Religious Education PGCE

What is the course like?

This is an 11-16 course with planned opportunities for enrichment in a post 16 context.

The Religious Education course aims to develop the attitudes, skills and understanding necessary to teach religious studies in secondary schools in accordance with the requirements of the Education Reform Act (1988), other recent legislation, and the Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The course is designed to prepare students to deal with all aspects of Religious Education in a multi-cultural society. The course content includes discussions about the nature of religious education in schools and the social, emotional and cognitive and moral development of children, as well as the more practical aspects involved in teaching such as lesson planning and assessment.

The course focuses on the teaching of the six main world religions, with the intention of informing children and equipping them with the skills needed to build their own frameworks of meanings and values.

At the same time the course aims to produce 'reflective practitioners'; and so personal, critical reflection and evaluation forms a key part of the course.

The course has two parts: School Based Experience and University Based Experience. During the course, you will spend time in two placement schools from our partnership group. Whilst on placement, you will work closely with your subject mentor and experience lesson observation, team teaching, working with small groups and whole classes of pupils. University based work is subject focussed but also contains 'Professional Themes' which are common to all subjects and taught in mixed subject groups. Time spent in the University enables us to prepare you for your placements, evaluate your school-based work and plan ahead; and it allows you to share your experiences with other trainee teachers.

The university subject sessions are essentially workshop in nature. The tutors' aim is to model for you the good practice that they expect of you when you are on placement.

Features of the course:

• The effective modelling of good practice by the tutors
• The use of small/informal subject seminar and workshop groups
• An intensely practical approach grounded in a sound understanding of the theory
• Professional Themes in mixed subject groups
• A close partnership with a large number of schools
• The support of trained mentors
• Strong and individualised support from the University subject tutors

Jeremy Stone

What does the course cover?

Please note that what follows is not an exhaustive list but is a selection taken from the RE Handbook, for purposes of exemplification

• What is RE and how is it approached in the classroom?
• The law and RE
• The history of RE in the curriculum
• How do children learn?
• The locally agreed syllabus
• Inclusion, differentiation and personalised learning
• Assessment
• Teaching and assessing RE at GCSE level
• RE 14-19
• Behaviour management
• Thinking skills in RE
• Literacy in RE
• Fieldwork and RE
• ICT and RE
• Teaching difficult issues in RE
• Every Child Matters in RE
• Using a variety of teaching and learning strategies in RE

Quotes from previous trainees:

‘Excellent support and expectations’

‘Allowed us to learn’

‘Tutor support and encouragement is first class’

‘Very thorough’

‘Well organised, great resources, great support, well taught’

‘The course tutors know their subject and are inspirational’

‘Really practical and relevant to the RE classroom’

Please note that for PGCE Teacher Training, applications and information is available via the GTTR.

As a prospective PGCE student you must contact the GTTR directly for information . All applications are made centrally and we are unable to provide application forms. Course vacancies across the country can be checked from this site. All forms are available for downloading as well as facilities for on-line applications. You can also monitor the progress of your application from this site.

What are the career prospects for trainees on the PGCE course?

Teaching is a rewarding profession in more ways than one, offering fantastic career prospects and development opportunities. The variety of potential career paths available can see you enjoy all kinds of experiences, roles and responsibilities. In secondary schools you can move up the management structure to gain responsibility as a head of department or head of faculty.

Ultimately, you could progress to a senior management position such as deputy or assistant head and/or headteacher - at which point you would have overall responsibility for the management of a school and the education its pupils receive.

Trainees are assessed formatively and summatively across the course. This ensures that progress is reviewed regularly and you are aware of the progress being made against the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). There are informal activities that need to be completed, and are important in developing a deeper insight into effective teaching.

Besides completion of all subject based tasks there are three elements common to all trainees in order to complete the course successfully. All trainees have to demonstrate that their teaching is suitable to meet the Standards for QTS. Secondly, as part of the Standards everyone must pass QTS skills tests in literacy, numeracy and ICT (there is a TDA test centre on campus). Finally everyone must pass two major assignments, called the Curriculum Subject Assignment (CSA) and Special Study Assignment (SSA). The CSA is based in an aspect of subject teaching, whereas the SSA is based around a study of a whole school issue. The assignments are marked at Masters level and if successful trainees will leave with 60 credits towards a Masters degree and a Post-graduate Certificate in Education. It is possible to complete these two assignments at H level, which will lead to the award of a Professional Certificate in Education. Both awards lead to QTS and therefore enable you to teach in school.

Careers Prospects:

Teaching is a rewarding profession in more ways than one, offering fantastic career prospects and development opportunities. The variety of potential career paths available can see you enjoy all kinds of experiences, roles and responsibilities. In secondary schools you can move up the management structure to gain responsibility as a subject leader or beyond. In addition many teachers have responsibility for aspects of school life, such as supervising Newly Qualified Teachers, having responsibility for coordinating provision for Gifted and Talented pupils, having a pastoral role.

Ultimately, you could progress to a senior management position such as deputy or assistant head and/or headteacher - at which point you would have overall responsibility for the management of a school and the education its pupils receive.

The course at Southampton provides you with a very firm foundation for your teaching career. We have high employment rates from the course and many trainees are actually employed in our partnership schools. The Masters credits are an additional boost to your career. There is a growing expectation that increasingly teachers will gain Masters level qualifications. Not only do we offer the chance of gaining 60 credits at the start of your career, but we have developed a number of routes for teachers to continue their study, allowing them to obtain a full Masters degree.

The Secondary Religious Education course at the University of Southampton is rated highly by both its students and its External Examiner. The course is challenging, but you will be well supported and we hope that your experience is rewarding and worthwhile.

Candidates should normally have or expect to obtain a degree in Religious Studies or Theology, but degrees in other subjects such as Anthropology, History, Humanities, Sociology or Philosophy may be acceptable if there is also evidence of the study of religion or religions. This evidence may take the form of degree course modules, AS/A2, GCSE 10 level qualifications.

If someone is interested in applying for the RE PGCE course what should they do next?

Please read the RE PGCE admissions policy and interview guidance for further details. Please note that it is desirable that you spend a minimum 1-2 days in a secondary school RE department prior to interview. The letter sent to applicants inviting them to interview states this. Please bear this in mind when applying. Please also note that applicants who have a limited amount of school experience may find that any offer they receive as a result of an interview is conditional on their spending more time in school prior to the commencement of the course. Therefore potential applicants are urged to apply as early in the academic year as possible.

For more information on Funding, please click here.

Click here for a list of "Frequently Asked Questions regarding Applications".

Click here for fees related Frequently Asked Questions.

Details on how to apply for the Secondary PGCE are available here...

Click here to e-mail us.