Teaching in Schools
IntroductionAfter going through school it’s easy to assume that we understand the role of the teacher, but this can be a dangerous assumption! What we remember from earlier years can often be quite different to the reality – especially as much of the work was ‘hidden’ from us and done in the staffroom, at home or in the classroom after hours – and also because the profession is continuously changing and evolving. For this reason we strongly urge you to follow up the resources below and investigate the role of today’s teacher.
There is always a need for teachers but the education sector is very much affected by political and economic factors, so training and recruitment opportunities can vary greatly and change rapidly. It is important to understand that within the UK education is a responsibility devolved to the Parliaments and Assemblies of Scotland, N. Ireland and Wales, which creates national differences: there are variations in terminology, training routes/qualifications, popularity as a career, conditions of service, school curricula and current issues facing the profession. What is common throughout the UK is that anyone considering a teaching career must:
• have a love of their subject (especially at secondary level)
• have a desire to pass on knowledge and the ability to explain things clearly
• enjoy working with children
Remember too that there are career opportunities in related fields and also in areas which require/value some prior teaching experience.
Examples include educational administration, outdoor education, TEFL, adult education lecturing, educational psychology or museum/ arts education. Browse the green ‘A’ folders in the information centre for more ideas.
Finding out about…
Information folders(The brackets refer to which Careers Service office holds them)
• Green folders: (A1) Teaching in Schools (C & KB)
• Yellow folders: PGCE/PGDE Courses (C) – teacher training courses
filed by UK region
• Yellow folders: Applying to PGCE/PGDE Courses – lots of useful information, including writing personal statements(C & KB)
• Orange folders: School of Education – help getting started with career planning(C)
• Yellow folders: Employment-Based Teacher Training (C) – find out
about ‘on the job’ training in England
Reference books(The brackets refer to which Careers Service office holds them)
• Education Authorities Directory (C & KB)
• Teaching Uncovered (C & KB)
• Finding your First Teaching Post (C)
• Education: Alternatives to Teaching (C & KB)
• Newly Qualified Teacher’s Handbook (C & KB)
• Freelance Teaching & Tutoring (C)
• Navigating Initial Teacher Training (C & KB)
• The Insider’s Guide for New Teachers - Succeeding in Training &
Induction(C)
• Directory of Teacher Training Courses (C & KB)
• The Independent Schools Guide (C)
• The Year of Living Dangerously - A Survival Guide for Probationary
Teachers(C)
• What’s Next? A Job Search Guide for Teachers (Canada) (C)
• Good Schools Guide - Special Educational Needs (C)
• Into Teaching – Positive Experiences of Disabled People (C)
Journals
• Catholic Teachers Gazette (weekly in summer/autumn) – lists vacancies at all levels in Catholic schools, plus occasional short articles of interest.
• TC Foundations for Teaching Careers – explains how to find a job after you have finished a PGCE/PGDE course and gives an insight on what to expect from a first teaching post.
• Teaching Scotland – magazine produced by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
Newspapers
• TES – Times Educational Supplement (Friday) – probablythe
teaching newspaper, full of news and jobs. Note that there is also a TES Scotland edition.
• The Guardian (Tuesday) – education supplement with news and comment.
• Scotsman (Wednesday) – includes an education section with news and comment.
Takeaway literature (while stocks last!)
• TARGET Teaching – handy guide to get you started with advice, case studies, details of training and qualifications. Covers all the UK although its main focus is England & Wales.
• Teach in Scotland – official guide to training and teaching careers in Scotland produced by the Scottish Government Education &
Training Department.
• Turn your talent to teaching – the official recruitment literature for those interested in teaching in England & Wales, produced by the Training & Development Agency for Schools (TDA)
Web
The Careers Service website links to many useful education sites, including some that contain vacancies. Use the Education section at: www.ed.ac.uk/careers/occupations.
Getting experience
• In order to apply successfully to a teacher training course of any kind you will need to demonstrate an interest in teaching, an awareness of key issues and have some kind of practical
experience of dealing with the age group you wish to teach. • Two key points to consider are: experience of teaching and experience of children. If you have both then great, but you
should certainly try and have one!
• The Careers Service runs ‘Day in school’ in Semester 2 at a local High School – check the ‘Talks and events’ section of the website for details.
• In England & Wales, the TDA runs a number of schemes to enable people to experience teaching, including observation days or longer taster courses.
• Arranging your own school experience is getting more difficult as heads and class teachers are under increasing time pressure and, if you are not known to the school, there may also be requirements for a Police Disclosure check. Often approaching your old school/ children’s school is a good and easier starting point.
• Remember that experience doesn’t have to be in a classroom (though clearly this is the ideal) – it could be from working with children in youth groups, playgroups, Brownies, Scouts,
befriending/mentoring etc. You may have volunteered to teach literacy classes to adults or run a painting course – it’s all teaching experience!
