Primary/Early Years (3-7) Lead School Partner Route PGCE with QTS

Common strands explored throughout the programme and within the context of this module include commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding and wellbeing of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all.  Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own wellbeing, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice.

Associate Teachers (ATs) will develop an understanding of the nature and aims of the National Curriculum and/or Early Years Foundation Phase depending on the age-phase in which they are training to teach.  They will consider these documents in relation to breadth, balance and ambition and how pupils and children can be supported to make links between subjects, disciplines and associated areas of learning to ensure that the curriculum is greater than the sum of its parts.  ATs will cover important elements of the legislative and statutory framework relevant to teaching, education and the professional responsibilities (e.g. safeguarding, the SEND Code of Practice, the promotion of Fundamental British Values, the Equality Act etc.).  ATs will also cover important aspects of inclusion, the definitions and categories of different pupil needs, including the 4 categories (social, emotional and mental health, sensory and/or physical, communication and interaction, cognition and learning).  Through guided observation, ATs will develop knowledge of how to generate motivation, autonomy, mutual respect and positive relationships with staff and pupils of all kinds and how important a consistent whole-school/institution-wide approach to managing children and pupils' behaviour is to this.  ATs will be expected to demonstrate principles of professionalism and professional behaviours of teachers along with the importance of reading policies, following them and taking appropriate advice and initiative.  ATs will observe and develop their knowledge of the teaching of citizenship and PSHE where relevant and their relationship to the notion of a healthy and socially responsible school/institutional community as well as the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and children.  ATs will be supported to manage their workload to ensure there is a productive work/life balance and that proportionate amounts of time are set out for planning, teaching and assessment activities - and recognise the importance of their contribution to the wider life of the school/institution.  Through the guided observation of experts, ATs will develop how to communicate with lay stakeholders, parents, and carers and others in promoting professional cooperation and the engagement of pupils.

Associate Teachers (ATs) will be supported to manage their own progress in developing and extending their knowledge and understanding of inclusion in all its forms, the promotion of a positive classroom environment which maximises learning and respects safeguarding and the dignity and diversity of all pupils.  They will also be supported to consistently and confidently plan sequences of lessons which enable the progression of all pupils and engage with colleagues in mutual enquiries to develop the curriculum.  ATs will develop their understanding of the nature and aims of the National Curriculum and/or Early Years Foundation Phase depending on the age-phase in which they are training to teach.  They will consider the practical implications of these documents in relation to breadth, balance and ambition and how pupils and children can be supported to make links between subjects, disciplines and associated areas of learning to ensure that the curriculum is greater than the sum of its parts.  ATs will further develop their understanding of statutory frameworks and legislation in relation to safeguarding, Special Educational Needs, Fundamental British Values etc.  ATs will develop their understanding of the different types of assessment that can be used with classes to ensure planning is responsive to pupils' and children's needs.  ATs will extend their knowledge of planning and particularly their understanding of how all pupils learn (in general and within specific subjects) and the range of concepts and theories which underpin it.  Also they will extend their knowledge of curricular planning and how coherent sequences of learning can promote learning for all pupils.  ATs will extend their knowledge of how to generate motivation, autonomy, mutual respect and positive relationships with staff and pupils of all kinds and how important a consistent whole-school/institution-wide approach to managing children and pupils' behaviour is to this.  ATs will demonstrate consistently and confidently the principles of professionalism and professional behaviours of teachers along with the importance of reading policies, following them and taking appropriate advice and initiative.  ATs will extend their understanding of citizenship and PSHE where relevant and support a sustainable, healthy and socially responsible school/ institutional community as well as the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and children.  ATs will manage their workload to sustain a productive work/life balance and that proportionate amounts of time are set out for planning, teaching and assessment activities while contributing to the wider life of the school/institution.  ATs will develop their confidence in communicating with lay stakeholders, parents, and carers and others in promoting professional cooperation and the engagement of pupils.

This module is underpinned by common strands explored across the programme as a whole.  Within the context of this module, this includes commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding and wellbeing of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all.  Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own wellbeing, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice.

The module covers important legislative and statutory frameworks which teachers must know and understand (e.g. inter alia those governing safeguarding, SEND, the promotion of Fundamental British Values, the Equality Act etc).  Part and parcel with this are issues of race and gender identification, how teachers can promote good behaviour and a positive orientation to learning from pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have diverse needs.  The module also covers the nature and aims of the primary National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage particularly with regard to ambition, and breadth and balance. The ATs will take a holistic view of the curriculum and explore how pupils can be supported to make links between different subjects, areas of learning and disciplines within the curriculum.  The ATs will be introduced to important principles of professionalism and professional behaviours of teachers along with establishing professional relationships with staff and pupils and the importance of reading policies and following them. ATs will be introduced to protocols of data security and for communicating with lay stakeholders, parents and carers in the support of children’s engagement.  The ATs will know and understand the nature and practice of inclusion in all its forms.  ATs will be introduced to Citizenship and PHSE and their relationship to the notion of a healthy and socially responsible school community as well as the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, where appropriate.  ATs will also develop ways to understand how curriculum areas support pupils to develop literacy, reading, writing, oracy and an enjoyment of engaging with text.  ATs will develop their own ability to manage their workload, promptness and punctuality with tasks, resilience and wellbeing and be able to balance their work/life activities and see the value of contributing to the wider life of school.

