PGCE advice - no school experience

I’m currently applying for a PGCE starting in September and I don’t have any experience of working in schools. I have informal experience of working with children in my local mosque years ago and I have plenty of experience with children and looking after them but ultimately, I lack proper experience of working in schools.
Do you think it’s worth I continue with my application? I’ve tried so hard the past few weeks to volunteer at schools but I’ve had no luck. All the schools I’ve asked aren’t taking on volunteers and it’s too late to join an agency for a temporary job.
So I’m questioning if I should even continue with my application because of this… Has anyone completed their PGCE and not had any prior experience? And if you have, how did you combat the lack of experience in schools with your application and interview?

I’m currently applying for a PGCE starting in September and I don’t have any experience of working in schools. I have informal experience of working with children in my local mosque years ago and I have plenty of experience with children and looking after them but ultimately, I lack proper experience of working in schools.
Do you think it’s worth I continue with my application? I’ve tried so hard the past few weeks to volunteer at schools but I’ve had no luck. All the schools I’ve asked aren’t taking on volunteers and it’s too late to join an agency for a temporary job.
So I’m questioning if I should even continue with my application because of this… Has anyone completed their PGCE and not had any prior experience? And if you have, how did you combat the lack of experience in schools with your application and interview?

I’m currently applying for a PGCE starting in September and I don’t have any experience of working in schools. I have informal experience of working with children in my local mosque years ago and I have plenty of experience with children and looking after them but ultimately, I lack proper experience of working in schools.
Do you think it’s worth I continue with my application? I’ve tried so hard the past few weeks to volunteer at schools but I’ve had no luck. All the schools I’ve asked aren’t taking on volunteers and it’s too late to join an agency for a temporary job.
So I’m questioning if I should even continue with my application because of this… Has anyone completed their PGCE and not had any prior experience? And if you have, how did you combat the lack of experience in schools with your application and interview?

Hi Ruddy28,
I'm sorry I can't answer your question from a perspective of finishing a course, but I am in the same boat and wanted to encourage you to still apply. I am applying for primary teaching after a 20 year career in design so I have no classroom experience either, but my TTA has assured me that's ok and a course advisor from my selected course verified this.
The following may help you write a short section reflecting on teaching you have seen.
https://www.tes.com/news/what-is-pedagogy-definition
https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/
https://www.thenational.academy/online-classroom
I found the on-line classroom helpful and writing about why I thought the teachers did certain things. Eg. The teacher added pauses and questions to allow children time to check their understanding and keep engagement levels up.
When you are giving examples of effective teaching strategies, try to link back to your own transferable skills, as this will help you to talk from a place of knowledge and passion when asked about it at interview. I hope this helps. Also do you have a TTA? They are super helpful with your personal statement and interview prep. If not go on the you.gov get into teaching website and register for an advisor. And finally, wishing you the best of luck x

Hi there,
I would say to still apply anyways as lots of people doing PCGE will not necessarily have prior experience of working in or volunteering within a school. The experience that you have gained from working with and looking after children at your mosque is something that you could talk about in your application if you feel like it would be appropriate for the universities you are applying for. Throughput your PCGE you will gain a lot of experience from placement at schools which will give you good practice with teaching whilst getting use to the classroom if your PCGE course is school based.
I know that for our PCGE courses you do not need prior experience of working with children or within a school setting but need to meet the entry requirements with your undergraduate grade as well as pass checks such as DBS and safeguarding.
Are you looking at working with primary students or secondary?
I hope this helps 😊
Katie - Student Ambassador

Hi @Ruddy28
A Teacher Training Adviser (TTA) that @LauraBG82 is referring to, can be acquired here - https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/teacher-training-adviser/sign_up/identity
All our advisers are qualified teachers and have a wealth of experience in the classroom. I echo what Laura is saying, not having school experience isn't a barrier to you making a successful application for a place on a teacher training course.
All the best, Jane

Hello 😊 Just wanted to share that I applied without any classroom experience and I’ve received two offers! 🙂 I’d say definitely apply!

Hi! Thank you so much for sharing that! I feel so much better knowing that as I have taken on yours and everybody else’s’ advice and applied! I wish you all the best on your journey!

What sort of PGCE are you applying for? A uni-led 'traditional' one is better for someone with no experience as you won;t be dumped in a classroom on day one. Avoid 'Teach first' or school-based SCITTs,

Funnily enough, I’m actually going to start my SCITT in September. At first I was thinking of doing a uni led PGCE, but the more I looked into it, the more I realised a SCITT would actually work out better for me.
Uni would mean commuting (by means of public transport) far and A LOT and I really didn’t want to do that as I’d be waking up and commuting at ungodly hours. Sleep is definitely something I struggle with so that certainly factored into why I decided to choose the SCITT, especially considering my placement will be local.
Also, personally, I’m much more of a learning in person type and I feel like I would acclimatise to teaching faster than I would in a uni led PGCE, which is why I decided to go for the SCITT.

I’m currently applying for a PGCE starting in September and I don’t have any experience of working in schools. I have informal experience of working with children in my local mosque years ago and I have plenty of experience with children and looking after them but ultimately, I lack proper experience of working in schools.
Do you think it’s worth I continue with my application? I’ve tried so hard the past few weeks to volunteer at schools but I’ve had no luck. All the schools I’ve asked aren’t taking on volunteers and it’s too late to join an agency for a temporary job.
So I’m questioning if I should even continue with my application because of this… Has anyone completed their PGCE and not had any prior experience? And if you have, how did you combat the lack of experience in schools with your application and interview?

Hello 😊 Just wanted to share that I applied without any classroom experience and I’ve received two offers! 🙂 I’d say definitely apply!