On the PME programme in Trinity College, a School Placement is bookended by periods of Observation and Reflection. A School Placement, therefore, consists of three stages, all of which comprise the School Placement i.e.:

Figure 1: School Placement on the PME in Trinity College

1. Structured Observation & Preparation – This stage is designed to help the student prepare and settle into the school before they start to teach on their own. During this period, students will observe their treoraithe(cooperating teachers) and study the school’s various policies. Students will complete tasks which are set out by the College in their Structured Observation & Preparation Handbooks. Students must conduct their observation and preparation in school. Students may teach some classes whilst their treoraí (cooperating teacher) remains in the room. Students may engage in team teaching during this period. Engaging in teaching and/or team teaching during the Observation period is at the discretion of the school. Students will also have some scheduled College contact time which will help them to prepare to begin their teaching.

For Year 1 PMEs, as this is their first placement, students complete two Structured Observation Periods – two weeks before Christmas and one week after Christmas. Student teachers must complete a minimum of 3 hours of Structured Observation per day during Structured Observation weeks i.e. a minimum of 2 hours Structured Observations of classes and a minimum of 1 hour Structured Observation of non-classroom school activities (such as, for example, an assembly, a sports game, a school club, musical rehearsals) per day. Students will also complete two Structured Observation & Preparation Handbooks during this period i.e. one for their first Structured Observation & Preparation period and another handbook for their second Observation & Preparation period.

2. Structured Teaching Weeks – At this stage, students must take sole responsibility for their classes. This is the period of time during which your School Placement Tutor(s) will visit to observe classes. Student teachers must have a minimum of 9 hours direct teaching in their Major subject per teaching week, plus 1 ‘class’ in their Minor subject per teaching weekduring each of the 12 teaching weeks.
3. Stage 3 - Structured Reflection & Debriefing – During this stage, students will complete tasks which are set out by the College in their Reflection Handbook. Students must conduct their reflections in school. Students will also have some scheduled College contact time which will help them to reflect on their first School Placement and create an action plan for their second School Placement.Student teachers must engage with a minimum of 4 hours of Structured Reflection tasks per day during Structured Reflection week.

Our Year 1 PME students must complete 12 weeks of teaching. Their teaching weeks are ‘bookended’ by periods of Structured Observation & Preparation and a period of Structured Reflection.

Dates for 2025-26 are as follows:

Table 1: School Placement Dates for Year 1 PME 2025-26 in Trinity College, Dublin.

Year 1 PME students must teach:

• A total of 9 hours per teaching week for 12 weeks in their Major subject.
• At least one class per teaching week for 12 weeks in their Minor subject (the ‘class’ may be 35, 40, 50, 55, or 60 minutes as is determined by the school).
• Year 1 PME students are typically scheduled to teach Junior Cycle classes only (though this is at the discretion of the school).
• Year 1 PME students are typically not scheduled to teach exam classes (though this is at the discretion of the school).

Students must secure a School Placement within 85 km from Trinity College.

Placement schools are asked to:

• facilitate two periods of Structured Observation of 3 hours observation per day minimum, at the start of the Year 1 School Placement (before students begin teaching):
• Observation & Preparation Period 1 - Monday, 1st December 2025 – Friday, 19th December 2025 (inclusive).
• Dates of Teaching - Monday, 5th January 2026 – Friday, 17th April 2026 (inclusive).
• Dates of Reflection - Monday, 20th April 2026 - Friday, 24th April 2026 (Inclusive).

• offer Year 1 PME students the opportunity to teach a minimum of 9 hours per week in their Major subject plus 1 ‘class’ per teaching week in their Minor subject, over the 12 teaching weeks (Teaching Weeks - Monday, 5th January 2026 – Friday, 17th April 2026 (Inclusive)).

• provide PME students with classes that contain a minimum of 15 students.
• assign one or more cooperating teachers (treoraithe) to support the student teacher during their placement.
• facilitate a period of Structured Reflection of 4 hours of Structured Reflection tasks per day minimum, at the end of their School Placement (after they have completed their 12 weeks of teaching) - Monday, 20th April 2026 - Friday, 24th April 2026 (Inclusive). 
• facilitate the student teacher’s participation in non-teaching activities and encourage them to become involved in the life of the school.

agree a timetable which will allow the PME student to attend lectures in Trinity College, commencing at 4pm on Monday – Thursday evenings. 

Year 1 PME students will be in the school Monday to Thursday during their Structured Observation period, Teaching Weeks and Structured Reflection Week. Students will have classes in Trinity College commencing at 4pm on Monday – Thursday evenings. 

No. Co-teaching does not count for School Placement hours, as the student teacher must teach the classes of 15 students, independently in order to allow our School Placement Tutors the opportunity to assess the student teacher.

Schools may wish to support the teacher when they first start to teach by having a teacher team teach with them or by having a teacher remain in the room with them in the Structured Observation period. However, student teachers must have sole responsibility for teaching classes as School Placement is an assessment period.

No. Resource classes do not count for School Placement hours, as the student teacher must teach the classes of 15 students, independently in order to allow our School Placement Tutors the opportunity to assess the student teacher.

In Trinity, PME students complete two 12-week School Placements, one 12 week placement in Year 1 and a second 12 week placement in Year 2 of the PME.

Students may complete their placements in a recognised DES funded post primary school, within a 85 km radius from Trinity College. Students can get a list of schools here – Find a School

No. Student teachers must carry out School Placement in two different schools. School Placement must comprise a minimum of two placement settings incorporating a variety of teaching situations, class levels and school contexts, including Irish medium schools. Therefore, students must secure a different school for your second School Placement in Year 2.

No. School Placement is an examination period and as such, the School Placement assessment period remains the same for each student.

If a student teacher becomes ill on School Placement and they must miss a day or days at school, they must contact the school, their School Placement Tutor and the PME office (pme.placement@tcd.ie). Relevant Medical Certificates must be provided. Hours missed will have to be made up before the end of the placement.

School Placement is an examination period and as such, student teachers are expected to behave in a manner which befits the role of student teacher and the regulations of assessment.

During the PME, student teachers are both student and teacher. This is discussed with students in our School Placement module prior to starting School Placement. Student teachers have been alerted to the fact that their students will see them as a teacher from the very start and therefore, they must behave as one. Their professionalism will be expressed in their:

• care and respect for the students in their classes
• attitude of helpfulness and willingness to learn within the school
• way of dressing
• readiness to learn and respect the ethos and practices of the school

The student teachers are also subject to the Teaching Council’s Graduate Teacher Standards which outline the skills, knowledge, understanding, and professional values expected of newly qualified teachers. In this respect, student teachers are expected to use these standards as a tool to support their ongoing development, including reflective practice and enquiry pedagogies (Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education, Teaching Council, 2020 pp. 20-25).

Yes. All student teachers will have Garda Vetting in place before they start School Placement. This is mandatory before students begin School Placement.

Incoming PME students must complete and return a Garda Vetting Application form to Academic Registry prior to commencing the course. PME students will not be permitted to commence their School Placement until they have been Garda vetted. Students will not be permitted to begin their placement until their student vetting application is processed and approved in accordance with the TCD Student Vetting policy.

Please note if you have lived outside Ireland for more than 6 months since the age of 18, you must provide Police clearance certificate(s) for each country. You are advised to start seeking the clearance as early as possible as this process can take some time.