The university is running the courses to help people employed in primary schools to develop professionally or qualify as teachers. For graduates there is a part-time PGCE, which takes two years and leads to a teaching qualification. Applicants for the course must also have Higher English and Credit level maths and be sponsored by or working for the local authorities in Glasgow, Stirling, North Lanarkshire or South Lanarkshire.
The other course is the Certificate in Childhood Studies, piloted in co-operation with Glasgow City Council. It also takes two years, with students attending classes one evening a week. The course can lead to a BA in Early Childhood Studies. Modules include working in a team to support children, child development and supporting children with special needs.
Jennifer Logue, director of Certificate in Childhood Studies, said, 'There is ongoing evaluation and the feedback from the 15 students so far is good. Everyone is enthusiastic and enjoying the different approach to learning while keeping their jobs.'
Stacey Collier-West (pictured), a classroom assistant at St Mary's Primary in Stirling, is one of 17 classroom assistants and nursery nurses who are undertaking the part-time PGCE. She said, 'I always wanted to be a teacher, but I wanted to make sure the job was for me by getting experience of being a classroom assistant first.
'Doing it this way means that I can earn while I study, and also, by working as a classroom assistant, I can receive additional support from my workplace alongside my student placements.
'I love the course. The lecturers are supportive and because it is the first time it has been done everything is exciting and fresh.'
Linda McCloy, who works at Raploch Primary in Stirling, is working towards the BA in Early Childhood Studies. She said, 'I want to wake my brain up and get a degree. I cannot afford to give up work, so the BA in Early Childhood Studies is perfect and brings me up-to-date with my knowledge.
'The school and Stirling Council are paying for me to do it, and I feel it is good to do something for myself because as a classroom assistant there is nowhere else to go.
'I hope that when the majority of classroom assistants have training we will be recognised as qualified and have the status and pay that goes with it, but that is in the future.'