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Writing a personal statement for a PGCE

How To Write a PGCE Personal Statement

Your personal statement is crucial to the success of your application and must be well written, concise, well-structured. It must also clearly demonstrate your reasons for choosing teaching and your commitment and suitability for this career in only 47 lines!

Before applying, do your research. Find out what being a teacher is really like. Get experience in a school, talk to teachers and read careers information.

General Tips:

• Compose your statement in Word and cut and paste it into your online application. This will allow you to ensure it fits, that you have used spell check and have proofread it to ensure its word perfect. Personal statements with a poor level of written English will be rejected.
• Use Verdana 12 as this is the size and font used by UCAS.
• Ensure it has a good structure with an introduction, a middle and a conclusion.
• Get someone to check your final draft who is knowledgeable in this area and whose judgement you trust.
• Research the Training Provider you are applying for. Which skills/experience/qualifications do they expect?

Your Personal Statement should:

• be persuasive
• be fluent, realistic, relevant and specific
• mention young people- it is about enabling them to learn rather than why you want to teach
• overuse of short sentences all beginning with ‘I’
• general statements and narrative
• I feel/think/believe – instead, use positive action words e.g. planned/managed/implemented/organised
• making a statement without having evidence to back it up

Sections in your Personal Statement:

• Introduction- why teaching and why you?
• The relevance of your work experience
• What subject you want to teach and why?
• Additional factors
• Concluding paragraph

1.Introduction

Why teaching?

• What is your motivation? What has influenced your decision to teach? Avoid ‘I have always wanted to teach’ or ‘I believe teaching is worthwhile’ or ‘I like children’.
• Concentrate on what influenced your decision to teach, how the idea has developed and what can you offer in terms of personal skills and attributes.
• Have certain people influenced you? Why? How?
• Show your desire to work with young people and refer to evidence.

Make a list of skills and qualities that you have that can be linked to all the key skills that make an effective teacher and how you can demonstrate this with examples:

• Organisation
• Communication
• Energy & enthusiasm
• Responsibility
• Love of subject
• Team player

2.Relevant Experience

School-based experience:

• Where? Try to avoid visiting the school you attended as a pupil
• How long for? One day is probably not enough time to see what it means to be a teacher, you need enough time to gain a good understanding of teaching and schools.
• What did you do? Did you observe lessons, work as a TA, attend meetings/training/ research curriculum/teaching and learning/had a focus on EAL or SEND pupils?
• What Key Stages did you experience? Make sure it is relevant to the specific PGCE course you are applying for.
• What techniques did you observe? Effective and not effective and why?
• Lesson-planning
• Classroom organisation
• Classroom management
• Inclusion/ diversity issues e.g. English as an additional language (EAL); special educational needs (SEND); disadvantaged pupils and gifted and talented pupils.

Always say what you have done and how it demonstrates the skills required as a teacher. For example, ‘reading with a group of pupils showed me that…’ or ‘working with a low ability group allowed me to…’

Other work with young people (paid/unpaid): 

• Youth groups
• After school groups
• Summer camps

What if you don’t have any relevant experience?

Highlight the other experiences you have engaged in and use these to demonstrate your understanding of teaching and schools.

3. What subject you want to teach and why?

• For Secondary, you need to show that you are passionate about your subject area and passing on that enthusiasm to young people.
• Link to relevant work experience, what have you observed and match your skills to this.
• Refer to any research you have done regarding your subject and also the curriculum/ examinations you would be required to teach at that Key Stage
• Link your qualifications and wider reading to your subject knowledge, if your qualifications are not relevant you need to show how you are going to develop your subject knowledge in order to teach the subject.
• State why you have applied to this particular type of PGCE course e.g. school-based/ flexibility/ reputation.

4. Additional Factors

• Hobbies linked to the profession/ skill set e.g. value-added skills such as sport, music, language etc.
• Additional courses you have completed/ completing e.g. ICT, subject knowledge enhancement course etc.
• Further experiences planned for the future prior to commencing a PGCE course.

5. Concluding Paragraph

• State your commitment to the course, acknowledge that teaching requires dedication, stamina, time management, being pro-active
• Reinforce your reasons for being committed to teaching
• Demonstrate awareness of the physical and mental demands of the course and the profession
• Career plan – what is your goal for your teaching career?

A teacher’s must-have qualities:

• Interpersonal skills
• Ability to think of their feet
• Good time-management

Background Reading

www.ucas.com/ucas/teacher-training 

Times Educational Supplement ( www.tes.com )

www.theguardian.com/education

Ready to apply for a course with us? Visit our How to Apply section for what to do next

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Your personal statement – Claire Harnden

Tuesday 6 november 2018, teacher training.

by Claire Harnden

Ready to apply?

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How to get into teaching

How to write your teacher training personal statement

Your teacher training personal statement should express why you'd make a great teacher and spell out your experiences, qualities and skills. We've got the inside track from Admissions Tutors on how to go about writing a good teacher training personal statement, what to do and what not to overlook...

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Let's start with a look at when to apply for teacher training. Places on teacher training courses are filled on a first come first serve basis. This is due to two factors. Firstly, the Department for Education set the maximum number of trainees on some courses. But the thing that really limits the number of places available is ensuring that there are enough school placements for all trainees. Training providers can only recruit up to a number that is manageable in terms of providing the trainees with the placement experiences they need.

Places for the most popular subjects tend to go early, for example, Physical Education (PE), Primary and Psychology. Shortage subjects such as Chemistry, Computing, Maths and Physics don’t fill up so fast.

The route you are taking into teaching may also influence when you apply. School Direct is run by the schools themselves and they can only take as many trainees as they can train within their schools. They may only have the one place available for your chosen subject and once those placements are gone, they’re gone. Universities tend to have larger and wider networks of partner schools which provide school placements. This gives them more options for finding school placements so they may have places available for longer. Unlike School Direct you don’t get to choose exactly which school you go to, though they’ll try to match your school placements to your preferences as much as possible. If you apply late you run the risk that all the placements are gone.

So, you want to apply as soon as you can, with a brilliant personal statement that reflects who you are and why you want to become a teacher. So, what does that look like?

Your teacher training personal statement broadly needs to convey four things:

• Your passion for wanting to become a teacher and commitment to the profession.
• Your reasons for wanting to teach your chosen subject.
• The skills and experience that you’ll bring to the role of teacher.
• Your awareness of the realities of what lies ahead - it’s a challenging but rewarding role so you need to be realistic about this and be aware of some of the hot topics facing the sector.

Kate Brimacombe, Associate Professor of Education and Associate Director of the Teacher Education Partnership at Plymouth Marjon University, explains what she is looking for in a teacher training personal statement:

“It's really lovely to get something that's individual and firstly I want to see that passion for wanting to work with children. You absolutely can get that across - it comes off the page.

“It can’t feel half-hearted, it needs to feel committed. If independence, motivation, and self-reliance don’t sing off the page, then that's an error in a sense. You need to get your personality into the written word, I’m looking for that fire that says ‘this is absolutely what I want to do’. One common mistake is being too short so that it doesn’t get that passion across. The lack of content and desire are the main reasons I don't shortlist candidates.”

You must convey why you want to teach your subject. What is your expertise? Why do you love it? What are the challenges facing teachers of your subject? Why do you want to teach this? Think about the age group you’ll be teaching and discuss why you want to teach them. What relevant experience do you have? How does your experience to date influence your thinking?

Ultimately, you’ve got to inspire others to love your subject, so be clear about how your own relationship to it is going to enable this.

The ingredients of a convincing teacher training personal statement are:

• Passion for teaching. Express your drive and fire on the page.
• Be individual. Stand out in a positive light; one tip here is not to waste characters on quotes, they don’t say anything about you.
• Convey your desire to work with children. Explain where this comes from.
• Prove it. Include the things you have actively done, what you’ve learnt from real life experiences in schools and/or working with children, and what you got out of it.
• Demonstrate the qualities of a teacher. Point out your commitment, empathy, independence, innovation, motivation, patience, self-reliance, and tip-top organisation skills.
• Depth. Don’t cut it too short, you’re allowed up to 4000 characters which is around 600-700 words, so write until you’re thereabouts, and then edit it so that it reads even better.

In addition, for a strong personal statement you’ll want to demonstrate some awareness of the national curriculum for your subject and then highlight how your subject knowledge maps to it.

Back to Kate for another crucial tip: “The other big thing is that we’re checking the accuracy of your spelling and grammar, it must be correct if you’re going to be a teacher. To be fair, we don't get a lot of mistakes because I think people understand that expectations around written and verbal communication are high in teaching.”

