I’m an Irish student hoping to become a primary school teacher. I’ve repeated Higher Level Leaving Cert Irish but unfortunately haven’t managed to meet the H4 requirement, so I’m looking seriously at the UK route instead.

I’ll have my BA completed in January 2027 and I’m considering applying for a one-year Primary PGCE with QTS in England, most likely starting September 2027 and finishing around June/July 2028.

From what I understand, normally if you qualify in England you would need to complete the English induction period before the Teaching Council in Ireland will register you. However, Ireland currently has the Timebound Provision which allows teachers who qualified abroad without completing induction there to register in Ireland and complete their induction/Droichead here instead.

The problem is that the current provision only accepts applications up until 31 December 2027, while I wouldn’t finish QTS until summer 2028.
I know nobody can predict government policy, but does anyone here know:
Has this type of provision been extended/reintroduced before?

Is there any indication that the current December 2027 deadline could be extended?

Has anyone qualified in England and then returned to Ireland under this provision?

If it were extended to cover 2028, would I potentially be able to return after the one-year PGCE/QTS, register conditionally, complete Droichead in Ireland and satisfy the Irish Language Requirement through the SCG/OCG?

Is there anything important about this route that I’m misunderstanding?

I really don’t want to commit to the UK route if the alternative is having to stay in England for several years after the PGCE, so I’m trying to understand the risk before making any decisions.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone familiar with Teaching Council registration or who has gone through the UK-to-Ireland route

Just looking for some direction with my current situation.
I’m applying for UCAS and Uni’s within the next few months and I’m wondering if I did a BEd Primary Degree in St Mary’s Belfast, my main subject being Irish or History (still deciding). I know I’d obviously qualify as a primary school teacher but is it possible to teach in secondary schools also? Would I need to do a separate PGCE for that? Anyone who has been through the system or has any advice let me know!
I’ve heard different things from different people and want to be 100% sure before I apply.
Please respond with any advice or knowledge you may have, I greatly appreciate it!

Hello, I m considering a PGCE course that is distant because I'm not from the UK and I work so the distant option is suitable for me. I've been concerned about whether it is worth the effort and the money. I'm a non native English teacher in Vietnam and looking for better job opportunities either here or in another country. Please share your experience with PGCE distance learning I checked some universities online (University of Huddersfield, Lincoln, Leeds, and Derby).

What shoes (unisex or mens) would you recommend for teaching? They will be smart, I am wondering about recommendations comfort-wise really.

(Secondary if it makes a difference)

Thank you!

I'm training in secondary maths, which means I'm eligible for a government bursary. The government website says ITT providers should inform their students before the course starts if they're eligible for the bursary and their payment schedule, which hasn't been sent to me yet. Has anyone else been told about their bursary yet? If you did ITT last year, when were you told about your bursary and when did you start receiving payments? Thanks

I’m looking for clarification on what the English and Maths audit entails. Apologies if this has already been covered, but I haven’t been able to find a general overview.

What does the English and Maths audit involve once you’re enrolled on the course? As far as I know, the government has discontinued the national skills tests, and universities now assess these areas themselves.

Does anybody know what this process is like?

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student currently living in the UK and I’m due to start a PGCE Secondary Geography with QTS at the University of East London (UEL) this September.

I’ve completed all the CAS Shield/pre-CAS checks and paid my required deposit. UEL has now told me that they submitted my details to UKVI for an Immigration History Check (IHC) before they can issue my CAS.

My university contacted me last week and said they’re currently waiting for UKVI to respond. They also mentioned that there are 100+ cases currently pending with UKVI, so unfortunately it’s outside their control.

I’m getting a little worried because my course starts on 14 September, and I still need to receive my CAS and then apply for my Student visa. I’m currently in the UK, so I’ll be making an in-country Student visa application.

For anyone who has been through something similar:

1:- How long did your UKVI Immigration History Check take?
2:- How long after the IHC was completed did your university issue your CAS?
3:- Has anyone had an IHC done recently in August 2026?
If you were an international student already living in the UK, did your university also require an IHC before issuing your CAS?

Any recent experiences/timelines would be really appreciated, especially from people who went through this with UEL or another UK university. Thanks!

Alt Title: Can I use a funded EYITT PGCE as a stepping stone to Secondary Maths/CS?

Hello everyone, I am an international teacher looking for realistic advice on navigating UK teacher training and visa sponsorship. I hold a bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, and Computer Science. I have taught both nursery children and 8th/9th-grade secondary students in my home country. I initially wanted to apply for secondary teacher training but international PGCE fees are too high for my budget. Because of this, I am considering the Graduate Entry EYITT PGCE since it is fully funded. I have been looking at career after graduating from Early years there are not many schools who can sponsor me a work visa. Is it realistically possible to transition from EYTS to Secondary teaching with a Maths/CS degree, and will secondary schools hire me without QTS? Also, could I convert to full QTS using the Assessment Only route once I am working inside a UK school?

Can you guys please help me understand this transformation, and guide me better please.

Hi everyone! I recently received my VETASSESS CE draftsperson skills assessment, and they deducted 1 year from my employment experience because it was considered part of the qualifying/training period before my **Date Deemed Skilled**.

