprenticeships@londonmet.ac.uk or complete our enquiry form
How to apply
Use the apply button to begin your application.
If you require a Student visa and wish to study a postgraduate course on a part-time basis, please read our how to apply information for international students to ensure you have all the details you need about the application process.
When to apply
The teacher training portal opens in mid-October; if you are thinking of undertaking the postgraduate teacher apprenticeship, you should apply early. All of the training agreements and processes need to be completed by the end of June, before school break up for the Summer.