In-Service Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE, Lifelong Learning) - Level 7

The Level 7 In-Service Post-Graduate Certificate (PGCE) in Education is suitable for teachers employed in the sector without a teaching qualification and to teachers employed in a voluntary capacity.

The sector includes working in colleges of further education, sixth form colleges, adult and community education, work-based learning, post-14 education and offender learning.

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Course Description
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 (Masters Level)
- Option Module, one of four related to Curriculum and Context (Masters Level) [dependant on Centre availability]
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).
Entry Requirements
You will need:
- To be aged 19+ at the commencement of this 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 degree
- A full level 3 qualification in your subject specialist area if your degree is not in your subject specialism
- Level 2 in English and maths
- A clear DBS check
- A subject specialist mentor
Course Length

How long is this course?

2 years, part-time

When does this course start?

15/09/2026

How many hours / days per week is this course?

This course will run on a Tuesday evening 17:15pm - 20:15pm
Progression Opportunities

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

Course Fees

Academic Year	Fee for the year
26/27	£4895

We set our course fees annually. As students pay a fee for each year of their course, the fees set for future academic years may be higher than those set in this academic year.

For each future academic year of your course of study, your fees may be subject to review and increase on a basis in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3%. RPI is a measure of inflation published monthly by the Office for National Statistics which measures the changes from month to month in the cost of a representative sample of retail goods and services bought by consumers within the UK. This means that your course fees will not be increased each year by more than RPI + 3% from the previous year's fees and will not ever exceed the maximum amount that the government allows higher education institutions to charge students in the related academic year.

Fee information

Information about course fees and student finance can be found below.

Finance at UcWA

Additional Information

What qualification will I achieve?

In-Service Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE, Level 7)

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.

There will be on-line learning so you will need access to a PC with Internet connection or WIFI device which enables Microsoft Teams calling. There is a commitment to attend face-to-face teaching sessions at regular intervals and to review progress (regular - being pre-arranged between teacher and student). There will be 20 hours of online teaching over the 2 years. There will be 20 hours within a second placement - to be discussed at interview.