If you’re not sure where to turn after graduation, or are seriously thinking about getting in to teaching, you’ve come to the right place. Teaching is a rewarding career to pursue, with the average salary starting at £22,000 and can rise to £39,000 depending on where you live in the UK! There’s also extensive opportunities to do extra training and gain promotions throughout the education sector.
By now you should already have a good amount of volunteering experience under your belt. If you’re still unsure which age range or subject would suit you best, contact schools in your local area and ask to perhaps observe in a classroom. You should also take the opportunity to educate yourself as much as possible and ask the teaching staff about pros and cons of the job for a well-rounded opinion.
UK programmes to teach in mainstream schools are 50% university led and 50% school led. You need a minimum of a 2:2 plus other requirements including a disclosure and barring service (DBS) check which can take a few months to process, so these are some things you need to think about before-hand.
We asked one of our viewing assistants, Dan Hutt who is interested in pursuing a career in teaching secondary RE/RS, his top tips for anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in teaching (or for those who want some inspiration).
Dan explained that following your undergraduate degree there are a number of avenues you can take. Check out the list below:
University led PGCE
This route into teaching is the most popular and well known. It is a university led course and the qualification is awarded from your chosen university. As part of the course you spend significant time in university, in lectures and seminars, in which you will learn about pedagogy, behaviour management techniques etc.
Additionally, you will spend time in two placement schools and a short two-week period in a primary school (or secondary school if your PGCE is in primary).
School Direct
This type of teacher training course is delivered by a ‘host school’ and your qualification (which tends to still be a PGCE) is awarded from a university that has affiliations with the school. Unlike a PGCE, you’re in schools from day one and spend your entire time in school settings – rather than learn in lectures, you learn on the job. Most school direct schemes combine this school-based experience with lessons they run themselves.
The programme takes just 1 year if studied full time and has two routes:
Unsalaried – Available for graduates with a 2:2 or above, you may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary of up to £28,000 to financially support you during your training!
Salaried – This option is more employment based for graduates with at least 3 years’ experience. However, sometimes applicants are accepted with less experience especially in subjects such as the sciences, maths and languages. You will receive an unqualified salary from your school, and the cost of your training will also be covered (Some details do vary though, so always check with your specific chosen school for more information!)
Teach First
Teach First is a charity set up to overcome what they term ‘educational inequality’, meaning children’s educations are often significantly affected by the amount their parents earn. Teach First endeavour to recruit specialist graduates and employ them instantly in crisis schools. Due to this instant responsibility, Teach First do cover fees and pay graduates throughout their training. This is a two year course and you are rewarded with a PGCE (worth twice as many masters credits).
What is a PGCE?
• Post Graduate Certificate of Education
• Gives you qualified teacher status and means you’re qualified to teach in the UK.
• PGCE is worth 60 Masters credits, a full Masters is worth 180 credits, so you’re a third of the way to a Masters degree.
If your degree doesn’t relate closely to teaching then subject knowledge enhancement courses can be available as part of your application too. Look here
What do you need before you can apply?
To apply for a PGCE you are expected to have a minimum of 12 days school-based work experience. – to gain this experience you can often simply email schools and request work experience, they’re normally more than willing to have you as they themselves were once in your position.
• Two referees – As part of your application you need to submit to referees who are able to provide a reference for you and explain why they think you’d be a great teacher. You are required to submit one academic and one professional referee.
• Personal statement – As well as the application, you are also requested to submit a personal statement of a maximum of 4000 characters or 47 lines. Within your personal statement you should demonstrate your passion for teaching, specifically your subject and age group, what skills you have that will make you a good teacher and how your experience has enhanced this desire to teach and your skills.
The Interview
If your application is successful you will be invited for an interview. Most interviews for teacher training involve a formal interview, so it is vital to prepare for this situation. You are likely to be asked some, or all, of the following questions:
• Why do you want to be a teacher?
• Why do you want to teach your specific subject?
• Why do you want to work with children?
• What qualities do you think you have that will assist you in your teacher training and your career?
• How do you think you will deal with the pressures of such a demanding course and career?
Every institution is different in the way in which they will conduct an interview, so we cannot speak on behalf of every institution in terms of their interview style. Instead we asked Dan about the format of the interviews he will be taking, to give you an idea of what you could experience:
Interview 1
• Formal interview.
• Written English task – to examine your written communication ability.
• Presentation explaining how you would begin to introduce a subject to Key Stage 3 or 4.
Interview 2
• Formal interview.
• Written English task
• Time spent in class room – to assess how you interact with pupils.
• Pupil led interview.
We hope this weeks’ blog post gives you a better understading of your options available for teaching, and wish you the best of luck persuing your career!
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, thank you!