Become a primary school teacher

Primary school teachers help children foster a lifelong love of learning.

If you want to teach in a primary school, we can provide the training, support and school-based mentorship to help you gain a primary teacher qualification and become an accomplished teacher.

Our primary school teacher degrees

We offer two primary teaching degrees - a PGCE Primary and a Bachelor of Education (BEd) in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The one that's right for you will depend largely on whether or not you already have an UK undergraduate degree or equivalent (in any subject). If you do, you can apply for our PGCE Primary, a one-year postgraduate teaching qualification which also gives you QTS - the qualification you'll need to teach in any state-maintained school or non-maintained special school in England or Wales.

If you don't already have an undergraduate degree, don't worry, you can still gain the skills and knowledge you need to achieve QTS and become a primary teacher. You can apply for our BEd in Primary Education with QTS, a three-year undergraduate teaching degree.

One-year PGCE Primary

Our one-year PGCE Primary degree - graded as 'Good' by Ofsted in their 2024 inspection - will help you develop the knowledge and skills to plan and deliver primary lessons with confidence and imagination. You'll learn how to engage children and inspire them with a love of learning at this important formative stage in their development.

With a specific focus on literacy and numeracy, this course will teach you how to deliver the primary curriculum, enabling you to become a caring, creative and reflective primary teacher who really makes a difference.

You'll be taught, mentored and supported by experienced teaching professionals both at the University and on school placements, where you'll develop your individual teaching practice.

By working closely with local schools to continually review and develop our content, our course is based on the reality of the education system, which means you'll graduate ready for the classroom of the future, as well as today.

You'll take part in over 120 days of assessed teaching placements in two of our partner schools, and have the opportunity to spend two weeks in an alternative educational setting.

This allows you to develop a deeper understanding of how teaching works in an area of interest to you, such as Pupil Referral Units, secondary or special educational needs (SEND) schools, hospital schools or the educational departments in a museum, zoo or theme park.

Three-year BEd Primary Education with QTS

If you don't already have an undergraduate degree, our three-year Bachelor of Education in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) will give you a route to becoming a primary school teacher who empowers children to succeed and thrive.

You'll learn from expert researchers and practitioners in education and hear from guest speakers with practical expertise and knowledge in primary teaching. You'll also have the guidance and support of experienced teachers as mentors while you're on teaching placements, building up your classroom skills.

As on our PGCE Primary, you'll have the chance to take part in placements within our extensive network of partner schools and educational settings, including specialist educational environments such as pupil referral units, hospital schools and museums.

The opportunity to customise your primary teaching degree with your choice of specialist subjects means you can explore topics such as technology in education, the role of play in children's development and inclusive primary education.