September 2025

PGCE Secondary Religious Education

Postgraduate, PGCE Secondary with QTS, September 2025

secondary students

Birmingham Newman University’s Secondary PGCE programme provides a comprehensive and supportive pathway into teaching. You’ll receive tailored guidance and placements that match your aspirations, with a focus on inclusion and diverse learning environments. Our experienced tutors and expert networks ensure you gain the knowledge and confidence to excel in the classroom. From early induction to career-focused school placements, we help you develop into a skilled teacher capable of making a real difference in the lives of students. It’s a real testament to where our trainees go. Community-focused mentorship is embedded in our approach, with many of our PGCE graduates becoming mentors themselves, supporting the next generation of teachers and giving back to local communities.

Birmingham Newman University’s Secondary PGCE programme offers a dynamic, hands-on approach to teacher training. With personalised support, we ensure that each trainee receives the guidance they need to succeed. Our unique placement system connects you with schools that match your career aspirations, including specialist placements in areas like social, emotional, and mental health.

You’ll be trained in inclusive teaching strategies, with a particular emphasis on SEND adaptation, allowing you to cater to diverse student needs effectively. Our strong Ofsted report reflects the quality of the programme, ensuring you’re equipped to make a lasting impact on your students.

The course also offers early online induction, ensuring you feel supported and engaged from the start. With a broad network of subject experts, school partners, and professional organisations, you’ll have opportunities to build meaningful connections within the education sector.

By the end of the programme, you’ll be ready to step confidently into the classroom, having received the knowledge, skills, and practical experience to transform education for future generations.

If you are passionate about preparing the next generation through creative and high-quality Secondary Religious Education (RE), this course is for you. Our PGCE in Secondary Religious Education aims to provide students with a breadth of understanding across world faiths in order to develop outstanding RE teachers.

 

At Birmingham Newman University we work closely in partnership with SCITT partners to deliver the academic award of the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) which is the most widely recognised UK post graduate award and is transferable.  It is accepted, across the UK and internationally, as an assurance that the candidate has achieved the high standard expected for entry to the teaching profession.

The course is designed to provoke thought, challenge assumptions and help develop you as a reflective practitioner of the subject, so that you can enter the teaching profession with clear educational priorities and the skills with which to achieve them. The academic taught content is aligned with SCITT delivery content.

Core Modules 

Module Title:  Developing Reflective Practice in *Subject (SGP760 – 30 credits)

Module Title:  Applying Reflective Practice in *Subject* (SGP761 – 30 credits)

 

For applicants who are deemed not to have the required minimum standard of subject knowledge, there is a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course which you may be required to take.

We are offering a range of SKE’s within Mathematics, Computing, Physics and MFL this academic year from 8 to 20 weeks. These SKE’s are supported by DfE bursary please see Subject knowledge enhancement: an introduction – GOV.UK for further information. If a SKE is set as a condition of entry to our PGCE programmes you will be notified by our Admissions team at the point of offer, this will need to be completed ahead of enrolling next September on the PGCE programme.

We are offering a range of SKE’s within English, RE, PE this academic year from 8 to 20 weeks. These SKE’s are NOT supported by DfE bursary, however we will offer these to you as a free course to enable you to join our PGCE programme. If a SKE is set as a condition of entry to our PGCE programmes you will be notified by our Admissions team at the point of offer, this will need to be completed ahead of enrolling next September on the PGCE programme.

We are not offering SKEs for Art, Drama, Geography and History.

N.B. PGCE Secondary is applied for via DfE Apply, please use the appropriate course code when applying.

If you are an experienced teacher, looking to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) the Faculty of Education offers professional accreditation.

Our Assessment-Only Route to QTS is available to teachers in the UK or abroad with more than two years of teaching experience, who have not undergone formal teacher training.

We offer two start dates, September or January to complete the 12 weeks for assessment, it is a flexible way to gain Qualified Teacher Status for Teachers who already meet the Teachers’ Standards (2012).

How it works

The route consists of three assessment processes:

  1. An assessment of your application.
  2. An Initial Assessment Day to judge whether you are likely to meet the National Teachers’ Standards within a maximum 12-week period without further training.
  3. A Final Assessment Day, within the 12-week period, to determine your success.

The initial assessment of candidates’ suitability to engage with this route is £900. This is a non-returnable assessment fee, but should the candidate be successful to proceed this will be deducted from the overall fee of £2,350, therefore the main stage of assessment is £1,450.

The Assessor will interview you, hold meetings with your line manager or mentor and conduct lesson observations. They will scrutinise your planning, marking, report writing and record of professional development.

Modules

Module Title:  Assessment Only e-Portfolio (SAP600)

The Department for Education has announced the financial incentives for ITT courses. You can find out more about this here.

The best people to ask about a teacher training course is those who have been through it. Here is a selection of just a few of the emails we have received over the years showing appreciation for the support received during their PGCE course.

“The road to teaching has been anything but conventional for me, but perhaps that’s what makes it so enjoyable. Before I found myself in the classroom, I spent a decade in the world of insurance, ran my own retail business, and worked as a reprographics and media technician at a secondary school. It was during this last role that I caught the teaching bug—surrounded by inspiring staff, I realised that teaching was where I was meant to be. Having always had a passion for computers, thanks to my dad (a programmer who filled our house with the latest hardware), pursuing a PGCE in Computer Science felt like the perfect next step.

