Post Compulsory Education & Training - PGCE/PCE

By choosing to study at Cardiff Met, you will be joining an academic School that has been delivering Education and Teacher Training for over 75 years and is recognised as one of the largest centres of teacher education and training in the UK. Home to the Cardiff Partnership for Initial Teacher Education we have an enviable reputation for the quality of our teacher training provision.

The PCET programmes have been devised to introduce you to teaching in the post compulsory education and training (PCET) sector including all post-16 education – tertiary, further and higher education, adult and community education, vocational and 14-19 education, youth work, prison education and pupil reform units, as well as training in the private sector or work-based learning environments, through apprenticeship programmes. These two-year part time programmes will engage you in both academic and practical assignments through course work only.

The PCET programmes are based upon participative student-centred learning which requires you to engage with a range of teaching methods including practical and simulated exercises, class-based discussions, role play and experiential learning tasks and blended learning approaches to maximise effective learning and offer an inclusive learning experience for all students throughout the programme.

The PCET programmes aim to produce teachers / trainers who demonstrate competence across the range of roles and tasks related to design, delivery, management and evaluation of learning in a manner which exemplifies reflective practice and critical enquiry. The programmes seek to equip you to work professionally according to professional standards and effectively in rapidly changing educational environments.

The programmes further aim to provide high quality, professionally appropriate experiences that offer opportunities for you to develop abilities to plan and undertake practice-related projects and to link practice to theory in a critically evaluative way. They aim to equip you with skills to engage with critical reflective practice, creating ‘reflective practitioners’, and to select areas of professional relevance for your study.

The Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector is an area of growing importance in a world of rapidly evolving economic and social change. As individuals face the need to upgrade their skills to meet the requirements of the world of work, educators in the post-16 sector have a key role to play in helping them to achieve their learning goals.

The overall aim is to create professional reflective practitioners.

Modules

Year 1

• Level 4 Preparing to Teach in PCET (10 credits)
• Level 5 Delivering Learning and Teaching in PCET (30 credits)
• Level 5 Professional and Reflective Practice 1 (20 credits)

Year 2

The following modules are delivered on both programmes – the PCE PCET are delivered at Level 5 and the PGCE PCET at Level 6.

• Curriculum Design for Teaching and Learning in PCET (20 credits)
• Professional and Reflective Practice 2 (40 credits)

The Course Team reserves the right to amend the programme to ensure compliance with professional standards.

If you are not sure that the two-year course is right for you, there is a short course designed as an introduction to teaching in post-16: Preparing to Teach in PCET.

The Preparing to Teach 10-week course is a teaching toolkit aimed at students with a Level 3 qualification who are considering teaching or who are currently teaching or training in post compulsory education environments. This is a stand-alone module and career progression onto the PGCE or PCE PCET is available on successful completion of Preparing to Teach.

The next Preparing to Teach in PCET course starts on 8th September 2025.

The programme team recognises that adult learners bring with them experiences which can be used as a resource for learning. Consequently, formal lectures are not a feature of this programme. We expect all sessions to involve students actively participating in their learning.

The overall emphasis will be on working together and effectively utilising the experiences and skills that the individual learners bring to the group in addition to the knowledge gained in every module. This student-centred approach allows students to take responsibility for their own learning and apply their learning to their teaching practice experiences. Tutors are seen as facilitators of learning, providing resources, supporting, stimulating and challenging where appropriate. Students will be required to attend sessions on campus and meet the 80% attendance requirement for this professional programme.

To this end, each module will use a range of appropriate and inclusive teaching methods, including:

• Self-evaluation and reflective practice
• Group work and group evaluation
• Student led seminars, tutorials and discussion
• Paired or group learning
• Role-play and analysis
• Team building exercises
• Discussion
• Experiential and reflective exercises
• Case studies and evaluation
• Self-directed private and self-guided independent study, reading and open learning
• Interactive lectures and discussion
• Blended learning / hybrid learning

Contact Hours

You are required to attend class on one day a week usually between the hours of 2pm and 8pm. Times will often vary depending on the module being studied, the content and the assessments. You will be informed of any changes to the modules throughout the course. In addition to class contact, you are required to undertake teaching hours in Year 1 and Year 2 of the course (see specific module information), as well as engage in self-directed learning tasks, research and updating their subject specialist knowledge throughout each module.

Teaching Hours

Both in-service qualifications require a minimum of 30 hours of contact teaching in the first year and 100 hours in the second year (to be carried out between September and May). You will be responsible for arranging your own teaching hours and finding a suitable subject mentor to support your professional teaching practice. Funding can be provided for FE teaching placements if required.

Support

The course team prides itself on the level of support offered to our students, which student and external examiner feedback continues to confirm. A range of support is provided prior to, during and on completion of the programme, including access to:

• Open door policy (online and on campus) to access support from staff, especially programme director, personal tutor, year tutor and module leaders
• Personalised Open Days / interviews to identify personal needs for the course
• Student Charter / Induction Programmes / University Student Handbook
• Student Programme and Module Handbooks
• Study skills support packages including online Digital skills training through MS Teams
• Library and learning resources are supported with online training sessions and one-to-one support
• Tutorials (scheduled and bookable throughout the course)
• Mentoring support from work-based mentors, course tutors and former students who offer to link with new students in similar disciplines
• University wide IT facilities as well as 24-hour computer rooms
• Access to Student Services including those offered by Disability support, Counselling, Wellbeing
• Mental Health support, Finance and Welfare advice, i-Zone, Out of Hours assistance, Chaplaincy and Health Service
• Student Union representation and services including advocacy and support

Technology and Facilities

Modules are primarily delivered face to face and are well supported by the various learning and assessment tools available on Moodle (VLE). The VLE is extensively used to make available learning material and resources. Other features that are used to engage students in their own learning include podcasts, blogs and discussion groups. In addition, the VLE is also used in both formative and summative assessments and to communicate with students. Students also receive support via email as well as face to face assistance as appropriate. Students are encouraged to participate in online discussions, experiment with digital applications when teaching and are fully supported with digital skills training and development to be able to integrate these into their teaching practices.