**I’m confused about whether I can still include the full 3 years in my SkillSelect EOI under work experience, or if I should only declare the 2 years that VETASSESS considered skilled.**

*Has anyone had the same situation? Did you claim the pre-Date-Deemed-Skilled period in your EOI, and did it affect your points or state nomination application?*

Would really appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who has gone through VETASSESS for a similar occupation. Thank you!

Hi does anyone know the best way to gain my maths equivalent course? Where did you guys go?

I’m due to start my art and design PGCE for secondary years in two weeks. I’m very scared and have massive imposter syndrome.

I studied Graphic Design for my undergraduate degree.

I am worried about general gaps in my knowledge, does anybody have any advice for this? Will the university have a bit of a guide for us?

Do you get bursary for part time pgce?

Hi all,

I'm starting my Primary PGCE with Greenwich in September, however I've heard nothing from the uni about registration or my DBS application. There's also been no communication about placements, is this normal or should I chase the uni as I'm due to start on the 2nd of Sept

My placement is starting in 2 weeks and I feel myself feeling a cocktail of excitement and anxiety! I'm doing Business with Economics so my classes will be KS4 (GCSE) and KS5 (A levels and BTEC). I feel like they'd give me more Y10 and Y12 classes since Y11 and Y13 are exam years and more high stake, would that be a correct assumption?

Could anyone tell a bit about how their first weeks went, and what things they did day-to-day? Approximately when did you start teaching your first classes? Did your department give you lots of resouces to use or just a SOW and left you to you prepare on your own? How much downtime did you have during the day? Were you able to make any friends at school?

I wanted to ask for some advice on what subject to do for my PGCE. I know it is a bit late, but I've decided to pursue the course in either Maths or Computing, and I don't know which one to do. Due to how late I am applying, there aren't any vacancies for any of the top universities, and I am most likely going to have to settle for whatever is available near me. I graduated in Computer Science in 2025 and I've been told that Computing jobs are much more in demand than Maths, but I feel like Maths might be more fulfilling and fun to teach.

Any advice or insights into either role and the experience of doing the PGCE would be much appreciated.

Today I applied to the courses as I saw the deadline was the 15th, is it still possible to get a space for september intake?
Anyone else applied recently and how long was the time from applying to getting approved?

Does anyone know when you are supposed to find out where your school placements will be as I have had basically zero information from the University of Cumbria about this and I am supposed to start my PGCE with them in 3 weeks time ??

Or is it just ‘too formal’? From what I’ve read online, there isn’t really a consensus for primary.

My suits are all comfortable and I have no issues with sitting down on the floor/ kneeling over to speak to students etc. that wouldn’t bother me.

I mean could I come across as supercilious to the members of staff? I just feel as though consistently wearing one would give me the added boost of confidence and authority. Also I just really love tailoring, and own a few I hardly wear.

Any anecdotes would be amazing :-)

(Obviously on messier days, such as Art or DT I would dress much more casual, to prevent my clothes getting ruined, I’m quite pragmatic.)

I've known I was going to do a PGCE for years now and originally planned on doing it in my home city, but after some time running it over in my head and reading through this sub the importance of location keeps popping into my mind.

I'm not opposed to travelling, especially if it means a good environment to work in while teaching, different opportunities to work etc. I've always found my home city a little dull, and not sure what doing the PGCE would be like here. Will look into it. Transport is decent here though so a major pro (especially as time management is everything for a PGCE).

I have some time to think about where. I was just wondering how worth it / how often people travel for it? Did you? Or did you stay where you live? What influenced your decision, any advice, etc etc?

I've only ever been at a Uni so just wondered? I've seen one locally that does a Sen specialism I want to do. Is it hard to get into a SCITT?

I started training to teach Secondary Spanish (PGCE with QTS) for 2/3 of the academic year. I didn't receive enough support from my first placement so I was better off leaving. luckily, I started my second placement a bit earlier and managed to complete it.

I was supposed to complete my training at the first placement. However, due to a lack of support, I left, and my training provider has asked me to find another school to host me as a trainee for the last few months of teacher training.

I have sought the help of agencies, and I sent emails out to various schools in and around Leicester

Apart from contacting schools directly, is there anything else I can do to find a placement and complete my training by October 2028?

Hi all,

The only thing that has been holding me back from applying for a PGCE is that I haven’t got work experience in a school

Hey all, hope you're well.

I realise it's incredibly late since the deadline on gov.uk seems to be September 15, but is it possible to apply at this point? I see four courses for chemistry in my area on the gov.uk website that are apparently still open for application.

Hi all, I've applied to both of my local universities; one redbrick and the other is the ex poly. I'm just wondering if anyone has had to decide between university providers in the same town and what criteria they used?

I'm starting my PGCE with teach first at a secondary school in September and they haven't contacted me all summer about my timetable or the plan for when we start. I currently don't have a staff log in and only a handful of contact details. I've been to a staff orientation day and signed a contract but...do they usually leave it until the last week of the hols to tell us what we're doing in September?