PGCE Conditional Offer Question

lee1985

Okay so this is just a hit and miss question. Not so much to do with funding but there are people here are knowledgeable regarding HE courses and so on. No big deal if no-one on here can answer. Obviously no-one can tell me with total certainty what would happen but perhaps just for piece of mind (or not).

I've been accepted on a conditional offer for a PGCE course in the South. Part of the conditions state that I must have a few days experience within a school (I have/will meet all the other conditions).

I am finding it difficult to get this, I am still contacting schools but I usually get no response or don't hear back etc. I will tackle this issue, this is not my question.

My question is, is there a chance at all that I will still be able to undertake the course if I fail to meet this condition? Or it is likely to be an absolute no?

liney

The course I took did not accept applications without 20 days in school experience so yours seems quite lenient already.

As it is half term on Monday for most schools, I would be contacting the training provider to ask their advice. Does it have to be a mainstream school? Would they accept volunteering at a Summer Play Scheme or in a nursery instead?

Also I would advise telephoning or visiting schools, not emailing them.

devildog

Definitely visit the schools it is more or less a must these days!

V_Chic_Chick

Given the time of year - exams - it's going to be hard to find experience in a secondary school. Is it permissible to go to a primary school, special school, nursery, holiday scheme, TEFL school? And how long ago did you get the offer? That's likely to affect how sympathetic they are.

Whether or not they will accept you is unknown to everyone but them. However, I would suggest that they have put the conditions in place for a reason.

clearingout

give the Teaching Agency a call - they arranged a few days in a couple of local schools for me when I was changing career (although it was about 4 years ago now). You will need to meet the condition before starting the course. I would also suggest speaking to the university - they will have contacts in schools and may be able to give you the name of a head of department or head teacher who will be willing to help out.

I am afraid teachers are horribly busy people and simply don't have time for making phone calls, even if they want to help out. Try phoning to speak with a head of department about 10 minutes after school has finished as they may be hanging around their department, chatting with staff about their day and you just might catch them! You could also ask whoever answers the phone who deals with students and if you could possibly have their direct dial (unlikely they'll give it you but you can try!) or their e-mail address.

It is worth saying that schools are used to this kind of thing and are unlikely to say no, you just need to catch the 'right' person. Oh, and I would ask the university what paperwork they need as proof you have done this - I know our local university demands that 'work experience' is officially signed off prior to the student leaving the school.

mrcow

Lots of students on my PGCE hadn't been able to get the primary school experience and were fine. (This was for secondary school subjects).

If you're getting worried, contact your training provider and ask for advice.

katie1812

I would try and speak to the university you are going to, they may have schools that are willing to take students for this time that you need. Also, I would ring the schools, you don't know how often emails are checked and they may not reply anyways! Do you have any school experience?

Valli

Visit the schoolsyou could volunteer in, with a brief CV type document and a copy of your offer then they can see you and see why you need the experience.
You would probably also need a CRB check before you could work in a school; might be worth getting one of those (you'll have to pay) as there's usually a delay and you've only got about 7 weeks left.