Is Psychology a National Curriculum Subject?

Q.

Is psychology considered a National curriculum subject now?

Is the Psychology degree sufficient to allow me to apply to gain a Primary PGCE?

A.

Unfortunately, psychology is one of the subjects that is not part of the National Curriculum. Although it is a popular subject studied by sixth formers for their A-Levels, very few schools offer psychology as a GCSE subject.

That said, it is still possible to go on to do a primary PGCE course after a psychology degree. There are also a limited number of Higher Education Institutes that offer social science PGCE courses, which may be worth investigating.

If you’re applying for a PGCE primary course and have a first degree in a National Curriculum subject, like English, history or maths, then it’s straightforward to apply. When you’ve got a degree in a subject like psychology, which is sadly not part of the National Curriculum, you’re likely to need to put a bit more effort into your application. Plus, you’ll need to pick a subject that you have a good base of knowledge in and think you could teach, such as maths, business studies or religious studies. If you happen to have a degree with an additional minor subject included, this could be highly advantageous.

The good thing is that there a lot of skills involved in studying psychology and many of these skills are transferable. For example, psychology studies, testing and research involves statistical analysis, so you should have good maths skills, plus you should have the ability to think critically. When you’re working on your PGCE application, you need to emphasise these skills and stress that you’re prepared to put in the extra work and commitment to brush up your knowledge of the subject you’re applying for.

Other qualifications you need in order to apply for a PGCE include at least grade C or above GCSEs in English language and mathematics, plus a science subject if you want to teach primary or key stage 2-3.

If you’re really keen to use your psychology knowledge more in your eventual teaching job, then it may be a better idea to consider a secondary PGCE instead. For example, some teachers find that there are opportunities opening up to teach psychology in their schools, alongside their usual subject, and having the expertise makes them the ideal person to take on the psychology teaching.

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