A question for teacher trainees: Studying for a PGCE while on SDS scheme

Former Member

Hi all, it's my first post on here so hopefully you can give me some advice!

I start on a School Direct Salaried training scheme in September, as an English teacher at Secondary level. The PGCE course is optional and will cost me £2050 if I choose to do it.

I understand that the training year will be a tough year - even without studying on the side. As a salaried trainee, I'll get thrown in the deep end and be expected to teach unsupervised from very early on :eek2: I already have an MA degree, so I wouldn't be doing the PGCE solely for master's credits. Plus obviously £2050 is a lot of money, so is it still worth it?

I'm aware that a PGCE qualification would enable me to teach abroad (I'm not so worried about that), but would I be at a disadvantage when applying for future teaching jobs here in the UK if I only had QTS?

Outside of school, my other commitments will be learning to drive (if I don't pass in August), plus I'm in a fairly new relationship and I want to make time for us to work. Could I realistically fit in a PGCE along with a full time teaching job?

Thanks in advance!

Former Member

It probably depends what you're thinking of doing long term - and you might be better off getting advice from a more specialised forum that has a reasonable number of teachers on it, because there aren't many on here.

From my limited awareness, it seems that teachers in the more senior roles tend to have PGCEs rather than QTS, whether not having PGCE would be a limit for future career progress or whether it's just a coincidence I'm not sure.

Is this your only opportunity to do it? Or would it be an option to do another year?

Former Member

Thanks for the reply Yeah I've posted this question on a number of forums for teacher trainees or students/young people - thought I might aswell ask around!

If working abroad is the only argument for a PGCE then I won't do it, but if not having one will damage my career prospects in the UK (like you suggest) then I'll consider it. Yeah I need to ask if I can do it another time, but I doubt it - I think my local authority only offer the course during my training year

Former Member

Definitely don't take my word for it, it's just something I picked up from looking a school staff lists for something completely different. In general the people in more senior roles all had PGCEs. Now, it might be something straight forward that this route of getting QTS hasn't existed for very long, or that people in the management roles tend to do a degree in something else first and thus tend to have PCGEs and it's the first degree bit that's helped with the management role.