Design and Technology
This course will provide the first steps on your journey to becoming an oustanding teacher of D&T. It will secure your understanding of the role Design and Technology plays within a diverse and engaging curriculum and the life skills it provides to learners, allowing them to actively contribute to a technology-rich society.
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 DT 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?
You will investigate varied approaches to developing students’ knowledge and understanding of designing and making as well as their practical skills. You will develop expertise in planning and delivering well-structured lessons and sequence of work that allow all learners to meet their full potential and provides progression across the key stages.
You will learn how to contribute to a curriculum which makes learning within D&T enjoyable, current and relevant; aligning it as closely as possible with the practices of real designers and makers from a wide range of fields. You will explore how to develop learners into confident and effective problem solvers who will be able to work with others to meet the human needs of the future.
You will be teaching the national curriculum for DT.
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.
