In-Service Certificate in Education (Lifelong Learning) - Level 5

Teaching practice is a key component of your learning, provided through current employment. Your understanding will be strengthened through engagement with course activities to contextualise general principles within your practice.
The following are seen as essential parts of the professional repertoire and activity of a teacher and are integrated into the course:

• Behaviour Management
• Equality and Diversity and Social Justice
• Subject Specialist Pedagogy
• English and Maths
• Digital Literacies
• Professional Development

The course has a modular structure consisting of four core modules. Each module carries a credit rating of 30 credits, and a total of 120 credits required to gain the award.

• Research Informed Teaching, Learning and Assessment (Foundation Level)
• Becoming a Subject Specialist Teacher (Intermediate Level)
• Being a Subject Specialist Teacher (Intermediate Level)
• Option Module, one of four related to Curriculum and Context (Intermediate Level) - dependant on Centre availability

You will need:

• To be aged 19+ at the commencement of the qualification

• Maintain a current teaching role with a minimum of 250 hours of practice, of which 150 hours should be teaching time throughout the duration of the two-year course

• A full level 3 qualification in your chosen subject area

• Level 2 in English and maths

• A clear DBS check

• A subject specialist mentor

How long is this course?

2 years, part-time

When does this course start?

17/09/2025

How many hours / days per week is this course?

This course will run Tuesday from 17:00-20:00

What can I do after this course at CWA?

Following the successful completion of the course; you would be a fully qualified teacher within the Further Education sector and eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status. QTLS is a professional status currently awarded by the Education and Training Foundation, gained by successfully completing a period of professional formation.

Fee information

What qualification will I achieve?

In-service Certificate in Education (CertEd)

How is my course assessed?

In general, apart from practical teaching, each module is assessed by assignments. The assignments normally contain a written component but, where appropriate, also entail presentations. Practical teaching is assessed by a teaching portfolio containing evidence of planning, preparation and assessment with rationales, evaluation of own teaching, observations of teaching and feedback, a reflective journal and engagement in the wider teaching role.

In year 2, to pass the Being a Subject Specialist Teacher module, students are expected to attend two days at a Specialist Conference hosted at the University of Huddersfield. These will take place at two separate points in the academic year and one of these days is expected to be face-to-face. Travel and accommodation costs are not included in the course fees.

University regulations require 100 study hours per 10 credits. For part time students this equates to 600 hours per year, 1200 hours in total.

Academic reading will be required and APA 7th referencing will need to be used as part of all assignments. Average time commitment recommended for personal study is 17.5 hours per week (it is important to recognise that students learn at different paces and, therefore, this figure for part-time learning should be used as a guide only).