Some aspiring teachers know they want to teach but are uncertain on the age group or subject. For example, maybe you love sport and are keen to be a secondary PE teacher, but you also enjoy working with younger children at sports clubs so you’re feeling split. In this scenario, try to settle this before you apply but if you can’t then write honestly about the situation and take extra care to ensure that neither option comes across being the fallback one that you’re not really committed to.

The magic ingredient: Examples from your own experience

There's no one way to structure your teacher training personal statement but be sure to back up every point you make with evidence. A great way to do this is give real life examples of what you actually did, and what you learned from it. It’s not enough to just list your work experience, you need to explain what you learned and how this experience will help you as a teacher.

You don’t need school experience to apply for a teaching course, though it helps. But if you don’t have school experience then you at least need some transferable skills, so any other experience of working with children is valid here, things like helping with sports teams and youth clubs are valid too. Use your examples to demonstrate the skills you’d bring to the role of teacher.

You could also refer to a teacher who made a difference to you at school, or who influenced your love of working with children and helping them to learn.

By discussing examples, you can also demonstrate that you are realistic about the role, in that is challenging as well as rewarding. For example, you might discuss a session you observed or taught, reflecting on what went well, how you adapted to the situation and how you would improve on it.

This is how to make effective use of real life examples, according to Julie Stevens, course leader for PGCE Secondary Education at Plymouth Marjon University: “I want to read about how you’ve helped a pupil to make progress. What did you change? How did you recognise they weren’t learning? What did you adapt to help them understand? Maybe you modelled it or talked it through? How did the child respond? You might talk for example about why a child was messing around or why a seating chart was put together in a certain way. It’s really encouraging when a candidate offers insights into teaching and that sense of self-reflection”.

You can talk about that examples that demonstrate transferable skills. For example, maybe you had to be resilient to get your Duke of Edinburgh award, maybe you’re a leader on the sports field or maybe you’re a dedicated musician with the music exams to prove it?

In addition, the way you talk about children is really important, the training provider needs to know that you see them as individuals and that you want to help them become independent thinkers. Back to Julie again for more about this: “I want to see candidates who talk about children as individuals and how you can help them make the best progress they can. Helping young people to make decisions for themselves and become independent learners, so that they take responsibility for their own success is essential for adulthood.

"It’s great when someone can talk about innovative things, like how to use social media for good outcomes. Anything like that is powerful because it means they understand our role as educators – we aren’t just filling them with knowledge, we're trying to get children and young people to understand how to develop themselves.”

Get your referee geared up

References really do matter. Julie and Kate report that in practice most of barriers to shortlisting a candidate come not from the personal statement, but from references that are too short. They’ve seen references as short as three lines and that doesn’t tell them enough about you and your suitability for a career in teaching. You could be an impressive candidate, but you can’t be offered a place until your reference checks out.

If you’re applying for undergraduate teacher training through UCAS then one reference is required. If you’re applying for postgraduate teacher training then you’ll need two references. If you’re at university, or have been within the past five years, then one reference must be from someone at your university. The other reference can be from someone who knows you from work, and if you’re applying for School Direct then one of your references must come from your current employer.

A good reference says good things about you and backs up some of qualities and skills you’ve outlined in your personal statement. Your referee needs to talk about your character and why they think you could be a great teacher. The training provider is looking for insight; a different perspective on you, and hopefully one that that verifies the impressions they’re taking from your statement.

You can do a lot to make sure your reference is on point. First ask your referees if they are willing to be your referee and if they think you’ve got the potential to be a good teacher. Next you need to arm them with all the arguments as to why you’ll be a good teacher, they probably don’t know everything you do. Ideally they would read your personal statement so that they can write a reference that complements it.

If applicable, ask your referee to comment on your academic abilities, including your predicted grades. If possible, go through the reference with your referee as you might see something they’ve missed. If so, ask if they are willing to add it, it’s up to them but you can suggest things.

A good teacher training personal statement shows passion and love for teaching, as well as that you’ve done some research and that you’re dedicated to teaching career. Show your personality; show them the teacher you could be. @marjonuni

Back to Kate for closing advice: “Speak with honesty and speak from the heart. I’m looking for passion. I'm looking for somebody I think the has the potential. Then when you come to interview, I already know that you have that passion and so you just need to add the shine to that and tell us more about it in-person, one to one. In that way your teacher training personal statement is the stepping stone into the interview, if it does its job then we’ll be excited to find out more about you”.

You’ve got this. Follow the advice above and you’ll have a brilliant teacher training personal statement in the bag. The next step will be your teacher training interview, so why not check out our articles on how to ace your teacher training interview and teacher training interview questions .