I completed my PGCE at Newman University, and what a ride that was. As a mature student, I wasn’t exactly living the “typical uni life,” but I knew immediately that Newman’s close-knit campus was the right fit for me. The personalised attention from tutors and the friendships I built with fellow trainees made the experience invaluable. Between absorbing theories and testing them out during my placements, I quickly learned that teaching is a job you have to do to truly learn it.

Fast forward to my first year as an Early Careers Teacher (ECT), and it was both terrifying and thrilling in equal measure. Being fully in charge of my own classroom was a big adjustment, and I quickly realised that no amount of PGCE lesson planning can fully prepare you for the unpredictable nature of students! But I’ve learned to embrace the chaos, and somewhere along the way, I found my teaching style—and my sanity (almost). By Easter, I’d struck a decent work-life balance, figuring out how to plan more efficiently (though a good PowerPoint still remains my trusty sidekick).

I originally thought I would love the fun of teaching KS3, but teaching GCSE and Sixth Form turned out to be equally fulfilling. I’ve also surprised myself by shifting my career goals—from thinking I’d love a pastoral role, to realising that I have a real passion for curriculum development and data (who knew?). Now, as KS3 lead for Computer Science, I’m setting my sights on becoming the department head.

Looking to the future, I’m excited to continue growing at Nishkam High School, where the students keep me on my toes, and the staff always have my back. If the first year taught me anything, it’s that the teaching profession is full of surprises—but that’s exactly why I love it. Bring on year two!” Jo Blackburn, PGCE Secondary Computer Science

“Having a strong foundation in teacher training is the key as to why am I still successful in my teaching career. Training during COVID-19 changed the face of teaching for me. The unknown caused me to search for a strong ITT programme and a personal blueprint to follow and to understand what kind of teacher I could become post-COVID.

I faced many challenges during my training year, from studying online which tested my determination and focus to a school placement with very little individual teaching available. Newman University’s teaching team had been very supportive throughout and kept encouraging me till the end of my course. The fellow teachers who were training alongside were a great emotional support and helped my journey further. Newman became the teaching family I needed at the time, and I do still look up to them.

A key influence in my teaching career is John Keenan, whose truly instrumental with his continues support to help me become the teacher I am today. Not only do I remember his wise words but also the passion he had for English and teacher training, which resonates in my classes to date.

This passion has further evolved into pastoral, now that I am into my second successful year in the role of Assistant Head of House. Whilst balancing teaching English with behaviour, attendance and punctuality; I can now help students holistically to succeed in life, by inspiring them to excel in English and academia in general.

I hope to stay within the field of pastoral and further serve as a pillar of support to ensure all students, from all walks of life, leave school with unlimited opportunities.” Stacey Spencer, PGCE Secondary English

“I studied PGCE Secondary Science with Biology at Newman University. Throughout my training year, the PGCE Science team consistently shared their pedagogical expertise and scientific knowledge, which I have been able to successfully apply to my teaching. My university-based mentor was nothing but supportive and was always on hand to guide me though any challenges I was experiencing during my school placements.

Although my specialism is in Biology, Newman provided me with the opportunity to teach outside my specialism which has supported me in my transition from trainee teacher to ECT. I am now a full time Science teacher at an Oftsed ‘Outstanding’ school and could not be more grateful to Newman University for helping me to become the confident and reflective practitioner I am today.”

 

“A big chunk of my success I believe is down to having a engaging and helpful tutor in Ben, he was always available when needed and helpful with whatever questions I had.” School Direct student, PGCE History

 

One trainee sent a message to let us know how the course and job had changed her life.

“I just wanted to say hello and let you know about how much I am enjoying teaching. The fact that each day is a different day, and no two days are the same is just amazing. I am really enjoying teaching and I feel I definitely made the right career choice, as I have made a lot of progress. There have been some bumps in the road, but I would not change a thing.”

 

 

The ITE secondary programme is securely based on a vision of ‘changing lives, shaping futures’. The university has designed a course that models and teaches high ambition, inclusive practice and secure subject knowledge.

Course tutors know trainees and placement schools very well. Relationships are valued by all. Partner schools embrace the shared values and professional respect that defines the partnership. This provides an excellent role model for trainees, who quickly demonstrate these same professional behaviours.

Trainees benefit from the carefully and skilfully developed ‘Newman curriculum’. Based on four interconnecting themes, the curriculum is sequenced well to ensure that all trainees develop a rich and deep knowledge of effective teaching. The curriculum is particularly effective at promoting trainees’ professional behaviours and their understanding of adaptive practice. This helps trainees to become inclusive, resilient teachers who want the very best for the pupils that they teach. Subject experts design and deliver the well-considered subject curriculums, ensuring that it fully covers the CCF.

Centre-based staff build very positive relationships with partner schools. These relationships are grounded on a collective ambition to train teachers who have the skills to teach in the local community and beyond. Centre-based training and school placement experiences are explicitly linked so that trainees have every opportunity to apply their learning in classroom practice.

Leaders step in quickly to provide support and guidance to mentors who need it. Leaders ensure there are effective systems to monitor the progress of trainees. Clear weekly targets, based on lesson observations and coverage of the curriculum ‘big questions’ ensure that trainees continue to strengthen their practice.

The pastoral support provided to trainees is a strength of the provision. There is a structured programme of support available for trainees who may need it. This means that trainees are fully supported, whatever their needs. Trainees are highly appreciative of the care and support they receive during and beyond their training.

Ask Us A Question

Modules

For more information on the subject-specific modules, please email FED@newman.ac.uk.

Modules are subject to change.