Microsoft Teams is also used as a tool to enhance flexible learning and will form part of the learning experiences. You will have the opportunity to undertake training in Digital Skills to enhance their use of various applications and apply these to their Microteaching assessments and professional teaching practice.

Staff Expertise

Staff teaching on the course have extensive experience of teaching in higher education, further education, prison and the adult and community sector. All staff are fellows and senior fellows of Advance HE and have good working relationships with other recognised professional bodies. The role of the programme team is to provide students with a full range of teaching and learning strategies, and to model best practice in the deployment of these in the classroom to provide high quality teaching and learning experiences for students. As such the programme itself seeks to provide role models and exemplars to the students. Staff engage with previous PCET students to share their experiences with new cohorts as part of induction.

A variety of assessment methods are used across all modules on the programme and as trainee teachers, students are exposed to a number of assessment methods used in the PCET sector (either formally or informally) and their viability within the various disciplines is discussed within class sessions. These may include:

• Group discussions and activities within modules
• Individual exercises and activities within modules
• Case studies; written assignments
• Practical teaching assessments
• Seminar presentations with tutor and peer feedback
• Personal and group tutorial discussions and feedback
• Poster presentations
• Reflective written tasks
• Simulated experiences using role play scenarios

Summative assessment will be undertaken through successful completion of the module assessment tasks for each module undertaken and application to the professional teaching standards.

Students will be fully supported throughout their assessments and will receive an assignment briefing session, ongoing feedback when completing assignments and throughout their practical teaching placements via subject mentors and course team. Students often comment on the quality of support they receive whilst on the programme. Students also undertake peer assessments of practical teaching sessions, where the topic of providing support is discussed as part of the teaching cycle. Students find these particularly useful in terms of developing skills in giving feedback themselves.

The PGCE and PCE PCET will qualify you to teach in any post-16 education setting including Further and Higher Education, youth, adult and community-based education, alternative education (14-19 years), work-based education and training including apprenticeships, HM Forces, prison education, industry and commercial training departments.

Students who have completed this course have gone on to part-time or full-time teaching in the post compulsory sector of education and training, usually teaching their subject and other subject related areas. All graduates leaving the course are signposted to Cardiff County Council, Adult Learning Wales, ACT training and Cardiff Met’s Widening Access department as potential adult education tutors for outreach and summer school activities. Some students are offered teaching opportunities by their mentor once they have graduated and networking with peers can also be useful in terms of future teaching opportunities. Cardiff Met’s Career Services Team will also be available for students throughout, and after their programme of study.

Professional Accreditation

Students working in the FE and work-based learning sectors are required to register with the Education Workforce Council (EWC) and this process is facilitated through Programme Team links with EWC representatives.

Students wishing to teach in HE are signposted to membership of Advance HE as part of their CPD.

Progression Routes

Non-graduates successfully completing the PCE (PCET) will gain 120 credits at levels 4 and 5. Students would be able to progress on to a degree programme in their specific subject discipline or other related CPD qualifications.

Graduates completing the PGCE (PCET) will gain 120 credits at levels 4, 5 and 6. Students can then progress onto master’s programmes within their subject area, e.g., MA Education (with Pathways) at Cardiff Met.

Applicants to the Professional Certificate in Education (PCET) should have:

• A qualification at Level 3, or above in the subject they intend to teach

Applicants to the PGCE (PCET) should have:

• A degree
• A qualification at Level 3, or above in the subject they intend to teach

Criminal Records Check

You will be required to complete a PCET Self Declaration form regarding any criminal conviction(s) before the start of the programme. It is likely that you will be required to undergo the DBS process before commencing a professional teaching placement. Criminal convictions may prevent you from carrying out a professional placement; please speak to the course team if you are in doubt.

DBS Checks

PGCE / PCE PCET students are encouraged to register with Cardiff Metropolitan University’s DBS and updating service. DBS checks are normally required by educational establishments including those employing PGCE / PCE PCET students as part of their professional work placements.

International Applicants

Students whose first language is not English will need to provide evidence of fluency to at least an academic IELTS 6.5 standard with no sub-score lower than 5.5 or equivalent. For full details about how to apply and English Language qualifications please visit the international pages on the website.

Tuition Fees and Financial Support

For up-to-date information on tuition fees and the financial support that may be available please refer to www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/fees (see undergraduate part time per 10 credits on fee table). Students can also contact Student Finance Wales for further information about financial support.

For general enquiries please contact the Admissions Team on 029 2041 6044 or email askadmissions@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

For course specific enquiries, please contact the programme leaders:

PGCE (PCET)

Rhiain Burberry

• Email: rburberry@cardiffmet.ac.uk
• Tel: 029 2041 6292

PCE (PCET) and Preparing to Teach (10-week taster)

Leanne Davies

• Email: leannedavies@cardiffmet.ac.uk
• Tel: 029 2041 7097

Full terms and conditions in relation to accepting an offer to study at Cardiff Metropolitan University can be found by visiting www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/terms.