Finding your own postgraduate teacher training placement school

Lorraine Towner shares her tips for PGCE trainees looking to find a placement

Lorraine has worked for NITE since 2019, having previously worked with another ITT provider for three years. Prior to that she worked as a primary school teacher and in private businesses. She has supported hundreds of trainees and schools with PGCE placements. Here she shares some of her tips for PGCE trainees looking to find their own placement.

Why do I find my own placement?

One of the things that makes NITE different is that we offer our PGCE applicants the opportunity to choose the schools they train in. This means you have greater control; you know the kind of school you are looking for and you know the realities of travelling in your local area better than we ever could.

You don’t have to wait until you are offered a place to start looking. Schools are generally very supportive of those wanting to train to teach and even if they are not able to offer you a placement at that time, they may be able to share your details with other local schools through their connections.

Where do I start?

Perhaps you already have links with schools. Many PGCE applicants have worked in support roles in schools or have volunteered and so are known. This makes opening the conversation easier.

Parents often begin with their children’s schools. But if you are not a parent, do you have siblings at school? What about your old school? Think about your family and friends, could any of them have useful contacts?

If you may not be aware of all the schools in your area, even if it is the place you grew up. So, it is worth using the Department for Education’s Get Information about Schools search tool. You can use the filters to focus on your postcode and set a distance to generate a list of all the schools in your area. You can then download this, and it will give you the headteacher’s name, the web address and contact telephone number.

When should I start?

Start as soon as you can. You don’t have to wait until you are offered a place to start looking, you can let the schools you approach know that you are planning to apply to NITE and when you are hoping to start the course. Remember schools are very busy places, so you may not get an immediate response. If you have heard nothing after about 10 days, then it is reasonable to follow up. Perhaps with a phone call if you sent an initial email, or an email if you called. Do also consider the school holidays, do not call or send emails when the school is shut or immediately before a break. You can easily find term dates on the school website.

What does the school need to know?

This does depend on the route you have chosen to do, as requirements differ for primary and secondary placements for example. But they will need to be willing to provide you with a suitably qualified teacher to act as your in-school mentor and sufficient classroom time to meet the course requirements.

Once you have been offered a place, we will provide you with further information to share with schools to help them understand precisely what will be required of them. We are also always happy to speak to, or meet with, schools considering hosting one of our trainees, so do ask them to contact us at nite.partnerships@coventry.ac.uk if they have questions.

What happens if I can’t find a place?

If you are not able to find a suitable placement school in time, you can defer to start with the following PGCE cohort, and with NITE that is just one more term. You will not need to make another application, but you will get more time to secure your place.