Life as a Teacher

Teaching is an important and increasingly popular choice of career for all kinds of people. Whatever your circumstances - if you’re still at school, about to graduate, or looking for a change of direction - there are more ways to enter the profession and more support available to help you get there than ever before

Becoming a teacher
To gain a teaching position you will compete with others, just like in any other profession, and as a teacher you will have a unique professional lifestyle. Working with exciting, inquisitive young people will provide you with new and enjoyable experiences every day. And beyond the classroom, you’ll find that life as a teacher offers you the opportunities, training, support and rewards you need to develop and build a stimulating and successful career.

Teaching is a rewarding profession in more ways than one, offering fantastic career prospects and development opportunities. The variety of potential career paths available can see you enjoy all kinds of experiences, roles and responsibilities.

If you are interested in becoming a foster carer, the first thing you should do is contact your local fostering service (either the social services department of your local council or an independent fostering agency), and arrange a meeting.”

Is teaching right for you?
Perhaps the best, and simplest, way to find out whether you are suited to life as a teacher is to spend some time in a school, observing experienced teachers as they deliver lessons and go about their daily professional lives. This is especially true if you have not been in a classroom for some time.

What can you do?
Try approaching schools in your local area. They should be happy to arrange for you to spend a day or so observing one of their classes or shadowing one of their teachers.

Or, if you know anyone who’s a teacher, ask them to make a few enquiries. They may even be able to take you around themselves, introducing you to their colleagues and showing you the realities of their working environment.

If you have more time to spare, then you may be able to work at a school as a regular volunteer - perhaps as a classroom assistant. Again, you will need to approach schools directly to find an appropriate opportunity.

The Open Schools programme
If you’re at the early stages of deciding about a career in teaching and would like to make sure that your observation will be sufficiently well structured, you might like to arrange a visit through the Open Schools programme.

This is the perfect way for you to get to know what might be in store, by spending a day in a school, observing lessons in your chosen subjects and talking to school staff about the curriculum and your next steps.

More than 700 schools throughout England are currently registered on the programme. They are ready to welcome visitors into their classrooms and staffrooms. However, the programme is not available in Wales.

If you are interested in visiting an open school for a day, please call the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991, bearing in mind that, owing to high demand for places, visits are subject to availability.

Please note: the Open Schools programme is not intended for those who have already applied for initial teacher training.

Other ways of experiencing working with children.
If you’d like to understand what it’s like to work with children, you’re by no means limited to observing what goes on in a school. You could also volunteer to work in a youth club or as a Scout or Guide leader.

This will give you just the kind of appreciation and experience to make your teacher training application stand out from the crowd

Basic Requirements
To teach in state-maintained schools in England and Wales, you must first complete a programme of initial teacher training (ITT) and achieve qualified teacher status ( QTS). However, before starting this process, you need to be sure you meet a number of key requirements.

Academic qualifications
To become a teacher, you will need a UK degree (or an equivalent qualification). You must get this first if you want to apply for a postgraduate course of ITT (ie a PGCE or SCITT) or the graduate teacher programme (GTP).

However, you can also complete a degree as part of your teacher training via an undergraduate ITT course (ie a BEd or a BA/BSc with QTS) or the registered teacher programme (RTP).

To be accepted on to any course of ITT, you will need GCSEs at grade C or above (or recognised equivalents) in English and mathematics.

If you were born on or after 1 September 1979, and you want to teach primary or Key Stages 2/3 (ages 11-14), you will also need a GCSE at grade C or above (or an equivalent qualification) in a science subject.

Some ITT providers require that all their trainees have some previous school-based experience.”

What if you don’t have the required qualifications?
If you don’t have the necessary GCSEs in mathematics, English or science, you may be able to take a pre-entry test set by your ITT provider. Some providers may also accept skills developed through other, related work experience. If in doubt, you should contact your chosen ITT provider to find out what their requirements are.

Does the subject of your degree matter?
Your degree will usually need to be in a discipline related to the subject (s) you wish to teach. For primary teaching, you should be able to demonstrate a good general knowledge across a range of subjects.

If you’re unsure of the relevance of your degree, contact the Teaching Information Line (0845 6000 991 for England, 0845 6000 992 for Wales) for tailored advice.
If your degree is related to the subject you would like to teach, you may be able to complete a pre-training course, increasing your subject knowledge and understanding to the required level.

Personal qualities and experience
Teaching is a unique profession, with unique challenges. Your ITT provider will want to see evidence that you will enjoy and thrive on these challenges, and that you are committed to a career working with children.

Indeed, some ITT providers require that all their trainees have some previous school-based experience. (You will need to check with individual institutions to find out what their admissions policy is.)

One way of demonstrating that you have the necessary commitment and personal fit with teaching - not to mention helping you decide whether teaching is the right career for you - is to get some experience of working with young people. We strongly advise that you do this before you apply for any ITT.

Background checks
All prospective teachers are also subject to a number of checks, designed to prevent unsuitable people from gaining access to children and to maintain the integrity of the teaching profession. These checks will usually include: