(Secondary) Dance PGCE

Course in brief

The University of Brighton is one of the UK's largest teacher training universities, rated ‘outstanding’ in our last Ofsted inspection.

This course leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for the 11–16 age range which enables you to be employed as a qualified teacher in secondary schools in England and Wales. The course also offers enrichment opportunities to teach the 16–18 age phase.

The programme would be suitable if you have graduated with a good honours degree or equivalent in dance.

Studying with us, you will have access to excellent resources and will gain practical experience in two schools. You will be mentored by a successful teaching team with an outstanding national reputation and comprehensive research profile that informs course content.

Specialising in dance at PGCE level means that you will be able to take a role in the leadership and development of this subject area throughout your career.

Students on this course can choose to progress to one of our Education MAs after completing the PGCE.

How to apply for teacher training.

Need help and advice about training to teach options or want to register your interest in our programmes? Get in touch.

Key facts

Location Eastbourne

UCAS Teacher Training code W5X1

Full-time 1 year

Before starting this course you will need to have passed the Professional Skills Tests; if you have not already completed these you are advised to take them as soon as possible.

Apply now with UCAS

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2017. They should be used as a general guide.

We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that you could receive a lower conditional offer than the typical offer, informed by our assessment of your complementary non-academic achievements and experiences. For courses that require interview or portfolio review, this may also be considered in the level of any conditional offer that follows if your application is successful.

Degree and experience
A good honours degree directly relevant to subject specialism.

GCSE (minimum grade C or grade 4)
At least English language and maths.

Professional Skills Tests
The Department for Education has introduced Professional Skills Tests in literacy and numeracy for all applicants to teacher training (QTS) routes. These tests are compulsory, and it will not be possible to enter training without having successfully completed them. Candidates are able to book these tests in advance, and the Department for Education strongly advises you to take the tests soon after you have submitted an application.

The University of Brighton recognises that these tests may present a real challenge to some candidates and we recommend that you prepare carefully before attempting them, as you are limited to only three attempts per test. We recommend that postgraduate applicants have passed the tests before they come to an interview as this will give you a clear advantage. However, if you have not yet passed the tests but have a clear strategy in place, we may well be prepared to consider your capacity to pass and potentially make you an offer of a place subject to their successful completion. When we make such an offer you will be given a clear deadline, usually within two months of your interview, so we advise that you plan ahead and book your tests well in advance.

Details about the tests, including how to register and prepare for the tests, can be found here. Further resources to help you prepare for the numeracy test can be found in the 'Course in detail' section below.

Experience

Applicants will be expected to demonstrate recent and relevant experience of children in secondary schools and understanding of what it is to be a teacher.

Other

Candidates are required to attend an interview in person at our Eastbourne campus.
All offers of places are subject to a satisfactory health check and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) enhanced check.
Applicants from minority ethnic and other groups under-represented in the profession are particularly welcome.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 7.0 in all elements.

Course in detail

Course structure

Two-thirds of your year will be spent teaching, under supervision, in schools. Our tutors and mentors will advise and support you throughout each placement. You will receive comprehensive feedback during this time, enabling you to see what you are doing well and where you might need to improve.

The university works in partnership with schools and colleges to provide a high quality programme of support, ensuring a sound relationship between theory and practice. You will benefit from undertaking two placements in two schools or colleges, with the opportunity to visit additional schools or colleges as part of the peer observation programme.

We have excellent multimedia training materials, giving you the opportunity to develop your confidence and competence in the use of ICT. Our multimedia suites are regularly updated to keep up with technological advancements in classroom teaching provision.

Areas of study

There are four strands to this course: subject study/subject education, education studies, school placements and professional development.

Dance addresses the development of pupils' performance, choreographic and appreciation skills. The demands of examination syllabuses are studied in parallel with practical experience.

Course content is kept up to date with changes in local and national initiatives and legislation, so you will be confident that your working knowledge is based on current theory and practice.

The subject study/subject education strand builds upon your existing expertise in dance and provides you with the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of dance in the secondary school context. You will consider the learning and teaching strategies that are relevant to the specialist subject.

The subject education module is specifically related to teaching the specialist subject in school while the subject study module enables you to take your subject specialist studies to an increased depth. You can earn 20 masters-level credits through the assessment for the subject study module.

The education studies strand will give you a thorough understanding of the learning process itself, including an appreciation of individual differences. The study of the principles and practices of learning and teaching is through both school and university settings, allowing you to develop practical competences, supported by analytical skills. By the end of the course you will:

refine your understanding of pedagogy, including an appreciation of current and emerging educational theories and debate

understand how to use and adapt a range of teaching, learning, management and assessment strategies in order to meet the varying needs of learners

understand how the progress and well-being of learners is affected by a range of influences and know how to take account of the principles of equality, inclusion and diversity.

Professional development is intrinsically linked to all key strands of the programme and is designed to enable you to evaluate critically and reflect upon your learning in order to make improvements. You will be expected to gather and justify evidence of your achievements on a regular basis and develop and implement improvement plans.

Students use an e-portfolio to record their achievements and this is reviewed throughout the course. An action plan is used to support professional development during placements and makes up a significant part of the improvement planning process.

At the end of the course, the e-portfolio provides evidence that you have met the Teachers’ Standards for the award of Qualified Teacher Status.

Placements

Ofsted identify our approach to training in schools as a key strength of this course, with an excellent balance between university tuition and school-based training.

You will spend a minimum of 120 days on school-based activities, with your training shared between the university and the partner school.

Your school-based training will include observing teachers, working with individual pupils and groups of pupils, team teaching and independent teaching. Your training will also entail completing specific subject tasks and developing your knowledge of school policy and effective practices.

You will maintain a professional training portfolio and be supported to review your work critically and analytically as well as to set appropriately challenging targets. We will also develop an action plan with you to identify strengths, development needs and actions, so that your practice is continually developing.

Key aims of the school-based training:

advance the development of your professional attributes, skills, knowledge and understanding
provide practical and specific experiences that enable you to critically analyse your professional practice and take responsibility for your own professional development
enable you to work collaboratively with colleagues in order to develop an understanding of the ways in which the attainment, development and well-being of all learners can be achieved with a unified support and teaching system
provide opportunities that enable you to adopt a creative and constructively critical approach towards your practice, supported by appropriate reading and research.

During your school-based training, university tutors, school mentors and teachers will support you and take shared responsibility for your professional development.

Your progress will be observed and assessed throughout your placement by university and school staff, followed by feedback sessions to discuss your development. Your e-portfolio will also be evaluated as part of the overall assessment.

Organising your school-based training

Our Partnership Office will organise the school-based training for you. Each year we organise over 2,500 placements for our students. We work hard to ensure that you have placement opportunities that will give you valuable and varied experiences in the area of education in which you are interested.

How it works

We will ask you to complete a placement information form when you start your course, and will use this information to match you to a suitable placement. We will consider your previous experience, travelling distance, the age ranges you wish to teach, and your current needs.

Once we have matched you with a placement, the team in the Partnership Office will confirm the placement as quickly as possible with the school or organisation. They will then contact you with the placement details. Almost all of our placements will be with partner schools or organisations in south-east England, most of them in East and West Sussex.

Ofsted

In our most recent Initial Teacher Education inspection report, the University of Brighton's School of Education was graded 'outstanding'.

Ofsted identified some of our key strengths as:

the very high attainment of the majority of trainees
the expertly designed and diverse range of programmes that respond to trainees' backgrounds, needs and interests as well as to national priorities
the outstanding progress made by trainees as a result of training, which enables them to fulfil their potential
inspirational teaching, tutoring and mentoring that model the best teaching and give trainees the ambition to reach the highest standards
highly reflective trainees who demonstrate good subject knowledge and a breadth of understanding of how to teach
an excellent range of training experiences that effectively prepare trainees to teach in a diverse society
the excellent resources available to trainees
leadership that is dynamic in its approach to anticipating change and solving problems
a visionary approach to innovation and change.

