The course is structured to provide opportunities to integrate theoretical concerns with practical work, and to apply your subject knowledge and skills to classroom contexts.
The PGCE Drama is inspected regularly by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) on behalf of the Teaching Agency (TA), which is responsible for all such courses in England and Wales and was recently judged to be ‘Good with outstanding features’ (April, 2010).
Ofsted reported that the key strengths are:
- outstanding recruitment and selection procedures to identify trainees whose commitment to the teaching profession is matched by high suitability for the course with potential to become at least good teachers
- the exceptional ability of trainees as highly reflective learners in responding to feedback from all trainers
- very good coherence between training at the centre and that on school placements, leading to at least good progress for trainees
- modelling of best practice by experts at the centre and in the partnership so trainees know how to adapt their work to support learning of different student groups
- outstanding achievement of trainees in preparing to teach in a culturally diverse society
- outstanding work of leaders in anticipating and responding to local and national initiatives, particularly in drama and media studies pedagogy.
During Term One you are introduced to a range of educational and drama-specific strategies. You will also engage with a range of issues in contemporary education and learn from a variety of subject specialists in areas such as Special Educational Needs and behavior management.
You will go on to apply this understanding while on placement at two different kinds of school or college over the duration of the course. Placements are likely to be based in inner London and will allow you to have access to a diverse range of pupils as well as the rich cultural context of the capital.
This course provides trainee teachers with professional training in the context of Central and its associated partner schools. By the end of the course, successful trainee teachers will have acquired the skills, knowledge and understandings needed to start an effective teaching career. These will provide the basis on which they will build in future years and in particular during the Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT-Induction) year.
At the end of the induction year (NQT year) you will need to have met the Professional Standards for Teachers – Core, in order to become a fully qualified teacher. At the same time, trainee teachers will be helped to develop their capacity for independent and professional judgment.
During your placements you will be supported by an experienced drama teacher, acting as mentor and working closely with your Central-based link tutor.
At the end of the year, we expect successful trainee teachers to be capable, confident and well-informed new practitioners, who will be able to profit from subsequent experience and reflect intelligently on their daily practice and the context in which they work, in order to provide the children and young people with whom they work the high quality learning experiences to which they are all entitled.
On successful completion of the course you will gain Qualified Teacher Status. The course has two possible exit routes: either a Professional Certificate of Education or a Postgraduate Certificate of Education. The latter qualification includes 60 master’s level credits which can also be automatically transferred onto the MA Applied Theatre (Drama in the Community and Drama Education) course.
Assessment
Assessment is continuous and by a variety of methods including self- and peer-assessment, project work, academic assignments, teaching competence and classroom-based research tasks.