• Consider looking for voluntary work in the vacations or during semester. There is a useful voluntary work section on the Careers Service website to help you get you started and voluntary positions are also advertised on SAGE: www.ed.ac.uk/careers/sage
• Lothian Equal Access Partnership for Schools (LEAPS) is always looking for volunteers to help work with secondary school pupils from the local area both in schools and at university; see: www.leapsonline.org for details.
Getting qualified
In order to teach in any state school and most independent schools you must register with the General Teaching Council for your
particular part of the UK. Each has slightly different rules, but all require you to have qualified teacher status (QTS) and, in Scotland, to have a recognised teaching qualification (RTQ). Because of these national differences in training routes, qualifications and school curricula, it is a good idea to train in the country you wish to actually teach in. This is done either through:
2. A 1-year postgraduate teaching conversion course: PGCE (or PGDE in Scotland).
3. Work-based teaching schemes in England (and sometimes Wales) including:
• School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) - similar in many ways to a PGCE but run by consortia of schools (rather than universities/colleges), for those who prefer to train in a school full-time. Trainees are still classed as ‘students’ and receive the same benefits.
• Graduate Teachers Programme (GTP) – graduates train in a school and earn a salary as an unqualified teacher. Training takes from three months to one school year, depending on your previous experience. Aimed particularly at career-changers and mature students.
• Registered Teacher Programme (RTP) – allows you to complete your degree and train to teach at the same time, but is only available for those studying in England.
• Teach First programme www.teachfirst.org.uk. This programme offers graduates with strong leadership skills 2 years teaching and leadership training in challenging schools before hopefully moving on to a leadership role in education or the world of business. There are participating schools in: London, East and West Midlands, the North-West and Yorkshire.
Application times & dates
For traditional graduate conversion courses at universities and colleges…
• Most teacher training institutions accept applications for PGCE/ PGDE courses through a centralised clearing system – GTTR (Graduate Teacher Training Registry) – see www.gttr.ac.uk. Exceptions include the University of the West of Scotland and the institutions in N. Ireland, to whom you should apply direct.
• For Primary courses, GTTR must receive your completed application (incl. references) by 1 December to ensure that your first choice of training provider will consider you. After 1 December applications will only be considered where there are vacancies. • There is no closing date for Middle Years and Secondary courses and your form will be considered as long as there are vacancies. However you should aim to apply early in the application cycle to
give yourself the best chance of obtaining a place – particularly for more competitive ‘non-shortage’ subjects such as history.
For ‘on the job’ training…
• Many (though not all) SCITT providers also use the GTTR scheme for applications and share the same closing dates outlined above. A list of the SCITT providers who receive applications direct is available from the GTTR website or handbook (available at the Careers Service). Their closing dates vary but we advise that you apply as early as possible, assuming you have enough experience.
• Places on the Graduate Teacher Programme are allocated
through 72 special providers called DRBs, also the TDA and Welsh Assembly. Closing dates vary considerably and each DRB has slightly different entry requirements so if interested you should contact the Teaching Information line (0800 389 2500, 0800 085 0971 (Welsh speakers)) as early as possible.
• Teach First accepts applications from early September and places fill up between December and March – depending on the
popularity of the subject. Considerations
• Who would you like to teach? Children at primary school or secondary school – and even within these categories there are possibilities to specialise – upper or lower primary, teaching Highers/ ‘A’-Levels or not.
• What would you like to teach? Does your degree (and school qualifications) allow you to teach your chosen subject? (There can be variations between teacher training providers, so check!) Does the broadness of primary teaching appeal, or the specialism of secondary? Might the discipline of older pupils be an issue for you, or would you find it difficult to teach a mixed-ability primary class? Is your subject competitive (e.g. history) or a shortage subject (e.g. physics)?
• Where would you like to teach? The location may influence your choice of training provider and even style of training (some based training programmes in England may not be sufficient for registration in Scotland or N. Ireland). You may wish to teach overseas, in which case check how your proposed teaching
qualification is viewed by the relevant state authorities, and also how much experience is required – you may have to teach for 2-3 years in the UK before you are considered to have enough
experience. See the links at: www.ed.ac.uk/careers/occupations, choose Education, then Teaching Internationally.
• Type of school? Schools can be state or independent, denominational or secular, single-sex or mixed, selective or comprehensive – consider your own beliefs and philosophies as you will have to be comfortable in your chosen setting.
• Language? Not all UK schools teach in English! In Wales and parts of Scotland they may be bi-lingual (or even non-English speaking). Some schools in large urban areas may also cater for minority ethnic languages so having Welsh, Gaelic or Urdu could be a real advantage!
• Money - Different funding arrangements now apply in each of the UK regions for teacher training – particularly in England and Wales where training bursaries may be offered for shortage subjects. However alongside issues of training costs/incentives are those of teaching salaries and also the cost of living and housing in your chosen area.
• Experience - If you have little/no experience you will need to balance the merits of an early application with delaying in order to have time to gain some experience – speak to a Careers Adviser if you are unsure.
December 2011 © The University of Edinburgh Careers Service, 2012
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