University College Plymouth St Mark & St John

Literacy Assessment

All applicants will be asked to take a literacy ‘test’ at interview.  This is in order to assess their command of written Standard English and reading.  Command of spoken Standard English is assessed during the interview.

For the literacy assessment at interview:

• Applicants are asked to read a short article from a national newspaper on an educational topic and respond to this in writing
• Applicants are given a pupil’s written response and asked to identify any errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar

Areas focused upon in interview

Professional Attributes
This includes high expectations and commitment to realising and raising pupil potential; professional behaviour; facility for collaboration, reflection and innovation.

Professional Knowledge and Understanding
This includes subject knowledge as defined with your degree/academic qualification, but also the curriculum context of the subject – i.e. what and how it is taught in schools.

Professional skills in relation to teaching and learning
This includes your reflections from your own observation/experience of teaching/learning.  All applicants are expected to have had some experience/observation in a secondary school.

You will be assessed upon the following elements:

Subject knowledge per se - The essential knowledge and understanding needed in order to teach a subject effectively
Pedagogy: subject theory and practice - An understanding of the teaching skills and strategies needed to teach all pupils effectively
Pupils' development - An understanding of how learning is linked to pupils' development and their social, religious, etnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and contexts
Attitudes - Positive attitudes to pupils' learning that underpin subject knowledge, skills and understanding
(For more information, go to www.tda.gov.uk )

Recommended preparation for interview

In order to prepare for the interview, all applicants for English are asked to:

1. Access/read the National Curriculum for KS3 English on the QCA National Curriculum website www.qca.org.uk
2. Access /read the National Curriculum for KS3/KS4 English on www.nc.uk.net
3. Access/read A Vision for Teaching and Learning 2020 Part 2 on http.//publicationseducation.gov.uk/2020vision

Applicants are asked to choose from one of the three Attainment Targets as detailed in the National Curriculum for English - that is one from Reading , Writing, Speaking and Listening - and to talk about what you have found of interest /importance on a 5 minute presentation  using PowerPoint facilities.

Applicants will also be asked to discuss an unseen poem in an informal way with the interviewers.