Staff profile

Lucy Pocknell Route leader: Dance (Secondary)

Lucy has a BEd(Hons) degree in physical education (University of Brighton). On graduating, Lucy's work in schools focused on physical education at KS3 and 4, and teaching GCSE and A-level examination work in dance and physical education.

In 2003, Lucy became an advanced skills teacher in dance, and as part of this role within West Sussex she offered CPD to departments establishing examination dance within their school, as well as providing support and training for dance provision at Key Stage 3. This was through either consultancy or curriculum development work, or through INSET training led by the local authority.

Lucy has been a GCSE dance moderator for AQA for the past eight years and is also an executive member of the National Dance Teachers' Association.

Over the past six years, Lucy has presented at a number of conferences around the country (AfPE annual conference, NDTA annual conference, West Sussex Physical Education Conference), and has also delivered numerous CPD training courses to non-specialist dance teachers, based on the resource A Practical Guide to Teaching Dance (Coachwise, 2007).

Professional Skills Tests

Support for the numeracy test

If you have not yet passed the professional skills test for numeracy, you may find the following list of support material useful. You are urged to take the tests as soon as possible but you do need to make sure that you are fully prepared.

Department for Education Practice Materials – You will find a range of support materials on this official site, including online tests.

Passing the Numeracy Skills Test – Book by Mark Patmore, including one practice test (RRP: £9.99). Published February 2013. ISBN-13: 978-1446275160

TES Top 10 tips for the Numeracy Skills Test – Article on ways to maximise your score on the test. Published April 2013

School Direct

School Direct is an alternative route to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the University of Brighton is working with a number of schools to deliver this programme across a range of secondary subjects as well as in the primary phase.

To train as a teacher through the School Direct programme you need to apply directly to a school for a School Direct training place, with schools advertising their vacancies on the UCAS Teacher Training website. The University of Brighton supports School Direct through providing training and assessment opportunities at the request of participating schools.

Find out more about School Direct and view vacancies.

Careers and employability

Graduates of the course are equipped with the skills and knowledge to become confident and competent secondary dance teachers.

As well as gaining a PGCE, you will be assessed against the national Teachers’ Standards in order to be recommended for the award of Qualified Teacher Status.

Career prospects are good; most graduates gain their first teaching posts in secondary schools as soon as they qualify.

If you demonstrate a high level of understanding you may be eligible for masters-level credits.

If you are considering whether a career in teaching is for you, and you are a UK resident, the Department for Education’s School Experience Programme (SEP) offers 1 to 10 days’ classroom experience in a secondary school. For details, check: http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/school-experience.aspx.

The teachers we train are:

highly committed to their pupils’ learning and ambitious in what they want to help them achieve
inquisitive, critically reflective and motivated to keep learning and improving their own practice
quick to adapt to different learning contexts and confident to challenge inequalities
an asset to the profession, willing to share their knowledge and experience and to collaborate with others
well-prepared for the realities of teaching, with the confidence, resilience and skills to be innovative, to take risks and be creative.

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,250 GBP

International (full-time) 13,920 GBP

Bursaries and funding

Financial support for trainee teachers has never been better. You could get up to £30,000 tax-free while you train, either as a bursary or prestigious scholarship. Your eligibility for financial support, and the amount you can expect to receive, will depend on the subject you choose to teach and your degree classification or highest relevant academic qualification.

In addition, a small number of discretionary bursaries may be awarded to trainees who we identify as having outstanding potential, and who fall within the bottom and middle tier for core bursary payment purposes.

You don’t need to apply for a bursary – if you are enrolled on a non-salaried postgraduate course and meet the eligibility criteria, you will begin receiving payments automatically by your chosen teacher training provider. You will receive more information on the arrangements and how this is distributed prior to the start of your course.

Find out more about funding.

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2017–18. Tuition fees are payable for each year that you study with us.

Where UK/EU students are subject to regulated fees, the annual fee increase cannot exceed the UK government’s maximum regulated tuition fee limit set for the relevant year. For all other students, ie those not subject to regulated fees, tuition fees are subject to a maximum annual increase of the higher of 5% or RPI.

