iPGCE with iQTS - International Postgraduate Certificate in Education with International Qualified Teacher Status

School-based
You will be based in schools for the entirety of the course (5 days a week for full-time trainees and 2.5 days a week for part-time trainees). Teacher training is most effective ‘on the job’ in schools so the knowledge you gain can be instantly applied in real lessons.

Online
The course is delivered to you online through webinars, podcasts, videos, research, and tutorials. Our platforms are interactive and engaging, enabling both independent and peer learning. All course content and materials are available online, enabling you to study and revisit them as required.

Worldwide
As the course is delivered online, you can be employed or on placement in a school anywhere in the world, subject to the school meeting the required selection criteria to ensure it can offer you the right support.

Support
Described by Ofsted as “excellent”, Coventry University’s online tutorial approach provides you with teaching and support, both 1-1 with your university tutor and in a tutor group. Tutorials deepen your understanding of topics, prompting you to think about what works best for you in your teaching. You will also be guided on a day-to-day basis by your in-school mentor, who will be an experienced teacher in your school.

Multiple start dates
You can choose to start the course in September, January, or April, according to your preferences.

Employability
You will gain internationally recognised teaching training and a qualification which could enhance your employability.

Multiple routes
You can choose to train in primary, or one of the following secondary subjects: Art and Design, Biology, Computing, Chemistry, Dance, Design and Technology, Drama, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Music, Modern Foreign Languages, Physical Education, Physics and Religious Studies.

For the 14-19 age range, Business Studies, Classics and Psychology are also available.

Trainees on all our teacher training programmes can be already employed by a school or hosted by a school on a non-employed basis. There are many similarities between our Employed and Non-employed routes; both involve trainees being in school 5-days a week (or 2.5 days per week part-time) and increasing time spent teaching whole classes as the course progresses.

Employed trainees are salaried members of staff, perhaps working in an unqualified teacher role, or as a classroom assistant or teaching assistant.
Employed trainees and their schools need to think carefully about whether their current role would enable them to have an increasing responsibility for teaching whole classes. Classroom-based teaching assistants working alongside a teacher in the same class may be able to begin to take on the required amount of teaching during the course. However, for teaching assistants who work as 1:1 support for individual children it may be harder to meet the requirements for whole class teaching. Most employed trainees will need to be released for 4 weeks (or 8 weeks part-time)* to complete a second school placement, usually around the middle of the course.

Non-employed trainees have more flexibility but do need to find a school which can host them on a non-employed or voluntary basis for the duration of the course. They are also required to build up their teaching of whole classes and complete a second school placement. For non-employed trainees the second school placement is usually 6 weeks (or 12 weeks part-time)*.

*Trainees based in a SEN setting for their main school placement need to have an extended second school placement in a mainstream setting.

The course is designed to be highly practical to help trainee teachers develop their craft in schools under the supervision of skilled school-based mentors and experienced university tutors.

Underpinned by the best available evidence of ‘what works’ to improve teaching and learning, and designed to complement your teaching or placement role in school, our online course consists of webinars, podcasts, videos, research and tutorials. Our platforms are interactive and engaging and promote independent and peer learning. All the course content and materials are available online, enabling you to study and revisit them as required.

The course comprises four modules and is typically studied over one year (three school terms) or two years (six school terms) if studying part-time. You’ll receive guidance from a school-based mentor trained by the university, weekly contact with your university tutor and you will be visited in school by a university assessor.

The modular structure of the course is blended in approach. It combines online distance learning with practical in-school support.

A 15-credit module consists of 150 hours of learning, which comprises a mix of teaching and independent study.

The iPGCE with iQTS will be delivered via online technologies and methods and utilise an online portfolio to evidence your professional development.

The course has three different start points throughout the year – September, January, and April.

During your studies, you’ll have the opportunity to access an experienced team, including university tutors, progression coaches and student experience officers, who will support your studies through feedback and dedicated live seminars.

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

• Essays
• Presentations
• Vivas

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Our iPGCE with iQTS course is a formal Initial Teacher Training qualification for trainee teachers outside England. Upon successful completion, the qualification will be approved by the DfE to certify trainees to teach in state-maintained schools in England as a qualified teacher. Many independent schools now also prefer their teachers to hold this award.

The course also provides 60 Level 7 credits that may be transferred as prior learning credits for future study at master’s degree level.

On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

• Teach effectively and skilfully to enable pupils in your lessons to progress in their learning.
• Critically reflect on what impacts pupil learning, using relevant educational research and evidence from your own teaching to inform and improve your practice.
• Reflect on and analyse your own teaching and research, into both teaching theory and practice, to identify improvements and increase your confidence and self-efficacy.
• Synthesise, apply and critically evaluate pedagogical theory and literature to adopt relevant high-quality strategies and teaching methods within your individual context, wherever you are in the world.

The iPGCE with iQTS provides successful trainees with excellent preparation for master’s level study.

No, currently applicants for iQTS are not eligible for loans, bursaries or any other type of financial support from the UK government to help cover the costs of studying iQTS.