Continuing Professional Development - Joined-up teaching

The University of Reading is aiming to inspire more early years practitioners to go into teaching by offering a PGCE course that brings together students training to teach different age ranges with a cross-curricular approach.

I was delighted when I read Sir Jim Rose's recent Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum. It confirms that the approach of our course is in line with its recommendations. It feels good to know we are doing a good job to train the teachers of the future.

On the day this came out, trainee teachers at Reading University were starting their cross-curricular project. For some years students following the one-year PGCE course to become a primary teacher have taken part in a project to plan for an imaginary school in a creative way. They are asked to present their curriculum subjects using topics or themes such as global citizenship, families and festivals. This is one of the recommendations of the Primary Review, which asks for 'a curriculum design based on a clear set of culturally derived aims and values, which promote challenging subject teaching alongside equally challenging cross-curricular studies'.