Admission Interview Guidance

Please read the information below carefully. The information will help you prepare for an interview for a place on a course studying Primary Education at Leeds Beckett University.

All applicants will be asked to:

• Discuss your motivation for wanting to become a teacher of your chosen age range

- In this we will expect to see personal motivations linked to your experiences and study to date

- You may have already included some of this in your personal statement and you should be ready to expand on this further if so

• Be able to talk about your understanding of teaching approaches and methods (pedagogy)

- This could be based on your own experiences or from reading the Core Principles of Teaching and Learning at LBU Initial Teacher Education

- You should be able to show how you have reflected on the experiences or reading, and considered how these agree with or stand in contradiction to what you believe to be a good approach to teaching

- We will want to hear about how this has influenced you and what you feel it means you will be like as a teacher

• Be able to talk about the expectations of safeguarding, inclusion and social justice for teachers

- Again, this could be based on experiences or on your reading of Core Principles of Teaching and Learning at LBU Initial Teacher Education and should refer to your reading of KCSIE

- Also, as above we want to know your thoughts on this in relation to your lived experience and the impact on your future teaching practice

• Share with the interviewer your understanding of what and how to plan for teaching in your chosen age range, and how you would do this in practice

- This will be mainly shown through your response to the prepared task specific to your chosen course (see bleow), but you may also have other ideas you want to discuss in relation to other questions

  - You are welcome to share any previous activities you have planned and delivered with children to help you expand on your response

• Be able to show an awareness and interest of the field of education in general, through discussion of current issues being faced by teachers / pupils / parents of school-aged children / school.

- To support you in this we advise reading / watching relevant news stories in the TES, The Guardian, or on the BBC.

- Some applicants may also have knowledge in this area through their studies in other subjects, eg A level sociology or an Education Studies degree

Before attending the interview

• Choose to watch one of the following videos: 

- Puffin Storytime video (only first 6 minutes), where the author, Nathan Bryon will read the book ‘Look Up!’; or

- The Book Trusts, ‘My Hair’, read by author Hannah Lee.

- Consider how you would use the book to support a learning activity / develop children’s learning in a primary or early years setting, depending on your chosen pathway.

- Be prepared to share and discuss your activity with your interviewer, including why you chose the activity and your role in the children’s learning. You should prepare notes to support you, but we do not want a powerpoint presentation.

• Prepare notes on the following topics either using your experiences of working with children/pupils in any context, and/or from reading Core Principles of Teaching and Learning at LBU Initial Teacher Education

- How have your experiences as a pupil and beyond that, helped you decide you want to be a teacher?

- How have your experiences shaped your ideas of what it means to be a teacher?

- How much do your own experiences reflect what is in Core Principles of Teaching and Learning at LBU Initial Teacher Education?

- What is the role of a teacher in an English primary school?

- What would be your approach to teaching in an English primary school?

• Familiarise yourself with the key points of KCSIE Part 1 “Safeguarding Information for all staff” and make notes

- You will be expected to use your notes to support you in answering questions about welfare and safeguarding

- You should also consider the key things you would be expected to have knowledge about in relation to this as a student teacher

Top Tips for preparing for your interview:

• Check the preparatory tasks carefully and in good time before the interview
• Check your connection to the internet, camera and microphone and find a suitable place to be in while on the Teams meeting
• If you are applying from outside the UK, check the local time difference very carefully and be aware of when the UK changes to British Summer Time (BST) – we advise using the internet or world clock feature on your mobile phone. Leeds will be the same time zone as London UK
• When considering what you will be asked to discuss as listed above, use the STAR method to prepare your notes
• Situation: Set the scene.
• Task: Explain the challenge you faced or might face
• Action: Detail what you did and why (this is where your value shines through)
• Result: Highlight the positive outcome and what you learned about the situation or yourself

The date and start time of the selection session have been communicated to you via your UCAS Hub account. 

Your interview will be held online using MS Teams. If you haven’t received this, please check your spam/junk emails first and then contact us on 0113 812 5946. Please check that your contact details, including telephone number, are correct on your application form.

If you will be accessing Microsoft Teams from a different email address to that on your UCAS application, please let us know as soon as possible at UCASAdmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Access to MS Teams will differ depending on the type of device you will be using. We strongly suggest you use a laptop/PC to connect, rather than your phone. If you will be using a desktop computer or laptop to attend your interview, you should be able to attend simply by clicking on the link sent out via email. If you are using a smart phone or tablet you will need to download the free MS Teams app prior to your interview date before being able to access the given link. If you have a headset, we advise that it is used with the device you will be logging into the interview with.

You will be required to have your camera turned on during your interview, so please check this is working prior to your interview. Dress smartly for the interview, as smartly as you would for a campus-based interview day. Find a comfortable space where you are unlikely to be disturbed and be mindful of what will be in the background when your camera is on; (if you download the MS TEAMs App, you can add a digital backdrop of your choice).

If there is a genuine reason why you are unable to attend at your allocated date/time please contact ucasadmissions@leedsbeckett.ac.uk and we will do our best to find an alternative date/time. However, due to high demand it may not be possible to reschedule your interview immediately. All interviews are held during working hours, Monday to Friday.