Uni to offer part-time teaching training course

The PGCE teacher training course will start at the University of Hertfordshire in September

A university hopes to tackle teacher shortages by offering the chance to join the profession by studying on a part-time basis.

Government statistics suggest only 1.5% of people who start teacher training do so via a part-time route, out of 27,836 who began training in 24/25.

From September, the University of Hertfordshire will be offering aspiring teachers the chance to study for a PGCE qualification at its Hatfield campus, but for three days a week instead of the usual five.

Programme lead Chris Powell said: "The demand for teachers is always outstripping supply, partly because some people who desperately want to go into teaching cannot for a number of reasons."

Programme lead Chris Powell said that demand for new teachers always outstrips the supply, but hoped this scheme would help with that

The postgraduate course is designed to appeal to those juggling childcare or other domestic responsibilities, and will involve studying over four terms, instead of three.

University secondary teaching lead Chris Powell said that "attracting people into teaching when you are 20 minutes from Central London had always been a challenge".

But he hoped the course would target those who had always had teaching "in the back of their minds, but other things had got in the way" or had been "persuaded to pursue a different option".

He added that, for some, "even though decades had gone by" they had "finally got to a point where they felt it was now or never" in terms of joining the profession.

Associate Dean Vicky Pateman said that professionals coming into teaching later in life had a legacy of real skills to share with children

The course will see students qualify as teachers in December 2026 and comprises one day studying at the university and two days in one of its partnership schools.

Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience, Vicky Pateman, said: "The East is one of those regions where it can be difficult to attract teachers for a variety of reasons, so being a provider that can offer this route is fantastic."

She added that "professional people who are thinking of changing careers come with a legacy of real skills and understanding about the world" that was "really important to share with children".

The course is supported by Now Teach, an organisation that encourages experienced professionals to become teachers.

Chief executive Graihagh Crawshaw-Sadler told the BBC: "It is vital to enable individuals with contrasting and much-needed subject expertise to train as teachers, and it is so encouraging to see the University of Hertfordshire offering 13 subjects."

She said: "Flexible routes into the classroom mean you can retrain at your own pace whilst maintaining life commitments."