Religious Education
This course will provide a foundation towards helping you become an outstanding practitioner of Religious Education. You will explore a range of teaching and learning styles, alongside engaging with pedagogy that has proven to be successful for teachers of the subject. The course focuses on helping teachers understand how to engage students in the classroom and to become critical thinkers who develop a love for learning.
What will my course look like?
You will be in school 4 days a week where you will be fully involved in all aspects of a teacher’s work. One day a week you will have your pedagogical training, which will provide a mixture of specific Subject Studies and more general Professional Studies sessions. These training days will focus on elements such as behavioural management, lesson planning, SEND and adaptive teaching, and other factors key to teaching any subject. You will also have a set number of subject-specific training days with RE specialists to develop your subject knowledge.
To enrich your professional practice and develop your expertise you will complete 2 PGCE assignments, which will contribute 60 credits towards a master’s degree awarded by Bath Spa University.
You will be in your school from day one. At the beginning of the year, you will observe expert practitioners, moving towards leading small parts of a lesson and gradually building up to teach whole lessons. By the end of the course, you will be following 80% of a teacher’s timetable independently teaching.
You will receive the support of school-based mentors, as well as members of the BCTSA Central Team and Subject Tutors. You will work closely with your school mentor, who will provide feedback on your teaching, provide opportunities to observe expert pedagogy in the classroom, and have regular meetings with you to support your learning. You will be in two placement schools across the whole course, a main placement, and a secondary complementary placement for one half-term during the Spring, which will enable to you learn in a new environment and see how other schools and departments operate.
What will I be teaching?
The course blends looking at subject specific skills ranging across the key stages whilst also exploring reading techniques, questioning techniques, and a range of techniques to develop the learning of students. As part of the course, Philosophy for learning will be explored to consider how to create a learning environment that inspires confidence and reflective thinking in the classroom. Practitioners will have opportunities to explore how to bring scripture alive in the classroom, whilst exploring how artwork can provide opportunities to explore faith from a creative lens. The course will explore how to develop students’ ability to write extended responses, alongside developing skills of analysis and evaluation. The course provides a gateway into how to develop the confidence of teachers and how to transmit this confidence into the learning environment provided for students, culminating in providing outstanding provision for Religious Education. As Religious Education is not on the national curriculum, you will teach the syllabus of your placement school.
Why train with BCTSA?
Bishop Challoner Training School, in partnership with Alliance schools (BCTSA), is an accredited provider of school-based teacher training in Birmingham and across the West Midlands.
With our personal approach to supporting trainees, you’ll always feel at home with our team. We provide the support you need at every step of the journey, from the application process all the way through the programme, with regular check-ins and a friendly atmosphere to make you achieve your potential as a BCTSA trainee. But don’t just take it from us, read feedback from our trainees!
'[P]ursuing a QTS and PGCE doesn’t have to be daunting. You’ve inspired and engaged me—intellectually, socially, and even physically! I’ve smiled, laughed, and truly felt like part of a team. Most importantly, you made me feel understood and respected, especially when it came to my own limitations.’ – Science trainee, 2024.
‘Appreciate all the assistance I get. I have never ever taken a course where so much support is offered. You are all terrific! I feel like I am in a land of real God mothers all of a sudden! No kidding!’ – Trainee, 2024.
Bishop Challoner Catholic College is the Lead School for the Central Midlands Science Learning Partnership, allowing schools to access high-quality materials and the courses provided.
