Placement requirements within your PGCE Secondary programme

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Placement requirements within your PGCE Secondary programme

This information is for students who hold an offer of a place on our PGCE Secondary programme and are due to start in September 2017.

Once you have received your offer of a place at Plymouth, we need to look at organising your school placements.

Please complete the Placement Registration Form at your earliest opportunity. This form is used to provide us with the information we need to organise appropriate school placements for you.

Placement blocks and dates:

PGCE Secondary Placement 1

Thursdays and Fridays only 28 September – 20 October 2017 and then

Monday-Friday 30 October – 8 December 2017

PGCE Secondary – Primary School Experience

3, 4, 5 and 11 & 12 January 2018

PGCE Secondary Placement 2

Thursdays and Fridays 18 January – 2 February 2018 and then

Monday-Friday 5 February – 22 July 2018 (excluding 12 – 16 February, 14 March, 30 March – 13 April, 16 May and 28 May – 1 June 2018).

We undertake to place student teachers in the best locations we can find, taking account of any special needs they may have. However, all placements are dependent on the offers we receive from schools to host students and a complex combination of the developmental needs of each student and transport and accommodation. It is very important therefore that you understand that we cannot guarantee particular placements to anyone. 

It is important to note that student teachers may need to live away from their normal term-time residence during their periods of placement as placements could be anywhere within the regions of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, London or Jersey. If placed more than an hour’s commuting distance away from your term time, registered alternative address or family/friends we will; 

  • endeavour to provide you with a list of accommodation from which you can choose to arrange your own accommodation if you wish. Please note this is not a University approved list of accommodation. It will predominantly consist of accommodation where students have previously stayed and will be well located in relation to your placement. We would expect you to undertake the usual research you undertake when booking your own personal accommodation e.g. for holidays etc to ensure that your placement accommodation suits your needs.
  • pay you a weekly allowance to offset the cost of this temporary accommodation. It is your responsibility to ensure that your accommodation is paid for, as you have arranged with the provider. Those providers on the list will have been advised of a recommended maximum weekly rate by the Institute of Education. 
  • if you select from the list of providers, we have arranged for breakfast and an evening meal to be provided as an option; there are no self-catering facilities available within these premises. The Institute of Education will take no responsibility for making payments on your behalf and you will need to pay the accommodation provider direct for this service.

During periods of placement you will be expected to arrive at the school no later than 8.30am and normally to leave no earlier than 4.30pm in accordance with the professional requirements of the student teacher role. The Institute offers a travel allowance for daily commute to placement where the cost to travel to placement exceeds the cost of commuting to Plymouth campus from your registered term-time address. Once enrolled more information will be made available to you.

Should you have any queries or questions regarding placement, please contact us by email to ITEPlacements@plymouth.ac.uk