Course summary

This is a full-time pre-service teacher training course leading to a Level 5 Certificate in Education – a professional qualification for teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector which includes Further Education colleges, Sixth Form, adult education and a wide range of other training and educational settings. With a high level of tutor support and strong relationship with our validating partner Huddersfield University, York College is a great place to train to be a teacher. This course is ideal if you are wishing to teach in the post-compulsory sector. The course is designed and managed in partnership with the University of Huddersfield. Tutors are dedicated and highly experienced, with vast knowledge stemming from their own experiences as teachers, as well as working within their vocational or academic specialist areas, offering a high number of contact hours for personal tutoring and academic support. York College and its Education Division are officially Outstanding (Ofsted 2013/2014) and you will gain a University accredited qualification. After completion of the Certificate in Education you can follow this up with a further professional award – QTLS. Placements on the course are rich and varied and develop your skills in a range of environments, helping you to gain masses of real teaching experience. Much of the course is focused on practical teaching. Through your placement, you gain experience of learning and teaching alongside other professionals, with support from tutors and your mentor. Practical experience allows you to gain competence in planning teaching and learning, and in working with learners both in formal classrooms and in student-centred learning situations, such as drop-in study centres. For the full-time pre-service Certificate in Education, successful candidates will complete a teaching placement at York College. This placement will be a minimum of 100 hours of teaching, which is needed to complete the qualification. During the course you undertake project work, such as developing new course materials. Academic work includes critically examining creativity in teaching, subject specialist related studies, quality assurance and professional issues. Modules also allow you to explore areas of interest. The four modules you complete as part of the course include Module 1 – Research Informed Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Module 2 – Becoming a Subject Specialist Teacher, Module 3 – Being a Subject Specialist Teacher and Module 4 – Policy and Professional Issued. Each module is assessed by to assignments which are a mix of extended essays and the completion of two teaching portfolios. On successful completion of the full course you will be awarded a Level 5 Certificate in Education. As a qualified teacher there are opportunities for teaching your subject area in a wide range of settings. Credit points for each module may be used to progress to higher level courses such as a BA in Education.