Training with North Star Community Trust & Warwick University

Resuming our partnership in 2024

The North Star School Direct Partnership, working with Warwick, specialises in training primary and secondary school trainees to gain their PGCE through an innovative and inspiring training programme.

Our trainees study with a world-class university with a recognised global reputation for the study and teaching of education.

The Warwick University promise is very compelling: You’ll be nurtured throughout your study, and guidance will be available to you as your career progresses.

We'll work with schools to make sure you get the best support, guidance and training during your placements and as an Early Careers Teacher (ECT).

We'll give you a trained, experienced teacher as a mentor during your placement. We'll give you a range of highly experienced University tutors to support you academically. We'll train you in safeguarding before going into schools.

We'll help you with any disabilities you choose to disclose, supporting you to overcome any health barriers and become the teacher we want you to be.

The structure of the PGCE

The PGCE is a mix of university study and teaching practice.

The course takes a year.

During the university sections of the course, you study topics around teaching and learning theory, current educational issues, and behaviour management. There will be several assessed assignments to complete.

You’ll spend most of your time on school placements. You’ll get a day a week to undertake your studies which makes our programme extremely unique.

You’ll be invited to school INSET days and be part of the school family from the start. You’ll have n work in two different schools as you progress from assisting to teaching a full schedule of classes on your own. You’re assessed through observations so your assessors can see how you manage in a real school environment. You’ll receive plenty of feedback and advice after these observations to help you improve.

Types of PGCE

PGCE Primary prepares you to teach children up to year 6.

You may specialise in a particular age group. This is the most in-demand PGCE, so there’s a lot of competition for places.

PGCE Secondary prepares you to teach the secondary school and sixth form years.

You’ll be teaching classes in your specific subject.

Our North Star School Direct Partnership, run with Warwick University since 2017, specialises in training primary and secondary school trainees to gain their PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) through an innovative and inspiring training programme.

Our trainees really matter to us.

Each year we have the privilege of finding some of the best trainee teachers in the country.

Unlike many Trusts, we have a dedicated Head of Initial Teacher Training.

We regard our partnership with Warwick University as one of our most valuable.

Our programme is very successful and highly regarded. We have successfully trained more than 55 teachers over the last 4 years.

We offer you:
•    An outstanding teacher training programme that is structured and school based.
•    An opportunity to learn ‘on the job’ for the whole year of the course
•    The opportunity to develop your skills, knowledge and experience needed to begin your teaching career
•    An extended support network of experienced teachers and mentors
•    The opportunity to gain a PGCE with 60 Masters credits
•    Personalised learning that is fully co-delivered with one of the best universities in the country
•    Train with likeminded people whose goal is to provide the best education for the children of today

The skills you need

To succeed at the PGCE and become a great teacher, you need:

Dedication - Enthusiasm - Flexibility - Integrity - Empathy - Resilience - Passion - Supportive

Behaviour management is something you’ll work on a lot during the PGCE course, so don’t worry if you feel like your conflict resolution skills are quite up to scratch yet. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to improve.