You can find out more about our fees in the the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Eastbourne

Eastbourne is known for being sunny, friendly and relaxed, with natural attractions such as the beach and the beautiful hills of the South Downs. Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, is just outside of town and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Arts and culture: Eastbourne is home to the award-winning Towner Art Gallery, one of the finest contemporary art museums in the south-east. The town also has four Grade II listed theatres: the Congress Theatre, the Devonshire Park Theatre, the Winter Garden and the Royal Hippodrome Theatre.

Festivals: Set in the Winter Garden and the Birley Centre – a contemporary performing arts venue – the Eastbourne Music and Arts Festival promotes the study and practice of music, dance and drama. Eastbourne’s Annual Beer Festival meanwhile is the biggest beer festival in East Sussex, featuring 150 real cask ales, a cider bar, a wine bar and live music.

Nightlife: Eastbourne has a great selection of clubs for your night out. Top picks include Cameo – the town’s largest nightclub – and Atlantis on Eastbourne Pier. If you don't feel like dancing, take advantage of the student deals at Hudsons Bar.

Shopping: The town’s main shopping centre is the Eastbourne Arndale Centre. For a more boutique experience, head to Little Chelsea – an independent shopping and dining district specialising in contemporary art, interior design, antiques and jewellery.

Sports: Eastbourne hosts some major sporting events, from Eastbourne Extreme – one of the biggest extreme sports festivals in the UK – to Eastbourne International, an annual tennis tournament where some of the world’s finest players prepare for Wimbledon.

Campus where this course is taught

Eastbourne campus

Located in one of the sunniest towns in the UK, our Eastbourne campus sits between the hills of the South Downs National Park and the south coast.

The campus has extensive sporting facilities, including a sports hall, fitness suite, climbing wall, swimming pool, three gyms, a dance studio and an artificial training pitch. For sport and exercise students, there are also exercise physiology labs, a human movement laboratory and an environmental chamber.

Podiatry students gain real-life experience in the Leaf Hospital clinic, with its comprehensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, while physiotherapy students are taught in specialist practical skills rooms. The Culinary Arts Studio allows hospitality students to engage in workplace simulations and consumer research.

Accommodation

Eastbourne

Our Eastbourne hall of residence, Welkin Halls, is in the residential Meads area, next to the Hillbrow and Welkin site and within walking distance of Darley Road. The train station is about 20 minutes away on foot.

You can choose between a standard room and a large room. In both cases, the rent covers bills and internet access, as well as breakfast and an evening meal during term time. There are more than 150 rooms available here, with six to eight rooms per flat, and all are ensuite.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. The rent covers internet and £5,000 of contents insurance but excludes gas, electricity and water.*

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

Find out more on our Eastbourne accommodation webpages, and if you have any questions, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accomeastbourne@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 643810.

Welkin Halls

Welkin bedroom

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Eastbourne campus map

Find out more

Read our application advice for postgraduate teacher training. The DfE has also produced useful two helpful short films on the benefits of university-led training and what to know when applying for teacher training.

If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

01273 644644
enquiries@brighton.ac.uk

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Student Views

Steph Adams

I chose to study Dance PGCE at Brighton after a friend recommended the course and staff very highly. After attending an interview I immediately got a sense that it was a place where I would feel comfortable and able to achieve my career goals.

A stand-out highlight for me was the opportunities available throughout the course. As well as school-based training, there were other experiences that changed my perspective of dance in education. For example, a day spent with special needs children, offering workshops to boys interested in dance, visiting various schools of different standards and adapting ways to teach in these new environments.

The course is very full on, but gives you valuable knowledge and skills. It really opens your eyes to what education is all about. The course leader is extremely supportive and it was lovely to be taught by such passionate people who give you that fire to defend your subject.

Since graduating, I have been working in a secondary school where I am responsible for Dance. The school has seen an increase in the number of students opting for this subject and we now participate in a number of exciting projects including dance festivals and field trips.

Not only did the course help me become a brilliant teacher, it really changed me as a person and taught me the art of reflecting. I certainly owe a lot to the University of Brighton.