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How To... Write Your Teacher Training Application

Submitting an application for teacher training can be a daunting task, especially when faced with writing a personal statement. Knowing how much to write and what content to include can be a minefield, so we've compiled a quick list of things to consider when writing your personal statement

Things to know before you start...

1. you will use the same personal statement for each provider you apply for.

The Department for Education (DfE) Apply portal will allow you to submit an application to up to four ITT providers. This means that your personal statement has to be broad enough to apply to multiple courses, without sounding non-committal. This makes writing your personal statement quite tricky!

2. You may be eligible for a teacher training adviser

Some applicants may be eligible to apply for an adviser from the DfE to support them with their application for teacher training. You'll need a 2:2 or higher in a bachelor's degree with honours, or be in your final year of study and be predicted a 2:2 or higher.

More information about applying for a teacher training adviser, click here!

3. References are not requested until you accept an offer

One of the biggest changes by the DfE this year to applications is the process of requesting references. Previously, references were obtained as part of the application process, and providers would be able to see references when your application is submitted. Now, reference details are submitted as part of your application, but referees are not notified of your reference request until you accept an offer from a provider.

These changes have been designed to assist career changers in their move into teaching. Many were put off at the thought of requesting a reference from their current employer as part of their application - now, applicants can list their current employer as a reference without fear of letting them know they are moving into teaching with an assured place.

4. If you're not successful the first time...

Providers have to provide you with feedback on your application in the event of a rejection, whether this be at application stage or interview stage. Feedback will appear on your application, and you will be notified via email. Read through your feedback and make the appropriate

Tips for writing your application

1. check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.

One of the most common mistakes we see on applications is failure to pay attention to spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG). It might not seem too important, but in teaching having a good level of SPaG is essential, as you will be modelling writing and spelling to children in the classroom. To help, ask someone to proofread your application, whether that be a family member, a friend, or a teacher training adviser.

You may also want to use software to help you identify any errors. This could be using word processors such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs (which have in-built spell-checkers), or browser extensions such as Grammarly. Make sure any software you use is set to English (UK), and that the changes it suggests sound correct before you approve them!

This applies not only to your personal statement, but your application as a whole. Check all areas for SPaG, including your personal details and work history sections.

2. Focus on why you want to teach

In your personal statement, the emphasis should be on why you want to teach. This should be backed up by examples of skills and work experience that you have (even if it is not school related!). Focus on your transferable skills and what you know about the teaching profession already.

While your experience is important, don't fall into the trap of repeating your full work history - you should use your previous experience as examples of how you have key skills required to be a teacher, and what you learnt from these experiences that will help you with your teacher training. Make sure it is all relevant to why you want to teach!

3. Do your research!

If you already work in a school, showcasing your skills and passion for teaching can seem much easier to do. However, the best personal statements are not always created from experience, but from research and a good understanding of what it means to be a teacher.

Research key topics in the teaching profession before you start writing. This will give you a focal point for our experience and skills on, making it easier to demonstrate why you're ready for teacher training and passionate about the profession. Think about your transferrable skills and how they will help you with things such as professionalism in the workplace, behaviour management and even safeguarding

4. AI is a supportive tool... not an application creator

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown massively in the last 12 months, and it can be very tempting to use AI to write your whole personal statement. However, AI-created applications are vague and impersonal, with generic and unusual language often highlighting applications completely written using AI.

You can use AI platforms to help you with your personal statement, but they should be used as a tool to assist your writing. You can ask it to help you re-word sentences, generate ideas to include in your statement, or even help you condense the number of words you have written! Make sure you check anything it produces thoroughly, looking out for American spellings or any incorrect information that it generates. Remember that it is a tool , not a content creator!

5. Pay attention to your whole application

While the personal statement is undoubtedly a significant part of your application, it is important that you pay equal attention to all sections. We commonly see major mistakes in other areas such as work history or reference details, which can hinder your application even if your personal statement is strong.

Make sure your personal details are inputted correctly, and that you provide your full work history on your application. If you have any gaps in employment, make sure these are sufficiently explained i.e. was in full-time education, or on parental leave.

Reference details are also extremely important. You should provide accurate referee information, including how they know you and in what capacity. Remember, references are not requested until you accept an offer.

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How To... Prepare For Your Teacher Training Interview

Resources and Links 

Once on the programme, trainees can use their username and password to log on to SharePoint to access all SCITT resources and documentation.

