Fees and key information

Course type
Postgraduate
Course code
Q992
Entry requirements
On this page

Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship in Primary with SEND (5 – 11) with QTS - PGCE

Add to my prospectus Why study this course? More about this course Entry requirements Course modules Where this course can take you How to apply

Why study this course?

This Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA) in Primary with SEND (5-11) will allow you to develop your career with confidence in the SEND specialist provision where you are currently employed. This rewarding course prepares you to teach five to eleven year olds. It combines a successful ‘on-the-job’ approach within your current school with the best aspects of a university training route.

To enrol on this apprenticeship you will already be employed in a SEND specialist school and will be looking to develop your career further. This is a nationally recognised route into teaching, which offers a professional qualification with no tuition fees, suited to those who have a good understanding of what it means to work in a school and have built up some experience as a teaching assistant or similar role.

On completion of this practical course, you’ll gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the master’s level PGCE. Many of previous London Met apprentices are still employed in local schools, and many have progressed on to act as mentors, supporting newer trainee teachers.

Our trainees attain high results with almost 100% passing the course, and very high rates of employment. Many of our trainees gain employment in their placement schools. We are well connected with a range of partnership schools and have excellent long standing relationships with diverse settings across London.

This apprenticeship offers you the opportunity to gain experience as a mainstream teacher, enabling you to gain QTS and give you the ability to choose where to work. You will receive expert tuition supporting you throughout both your mainstream and SEND placements. Teaching at London Met ensures that you are well equipped to develop your practice to teach the National Curriculum in addition to the skills and knowledge required to develop your specialism in SEND. You will explore the key pedagogies and theories in meeting the needs of individual learners with SEND and gain a deep understanding of specialist provision in a SEND setting.

Train in top London schools

We have strong partnerships with schools across London, many that we have worked with for decades these include a range of specialist provisions

Gain real teaching experience

Benefit from three school placements, including one in a special school, you’ll gain a lot of practical experience teaching

Join a diverse and inclusive course

We celebrate Diversity and Inclusivity – we are a very diverse course, with a huge variety of backgrounds and ages, including many career-changers

Join our Holloway Open Day on Saturday 8 November at 11am

Book your place

Course modules

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2025/26 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year modules

Curriculum Studies

This module currently runs:
all year (September start)

(core, 30 credits)

The Curriculum Studies module aims to ensure that all students have appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to teach their chosen specialism as an effective practitioner, in fulfilment of all relevant aspects of the Core Content Framework.

To support the student:
● to develop an understanding of the curriculum knowledge and pedagogical knowledge that they will require as a teacher, including the ability to interpret this to plan, teach and assess engaging lessons which promote pupil progression.
● to develop their own subject knowledge to ensure they are confident to teach their chosen specialist subject and/or phase, through a combination of assessment, self-assessment, target setting, personal study and engagement with university teaching and learning sessions.
● to develop a critical appreciation of the relevant traditions in pedagogy, assessment and children’s rights related to the areas they will be required to teach, and to use this knowledge to make decisions about planning, teaching and assessment which promote pupil progression.

Read full details

Professionalism and Inclusive Practice

This module currently runs:
all year (September start)

(core, 30 credits)

The Professional Inclusive Practice (PIP) module aims to ensure that student teachers are prepared for all aspects of professionalism and professional thinking as a teacher. It aims to ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the broader knowledge, skills and behaviours beyond individual subject or phase specialist topics, in fulfilment of all aspects of the Core Content Framework.
To support the trainee:
• to develop a critical understanding of the key philosophies that underpin our curriculum, based on the principles of Education for Social Justice, Critical Pedagogy and the UNCRC.
• to teach in a range of contexts, with a focus on teaching in multilingual, multicultural schools, working closely with families, communities and other professionals and to develop a sense of professional identity which reflects this.
• to develop the full range of skills, competencies and attitudes needed to enhance their employability, by enabling them to attain the professional Teachers’ Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by the end of the course.
• to enable students to reflect upon, critically assess and research their own practice. 

Read full details

School Experience

This module currently runs:
all year (September start)

(core, 0 credits)

NB: Teaching Period (whole course) is a statutory period of currently 36 weeks, set by the Department of Education. Placement Module dates are set at 24 weeks minimum. Term dates are set separately to the standard university dates, with an earlier start and later finish than other postgraduate courses.


The module will be comprised of two school experiences placements in contrasting schools or other appropriate settings to support the trainee to:
• Develop their professional practice as a teacher.
• Gain the skills and understanding outlined in the Core Content Framework for ITT.
• Become a critically reflective practitioner inside and outside the classroom.
• Acquire the necessary skills, experience and understanding required to plan, deliver and evaluate the appropriate areas of the curriculum (for their route) by the end of the module.

Read full details

Course details

You will be required to have:

  • a relevant degree, preferable grade 2.2 or above
  • grade C/4 in English Language, Maths and a Science (either General Science or one of Biology, Chemistry or Physics)

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa (previously Tier 4) you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

You’ll be assessed by practical work, portfolio and coursework, there are no final exams.
For your modules completed on placement, you’ll be assessed on whether you are meeting the Teacher Standards by the end of the second placement. This assessment is completed by your university tutor, in collaboration with the school mentors and yourself. The assessment is partly based on observations of your teaching and partly on your portfolio of evidence.

There are formative progress assessments at key points throughout the course, enabling you to see how well you are doing and what you need to do next. You will also receive constant formative feedback and guidance from your university tutor and from you school mentor, when on placement.

Your assessment will also consist of:

  • Curriculum Studies: a Professional Practice Portfolio that is compiled across the year, detailing personal experiences and reflections on your development as a teacher, largely in relation to your practical teaching experience
  • Professional Inclusive Practice: the Educational Research Assignment, which allows you to explore an educational issue

You'll share feedback with your colleagues on the course, completing a weekly reflection and contribution to online discussions that will further develop your understanding of the secondary school teacher role.

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet ourhigher requirements. 

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require. 

As a London Met trained teacher, you will be highly employable; the vast majority of our Apprentice trainees continue to teach in schools in London.  As a teacher with a PGCE and SEND specialism you will be well equipped to work in SEND specialist provisions or in mainstream schools that have additional resource units. Teachers who have trained at London Metropolitan University can be found on the staff in schools across London and beyond. As a very long-established provider of teacher training, we regularly meet alumni in all sorts of roles, from classroom teachers through to headteachers and every role in between. Many of our graduates develop further specialisms and can be found in a range of highly specialist roles, both in mainstream schools and in alternative provisions. As a specialist in SEND you would be in a strong position to become a SENDCO or Inclusion lead after passing your ECT 1 and 2.

London Met teaching graduates regularly find their first job in one of their placement schools, and many continue to work within the ‘London Met family’ across an extended career in education. The skills that you learn on the course will prepare you to meet all the challenges of teaching both in London schools and elsewhere, wherever your fancy takes you.

If you've already studied your undergraduate degree with us, as a graduate of London Met, you'll be entitled to a 20% discount on any further study with us.
* exclusions apply

How to apply

Use the apply button to begin your application.

If you require a Student visa and wish to study a postgraduate course on a part-time basis, please read our how to apply information for international students to ensure you have all the details you need about the application process.

When to apply

The teacher training portal opens in mid-October; if you are thinking of undertaking the postgraduate teacher apprenticeship, you should apply early. 
All of the training agreements and processes need to be completed by the end of June, before school break up for the Summer.