University College Plymouth St Mark & St John

Practical Assessment

PE candidates will be required to undergo a practical assessment, and for this they will need the appropriate sports kit.

• Men:   White sports shirt, white/black shorts, socks and trainers
• Women:   White sports shirt, games skirt/shorts, socks and trainers

Candidates will be expected to show competence and communication skills in multi skill activities and movement skills.  You will also be asked to lead a 5 minute multi skill activity with a partner to a small group of other Physical Education candidates.  The task will be given out during the introduction to the interview day.

These practical assessments are very important so it is imperative that you are able to perform to the best of your ability.  We will not interview you if you have an injury that will prevent you from undertaking these practical activities.  However, please inform us early if this is the case, and we will arrange an alternative interview date.

Criteria for Assessment

Following the practical assessment we would like you to join the interview tutors for a snack lunch.  This is followed by a formal interview, which, along with your practical assessment, will provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your:

• Interpersonal skills
• Commitment to children’s learning
• Subject knowledge
• Clarity of spoken and written English

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 )

In order to prepare for the interview, all applicants for Physical Education are asked to access /read the National Curriculum for Physical Education available from www.curriculum.qcda.gov.uk 

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