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.

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 related to teaching and learning in the Primary and/or Early Years curriculum.

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 primary 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 Primary are asked to:

1. Access/read the National Curriculum on the QCA National Curriculum website http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/ and look at the National Strategies website http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk 
2. A task relating to the group interview (sent with your invitation letter)