How to Apply https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/how-to-apply-for-teacher-training

The ‘Get School Experience’ Programme  https://schoolexperience.education.gov.uk/ 

Student Loan Company http://www.slc.co.uk/

The Deepings School Website http://www.deepings.anthemtrust.uk/

Ofsted Report View Here

Writing your personal statement for ITT applications

Advice from harinder boughton, the scitt director.

Your application form is your chance to make a good first impression and your Personal Statement is a vital element. In my role, I read literally hundreds of applications for teacher training every year and your statement is my sole insight into you at the point at which I am deciding whether or not to invite you to interview.

I read your personal statement first.

Fabulous degrees are a bonus but I am looking for candidates with a passion for teaching, for children, for their subject and for whom ITT is a real commitment. This may be evidenced through your hobbies – are you a Scout Leader? Have you done any voluntary work with children? What time have you spent in schools recently? Do you have a clear understanding of the educational phase / subject for which you are applying? I don’t want to interview applicants who think they might enjoy being a teacher but actually don’t know what this might entail. If you are changing careers then tell me about the reasons for this decision, your employment experience and how this is relevant to working in a school. tell me about your transferable skills.

How much do you wish to teach? This ambition should not be a new or passing fancy. How did your interest in training to teach develop? What have you done to pursue it? I need to see enthusiasm… because so will your students!

If you are struggling to get started then start with your strengths, focus on your enthusiasm for the course and talk positively about yourself.

And don’t forget!

We are all teachers of literacy regardless of phase or subject; spelling, grammar and punctuation are important. An accurate application form tells me that this matters to you, that you can pay attention to detail. As with all parts of your application, make sure that as many people as possible proof read your personal statement. Nothing says ‘unprofessional’ like a personal statement full of typos or grammar mistakes. No-one wants a teacher whose personal literacy is a concern. Also, although you may think you have expressed yourself very clearly, other readers may be able to highlight sentences or words that are incorrect, irrelevant or which could be more clearly expressed. A good personal statement passes through many drafts, so make sure you give enough time to the writing and re-drafting process.

Ensure you keep close to the word count – not too many and not too short.

We look forward to hearing from you, good luck!

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TIPS FOR PERSONAL STATEMENT

How to write an effective personal statement.

Please take time to read the following information which is designed to help you to write your personal statement effectively.

• Remember , the function of the personal statement is to secure an interview • Wring value out of every sentence you put in, cut the waffle • Be clear – don’t make assumptions about the reader’s knowledge • Use concrete examples . If you did something, say exactly what you did (e.g. As a TA I have supported children to develop a range of skills in mathematics. I used a cookery lesson to teach my Y5 pupils about weighing and measuring and have taught volume and capacity to Y1 pupils as part of a topic on looking after our fish) • Say what you learned (e.g. Whilst observing in a Y3 class, I was impressed at the way the pupils responded to the Learning Objectives. I understand how important it is to make these explicit as it helps the children to …) Broadly, the statement should cover these areas: • Why you want to become a teacher • your transferable skills, knowledge and experience relevant to teaching and what they will enable you to offer a school • your philosophy of education – what it’s all about (and this might be where you want to include your thoughts on things like inclusion); • what other transferable skills, knowledge and experience you can offer, including extra-curricular. • Try to include something ‘desirable’ – that little something which will make your application stand out e.g. Willing and able to coach the school football or netball team.

Final Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t: Go over the character limit – the form will just cut you off mid-sentence. Do: • Keep a copy of your application form – you will be asked questions based on it at interview • Draft your statement on Word first then cut and paste. • Proof read very carefully – errors in written English are frowned upon • Get someone else to read over your form before you press send Good Luck!

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An effective personal statement

We ask everyone who applies for a place at Kingsbridge to tell us why they want to join us. The personal statement is your chance to sell yourself to us. We want to know why you want to be a teacher and what drives you. We want to feel your passion for your chosen career path and we want to hear about what you have done so far to make it happen.

We give you 4,000 characters to tell your story and it’s up to you to make the most of it. The kind of things we’re looking for include your skills and experience, not just in teaching but in all aspects of life. We want to hear about your determination to make a difference to the lives of children and young people and the personal attributes that you possess that will help you to do this.

Make sure you proof read your statement before submitting - it’s a good idea to get someone else to read through it as well. Remember - articulation, grammar, spelling, punctuation and presentation are what we are all about!

UCAS offers some great tips on how to write your personal statement and you can find them  here .

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