This module explores the place and nature of English, mathematics and science as core subjects within the National Curriculum Programmes of Study for Key Stages 1 and 2, and as prime and specific areas (where appropriate) within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Associate Teachers begin with their own experiences and attitudes towards learning in these subject areas, and from here, explore how children learn English, mathematics and science, with links to appropriate learning theories. There is a fundamental emphasis on developing the Associate Teachers’ subject, curriculum and pedagogical knowledge so that they are best placed to plan engaging and creative lessons that support progression for all. Alongside this, Associate Teachers consider essential aspects such as behaviour and engagement; inclusive and adaptive practice (including supporting pupils with SEND and EAL); safeguarding and assessment. Strong links are made between this module and the school based learning modules where subject-specific tasks are set to support and enrich the Associate Teachers’ experiences.

NB: For the Early Years/Primary cohort, there will be a greater emphasis on teaching and learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. For the Primary cohort, there will be greater emphasis on teaching and learning in Key Stages 1 & 2.

Key foci for individual subjects: 

English:

• • Spoken English including standard English;
  • Reading: Systematic Synthetic phonics as the prime approach to teaching word-reading; reading comprehension;  reading for pleasure;
  • Writing: Transcription (spelling and handwriting), composition, vocabulary, grammar  and punctuation;
  • Drama conventions;

Mathematics:  

• • Number recognition and counting;
  • Place value;
  • Fractions and decimals;
  • Number operations;
  • Geometry;
  • Algebra;
  • Measure;
  • Handling Data.

 Science:

• • The nature of science and scientific enquiry
  • Materials and their Properties
  • Earth and Beyond
  • Forces
  • Sound
  • Light
  • Electricity
  • Life Processes

This module focuses on developing ATs’ domain-specific subject, curriculum and pedagogical knowledge for effective teaching in the Foundation subjects. Tools for subject knowledge auditing will enable ATs to initiate independent research to address gaps in their knowledge.  ATs will be given opportunities to articulate key theoretical concepts related to classroom practice and curriculum design and be able to relate them to Foundation subjects (e.g. scaffolding; using exemplars; analogy; multiple representations; demonstrations and explanations; modelling; working memory; long-term memory; cognitive load; engagement; sequencing; interleaving; interweaving; knowledge-rich; coherence; cumulativity; cultural capital; connectivity).  ATs will be introduced to the four categories of SEND (communication, cognitive, emotional, physical) and how these affect decision-making about teaching in the Foundation subjects.  An important focus of this module is to enable ATs to analyse and evaluate inclusive approaches to teaching and differentiation in foundation subjects that take into account SEND, EAL, ACE, BAME pupils and that promote positive relationships, motivation, well-being, and attainment especially of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Intrinsic to this is how pupils’ needs can be discerned from efficient and effective assessment practices (oral, written, self-assessment, peer assessment etc.) that do not overly burden learners and colleagues.  ATs will also become increasingly confident in the use of subject specific terminology and how to communicate to lay stakeholders (e.g. Classroom Assistants, Parents and Carers) appropriately to co-plan and elicit support for pupils.  The module also encourages ATs to take an increasingly critical approach to practices that serve no evident purposes, or are not evidence-based.  

This module constitutes the method by which tutors and students in ITE programmes can establish, track and support Associate Teachers' development of fundamental knowledge for teaching in English, Maths, and, for Primary and Early Years ITE, Science.  There are no taught sessions as such though Associate Teachers will be required to take a number of audit tests in the aforementioned subject areas across their ITE registration period.  Associate Teachers' performance in these audit tests will signpost them to undertake independent study to improve proficiency.

Common strands embedded within the programme as a whole and explored within the context of this module include commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding, and well-being of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all.  Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own well-being, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice.

