Course Content

York St John University is the accredited provider for this PGCE Primary school centred programme which is a postgraduate fee-funded route.

Pathfinder Teaching School Hub (TSH) is a Lead Partner, working in partnership with York St John University (YSJ) to deliver this high-quality teacher training and education programme which leads to a PGCE with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). This school-centred programme fully meets the Department for Education Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Criteria/Quality Requirements. It is full time over the academic year (early September – end June) and covers the 3-7 or 7-11 age range. 

The key aim of our PGCE Primary programme is to deliver a high quality current and relevant programme of training and education that equips you with the professional knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes that you need to become highly effective teachers (and leaders) with both a strong subject and wider professional identity. Partnership is at the heart of this PGCE Primary programme where the combination of experienced university, school based and other external colleagues working in partnership, makes a powerful and inspiring teaching team for you.

Whilst you will be placed in the Pathfinder TSH partnership schools for the majority of the year (a base school for the majority of time with a six week placement in a contrasting school) you will also have timetabled academic sessions. The PGCE is made up of two Masters level modules  and leads to the award of a PGCE (as well as recommendation for QTS). Successful completion of modules will give you 60 credits towards a Masters degree. Thus, the programme combines school experience with taught sessions of subject knowledge, pedagogy and academic assignments at the university and partnership schools.

You will follow an ambitious curriculum that we have designed together as the YSJ/Pathfinder TSH partnership. This is underpinned by the ITT Core Content Framework and YSJ Partnership five key themes. Your professional development will be underpinned throughout the programme by essential theoretical knowledge and current local, national and international research and developments that will support and shape your teaching practice. Our PGCE programme also includes four Intensive Training and Practice (ITAPs) opportunities which are intended to enable you to focus on specific areas of the curriculum where you can apply theory to practice and receive focussed feedback on your practice, which you can then use to support subsequent practice.  This is in addition to the on-going school experience you will undertake on the programme where you will also receive feedback and support from your experienced mentor and YSJ/Pathfinder TSH Lead Mentor. 

Your learning on the programme is carefully sequenced to ensure a coherent, layered spiral curriculum which enables you to revisit key concepts and ideas to support your developing knowledge, understanding and teaching skills.  You will be expected to critically engage with all elements of the programme and develop as a reflective practitioner, to enable you to evaluate and adapt your practice to meet the needs of diverse learners in the Primary school classroom.

You are fully supported throughout the programmes.  You will have a comprehensive induction prior to commencing the programme and will benefit from the full range of university services (e.g. writing and academic support, wellbeing services, library and IT, career support etc).  

What makes our course unique?

Inclusion and belonging is central to the way we approach all areas of education. From the very beginning we will train and support you to feel confident and inspired to support all children from all backgrounds. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is built into the fabric of our taught curriculum where you learn best practice and critically engage with research. In every taught session we deliver, we always build in time to consider how the content connects to potential barriers linked to, for example, neurodiversity, SEND or underserved communities. 

The Pathfinder TSH side of provision is designed and delivered in partnership between Pathfinder Multi-Academy Trust (covering 15 Primary schools), Ebor Academy Trust (covering 23 Primary schools) and Hope Sentamu Learning Trust (covering 6 Primary schools). We work together on multiple aspects of the course but in particular, the delivery of the taught sessions and school placements. This will greatly benefit your training and future career opportunities.

In addition to the formal training curriculum, you will have access to a wide range of opportunities such as staff training days, our national CPD training programmes (provided at no additional cost), established relationships with senior staff in a range of schools, enrichment events such as trips, visits and community initiatives, and more. In addition to this, Pathfinder TSH provides and monitors the statutory entitlement of training and support for all Early Career Teachers in our region. This means that if you gain employment in this region, you will continue to work with Pathfinder TSH for 2 years as you develop as an Early Career Teacher. 

By working in partnership with schools, the programme aims to:

• Develop high academic and professional standards for new teachers entering the profession underpinned by the development of ‘principle-based’ values
• Provide a high-quality experience of Initial Teacher Education within the partnership that fosters retention and a commitment to on-going professional development
• Integrate theory and practice throughout the programme to support professional learning, subject knowledge and pedagogy
• Promote the intellectual and professional development of student teachers through engagement with current research and policy in teaching and wider education
• Develop student teachers as independent researchers who are able to critically engage and influence their professional community
• Enable student teachers to become skilled, creative, reflective and transformative professionals equipped to take responsibility for the progress of all children and young people
• Provide an enriched curriculum that enables students to meet the statutory requirements of the Teachers’ Standards whilst providing opportunities to set these within a wider educational context

Fees and Funding

Click here to access information about tuition fees, maintenance loans, bursaries and scholarships. By training to teach with Pathfinder and York St John University, you will still be entitled to all of the usual financial support available to PGCE students.

Teaching and Assessment

By working with York St John University and our partnership schools, you’ll have access to world-leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. You will work with experienced teachers from both PTSH and YSJ. In addition to this you will be allocated a Mentor in each placement school who will work with you and train you on a day-to-day basis.

Pathfinder Teaching School Hub is one of only 82 highly regarded and prestigious Department for Education hubs for teacher training and development. We serve the North Yorkshire Coast, Ryedale, and York, where we work with over 200 schools on an annual basis. Our remit is to provide the ‘golden thread’ of teacher training and development supporting staff from Initial Teacher Training all the way through to Headship and Executive Leadership positions. 

Pathfinder TSH has a strong local and national reputation based on our successes for supporting and training staff in the profession. We’ve engaged with hundreds of schools and staff on key programmes linked to SEND and leadership. Our work on adaptive teaching in particular has gained national recognition where we work with schools up and down the country to support them in better meeting the needs of their young people with additional needs. 

Pathfinder has a partnership covering over 40 primary schools with Ebor Academy Trust and Hope Sentamu Learning Trust. We work together on multiple aspects of the course but in particular, the delivery of the taught sessions and school placements. You will hear all about our partners when you come to interview for your place on the course, with a full breakdown of our schools. 

Teaching format

Participation in the PGCE course is an active process. Although there are lectures and presentations, much of your learning will come from workshops, seminars and school and classroom activities with strategies and techniques for an effective learning environment in your placement classrooms.

Trainees come to the course with a range of qualifications, employment background and interests. Throughout the course you will be encouraged to work collaboratively, sharing your experience, knowledge and technical expertise.

Throughout the course you will be guided by mentors in your placement schools and supported in school and in your PTSH and YSJ groups.

Teaching location

Depending on the session, you will either attend your training at York St John University, Pathfinder Teaching School Hub (based at Archbishop Holgate’s School) or one of our partner schools.

We take many factors into consideration when allocating placements and will work with you to ensure you can get to your placement safely and easily.

Assessment and feedback

You’ll complete just two academic assignments:

The primary aim of the course is to enable you to meet, and ideally exceed, the Teachers’ Standards and be recommended for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). You will also be awarded a PGCE from the University of York at Masters level.

Entry Requirements

• GCSE grade C or Grade 4 in English Language and mathematics and science, or equivalent. Where applicants have achieved a GCSE grade 4 or above in English literature only, we will look for further evidence of a breadth of achievement in English.
• A 2.2 degree or above.
• Complete a declaration of criminal convictions and health check forms.

If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to a selection event and you should present a passport or photo driving license. You can present other forms of photo ID for the selection event, but if you do, you will still need to present valid identity documents required by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) prior to starting your course.

If English is not your first language, you must have an IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in all skills or equivalent. For equivalents see our English language entry requirements.

We welcome applications from people seeking a career change into primary teaching. We actively encourage applications from those groups under-represented in teacher education to ensure the teaching profession represents the diverse nature of present-day UK society.

Further information about government requirements for teacher training.

What our Trainees Say

The Pathfinder ITT programme will provide you with a high quality, school centred training programme for the whole year. But don’t just take our word for it. We have been training student teachers for a number of years now. Let them tell you what they think…

Placement Locations

Our Pathfinder TSH student teachers will undertake two placements during the year. For the majority of the year, student teachers will be in their base placement. The second school placement will be for 6 weeks during the Spring term.

Student teachers will be allocated placement schools based on personal and practical circumstances and our large pool of schools across York, North and East Yorkshire. We will initially look to draw from our excellent partnership schools in Ebor Academy Trust, Hope Sentamu Learning Trust and Pathfinder Multi-Academy Trust. In addition to these schools, we also work with a number of schools in other Trusts and Local Authorities. Placement capacity in each school is limited to what they are able to offer and will change over the year as recruitment of student teachers develops. 

Please note that we will provide more information about placements when you interview with us.

Primary placement locations

The following map indicates the schools we have worked with over the years:

Applying

The latest cycle for ITT places begins on 30th September 2025, when places will be available to view on the Government’s postgraduate teacher training website: https://www.find-postgraduate-teacher-training.service.gov.uk/start/location

You can then start to apply for places on 7th October 2025, when the application process begins and we will be able to accept applications.

Application steps to being onboarded and ready to train to teach

• 1
  Submit your application via DfE Apply.
• 2
  Invited to interview at partnership school.
• 3
  Attend interview – Including an overview of our course and placement schools, and an opportunity to meet key colleagues.
• 4
  Offer made by us.
• 5
  Offer accepted by you.
• 6
  Pre-course placement form completed – this is where you can indicate any useful information which will help us place you in the most appropriate schools for both placements.
• 7
  Place pending – checking of references, DBS, health, finance etc.
• 8
  Ready to start ITT.

Primary Courses Offered

All our courses are accredited by York St John University. Applications will open on 7th October 2025, with training starting in September 2026.