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Five reasons to attend our Postgraduate Routes into Teaching open day

Open day at Augustine House

*Please note, this event has passed, but check back regularly for new Faculty of Education events or visit the Open Days and Events page*

On February 1st the Faculty of Education is holding an open day, giving you the opportunity to discover our postgraduate courses that can help you get into teaching. Whether you’re graduating and want to turn your hand to teaching through a PGCE, looking for a change of career or returning to work, our Postgraduate Routes into Teaching open day will provide you with all the next-step info you need.

To give you a flavour of what you can expect on the day, we’ve thought of five reasons why the day isn’t to be missed…

1. All our postgraduate routes to teaching presented in one place

Degree courses can be difficult to imagine until you’re there, in the lecture theatre, engaging with academics and your peers. Forget on and offline prospectuses; at our open day you can get a truer flavour of what each course is like to study through talks, tasters and speaking to the people who will be guiding you on your journey to qualified teacher status.

“The talks were really informative and answered most of my questions. For any further questions I had, the stands were very helpful.”

2. Meet our team

Choosing a degree can be as much about the people leading it as it is about course content. Our team will be available for you to speak to, ask questions of, and generally interrogate – in the nicest possible way, of course! We like to think we’re a friendly and welcoming bunch, but why not come and see for yourself?

“Before I went to this open day I was fairly certain that I wanted to do a PGCE, but I still needed some reassurance. My questions were answered with care and consideration, so after the event I was confident in my decision.”

3. See our facilities

The open day takes place in Augustine House which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary since opening. Along the way, Augustine House has won a few architecture awards, has enabled us to expand our library, has loads of wi-fi and audio/visual tech, and the on-site Atrium Café serves a mean panini.

4. Visit our student support stands

As if the talks and tasters weren’t enough, our student support team will have a range of stands. Some represent specific courses – such as the ever-popular PGCE Primary, 7-14 and Secondary options – and others provide more general information such as admissions, bursaries and general enquiries. The team can answer your questions and help make the next steps of becoming a CCCU student a doddle!

“I found the stands to be full of interesting, relevant information, plus the people approachable and well informed. I learned so much from talking to them!”

5. Take the opportunity to look around Canterbury

We’re really proud of our place in one of the UK’s most historically important cities, and would encourage you to also take the opportunity to explore Canterbury and immerse yourself in student life. Right next to the main Christ Church campus is St Augustine’s Abbey. Across the road from Augustine House are the Roman city walls and Dane John park. Obviously there’s the cathedral, or you could explore the plethora of narrow, cobbled streets, timber frame buildings, and – of course – amazing retail, pubs and restaurants!

There’s so much more besides, so hit the button below and book your place – for free! We look forward to meeting you on February 1st.

Hearing children’s voices

Ralph Leighton, Senior Lecturer on the PGCE Secondary in the Faculty of Education, reflects on children’s voices in the run up to the Universal Children’s Day:

Children’s voice should be children’s voices. While school councils give some children the opportunity to express themselves, most are excluded from contributing. My research, with Laila Nielsen, Jönköping University, Sweden, shows that many young people feel excluded from full citizenship, in school and in society. Their circumstances are described by Yuval-Davis’ concept of intersectionality, that membership of various collectivities often leads to conflict between formal (official) and real (experienced) circumstances. The school students we interviewed identified gender, ethnicity, social class, income, sexuality and age as differently interrelated and interpreted so that what they are told will happen is not always what they experience. This leads to the concept of human capabilities proposed by Sen and by Nussbaum, that it is all very well saying people have equal rights but they do not have equal access to those rights. Students see teachers, parents, politicians treating some groups less favourably than others, and feel powerless to intervene as they are regarded as naïve children. The space between the FBVs of Prevent and children’s daily experiences of lack of tolerance, of unequal application of rules, of a lack of democratic accountability, and of limits on their expression of opinions is regularly remarked upon.

Read Ralph’s article on citizenship education:

Nielsen, L. and Leighton, R. (2017) What are the gender, class and ethnicity of citizenship? A study of upper secondary school students’ views on citizenship education in England and Sweden. Confero. ISSN 2001-4562.

My experience as a student with dyslexia

After completing a music degree at Canterbury Christ Church University, Eleanor decided to do a PGCE Secondary (Music) at the University to pursue a career in teaching. Eleanor shares her experience as a teacher training student with dyslexia.

How I got into teaching

I heard about getting into teaching when I was doing my undergraduate degree. Emily Sayers and Vanessa Young came into our lectures to talk about teaching music, so I started to think about it.

I always wanted to teach but was told at school that I wouldn’t be able to do anything with my life. I’m dyslexic and was told I was stupid and lazy. I decided that I wanted to become a teacher to encourage children who struggle with academia and to say to them you can do it, you’re not stupid, you just need a little bit of help.

My PGCE study so far

I really like the physical side of curriculum studies sessions. With music everyone is doing something, there isn’t a single lesson that doesn’t involve singing, dancing or playing. We take it in turns to run a half hour mini-lesson. One lesson we took our shoes and socks off and learnt to walk, we were moving in time together and getting a sense of each other and doing clapping rhythms. We’re able to take these activities into school and use them with the kids.

Support at Christ Church

It’s not just the support you get from the staff but you also get a lot of support from your peers. Someone might have heard something in a school that gets passed on that you can use in your own teaching and your own life. I always come out of a lecture feeling happier and more physically well.

My future career

Eventually I want to be a special educational needs adviser or co-coordinator, so my course will help me understand about children and how they learn. I want to be teaching for the rest of my life and to help children who may not get help anywhere else.

I think it’s important that every child is supported, it’s just as important to encourage high ability children as it is low ability children.  High ability children also need to see that support is available and doing the PGCE will give me ways to support them. I’ve already learnt so many behavioural techniques, behaviour management is such a complex thing.

My advice for anyone with dyslexia wanting to become a teacher

Don’t let anyone stop you! I think dyslexic music teachers make good teachers because they can see it from the view of children who find it difficult to learn. They find it easier to adapt lessons to suit these children.

My top tips for future PGCE students

  • Be organised

I would tell any student who is considering teacher training to do their research, do the right subject and be organised.  Organisation is the biggest thing when you train to be a teacher.

I’ve been able to continue to play in ensembles because I have been organised with my time. I’m very aware that I need to be organised especially because I’m dyslexic, it can be hard but you can do it.

  • Be inspiring

There are a lot of kids that don’t have anything they are proud of.  When you’re teaching these kids, you’ve got to realise they haven’t had the chances you had but you can bring your experience into the classroom.

It’s important to show that if you’re not academically able or sporty, there is another option for you. Being a teacher, you can find another way and help them find out what they are good at. It’s rewarding as you get to see that kid who is told they’re not academic succeed in what they’re doing.

Postgraduate Routes into Teaching Open Day

Discover our wide range of postgraduate teacher training courses at our next Open Day on Saturday 13 October from 10am to 2pm at Augustine House, Canterbury.

Whether you are a graduate or thinking about changing your career we can help you find the best route to become a teacher.

Find out more and book your place.

You can view our range of courses in early years, primary, secondary and further education.