Beyond these underpinning strands, this module will introduce ATs to study habits, conventions, writing and communication at Level 7 and initiate ATs to the principles of professional enquiry as part of their learning journey.  It will serve as an initiation to developing the critical perspectives necessary for interactions between theory, research and practice within the specialist subject. In order to develop close and incisive observations of practice in school, ATs will be introduced to notions of reflectivity and reflexivity, and develop perceptive insights into what they notice from concepts derived from theory and research.  ATs will develop an understanding of how all children learn the specialist subject and relate this to key concepts in teaching and learning (e.g. scaffolding; dialogue; questioning; meaning-making; working memory; long-term memory; cognitive load; engagement; identity transformation) and concepts relating to curriculum design (e.g. sequencing; interleaving; knowledge-rich; coherence; cumulativity; cultural capital; connectivity).  ATs will also begin to use research and theory systematically in order to make judgements about how to present new material in learnable ways to pupils (e.g. using exemplars, analogy, multiple representations, explanations, dialogue and discussion, scaffolds, and demonstrations) and begin to develop responsiveness to what they notice pupils need from their assessments and reflections.  ATs will reflect critically on the rationale behind the curriculum choices that have been made and initiate where appropriate professional dialogues with colleagues and peers about planning.  ATs will be encouraged to develop criticality relating to uninformed and/or culturally reproduced practices (e.g. fixed groupings, 'learning styles' approaches; unpurposeful or burdensome assessment; exclusive differentiation) and they will exercise professional discretion in choosing how and when to demonstrate this.  ATs will learn how to maximise the engagement, motivation, participation and attainment of all pupils through carefully planned and adapted lessons.  ATs will also begin to understand key barriers to learning, and likely misconceptions within the subject and how inclusivity in all its forms can underpin lesson and curriculum design.  This will require a critical engagement with key policy documents, legislation, research, codes of practice and collaboration with other colleagues, parents, carers and classroom assistants.

Common strands underpinning each module include commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding and wellbeing of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all.  Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own wellbeing, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice. 

Throughout the content articulated here, ATs will engage with theory, research and with ethical considerations in making sense of the practices in the Early Years settings and schools they observe and undertake themselves.   The module develops understanding of pedagogical concepts (e.g. scaffolding; meaning-making; working memory; long-term memory; cognitive load; engagement; banding and grouping; identity transformation) through a focused exploration of dialogue in institutional settings. This will focus ATs’ attention on the interactions they and other colleagues have with each other and with pupils and what this means about what they are learning and the characteristics of the setting. The ATs will engage in debate and promote critical thinking, through identification and analysis of key issues related to the thinking, learning, care and development of young children. ATs will develop a nuanced understanding of the ways in which different discourses (e.g. from subject specialisms, and institutional culture, perceptions of the role of the teacher in Primary and Early Years) are reproduced within dialogic interaction and how these discourses interrelate, co-exist and sometimes conflict. ATs will also focus in particular on their own use of dialogue in their own teaching and reflect critically on their use of different stimuli and speech acts to evoke discussion, their use of questioning for different purposes, and how interactions with young children can facilitate or close down pupils’ negotiation of meaning and thus bring about transformations or affirmations of pupils’ self-identity, executive functioning, emotional resilience, engagement, and interest. ATs will also recognise that dialogue has significant implications for assessment, assessment for learning and the decisions teachers make about teaching, groupings, inclusion, enhanced provision, curriculum design and development, environment for learning and the identification of underachievement and barriers to learning. In this way ATs will begin to see that dialogue is a critical window into the pupil voice and a crucial opportunity for teachers to understand the perspectives of young children. ATs will establish a rationale for the observation and assessment of young children’s holistic learning and development. In completing this module, ATs will participate in a supportive and ethical culture of enquiry that will act to build resilience to criticism, or challenge and as an initiation to the principles and ethics of self-improvement in a Professional Learning Community into their careers.

Common strands underpinning each module include commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding and well-being of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all. Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own well-being, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice.

This module takes place at a time when the previously somewhat rigid requirements of the English National Curriculum are beginning to be relaxed. The curricula of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already gone their own, sometimes remarkably different ways and with the introduction by Ofsted of a new inspection framework in 2019, there is now the opportunity for schools, and teachers in England, to take a much more proactive approach to curriculum development. The chief barrier to the success of the project remains, however, what HMCI (2018) identified as “a dearth of understanding about the curriculum in some schools” and the fact that “Too many teachers and leaders have not been trained to think deeply about what they want their pupils to learn and how they are going to teach it.” We hope in this module to begin to address at least some of these shortcomings, and to equip our ATs to both think deeply about the curriculum and begin to address the challenges of curriculum development. ATs will engage with philosophy, theory, ethics and research in relation to their enquiries for this module while continuing to participate during the taught sessions in a supportive culture of enquiry. The module will seek to develop understanding of curriculum theory and concepts and relate them critically to practice in the placement school. ATs will explore philosophical, socio-political and historical influences on the curriculum and develop their understanding of how curriculum intention is mediated by their teaching and by how pupils respond to their teaching. It will also extend opportunities for ATs to develop their understanding of assessment principles and how they are built into curriculum sequences to enable ATs to respond to the diverse challenges pupils experience. In relation to this, ATs will be invited to explore critically the purposes behind assessment in the light of the new Ofsted framework and its emphasis on the non-data-driven assessment of curriculum “impact”, while studying and critically analysing “intent, implementation and impact” as a model for curriculum development in schools. ATs will also examine how their own curricular planning supports inclusivity in all its forms and critically identify where there may be unintended consequences to planned activities. This will include consideration of recent educational initiatives in relation to the decolonisation of the curriculum and how this might influence curriculum intent in schools.