How to become a primary school
teacher and what is it like to be a primary school teacher in the 21st
century? Well, it’s possibly very different to what you remember from
school and definitely one of the few jobs in the United Kingdom that
allows you to make a difference, and make the world a better place,
every single working day. Once you become a primary school teacher you
will be able to have a huge positive effect on young people’s lives, so
much so, that they may well indeed remember you into their adulthood and
even for the rest of their time on Earth.
You will get to: inspire, educate,
nurture and support children’s minds, emotions and social skills. You
will plan activities that get them excited about learning, making sure
all abilities in the class achieve through the fun and informative
delivery of your lessons. You will check their work and let them know
what they have done well and what they can do to improve next time. You
will play a vital role, working in a close-knit team within a local
community helping and supporting the families in that area.
Sadly, most information on the web to do
with how to become primary school teacher is so hard to understand and
so sterile, dry and boring that we believe it actually puts a lot of
people off joining. Funnily enough, this is the exact opposite of what a
great educator should be and the exact opposite of how we communicate
here at The Future Teacher Foundation.
We aim to cut out the fluff and filler
and give you insider information from real, currently serving teachers
on modern digital download formats that you can easily integrate into
your busy schedule. Here are the boring bits about the technicalities of
becoming a primary school teacher. The job is so much more than this.
For the real truth and insider information about how to become a primary school teacher and what life is REALLY like.
How to Become a Primary School Teacher
Entry Requirements: Qualifications and Experience
To teach in primary schools in the U.K
you need to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or a Teaching
Qualification (TQ) if based in Scotland. This is got through Initial
Teacher Training (ITT) which comes in a variety of forms. Check your
current status against these options.
I Have No Degree Yet
You can get a degree which comes with
QTS. This is usually a Bachelor of Education (BEd) but could be a
Bachelor of Science/Arts degree. You will need GCSE grades A-C in
English, Maths and one Science and at least two A-levels. You may be
able to access with different qualifications, especially if you are a
mature student, check with your desired university.
I Have A Degree In Something Else
You will need to go down the
postgraduate route. If your degree is completely unrelated to National
Curriculum core-subjects (maths, English) you may need to undertake a
further training course to ensure your knowledge is up to scratch. There
are a few options for you. You could do a Postgraduate Certificate In
Education (PGCE), which can be full-time or part time and are typically
one year with placements in schools. This is called a Professional
Graduate Diploma In Education (PGDE) in Scotland.
Another option is to take part in the
government’s new Schools Direct Training program which trains graduates
in schools, you could be entitled to a £20,000 bursary too. You could
also undertake school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT),
education seems to love acronyms at the moment, or (ESTLAATM), sorry I
couldn’t help myself! Most of these SCITT schemes involve registering
with the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR). I’m not making these
acronyms up I promise! Both these in school training schemes offer the
chance to work as you learn and get paid to become a primary school
teacher but are only available in England.
Other Requirements
You will also need to pass three skills
tests in literacy, numeracy and information communication technology
(ICT) to gain your QTS and of course, you will need a clean criminal
records bureau (CRB) certificate.
If you are applying for a teacher
training course which starts after 1st of July 2013 you will need to
take numeracy and literacy skills tests as part of the application.
In Summary
So basically you either need an
education specific degree with QTS, or a degree in something else that
doesn’t come with QTS which is then enhanced with another, usually year
long, training course afterwards. This is either on the job training, or
doing college based learning and placements in schools. You also need
A-C GCSE grade, or equivalent, skills in English and maths. This
includes science too for SCITT schemes if you plan to teach ages 7-14
which is key stage 2 to 3. If you don’t have those GCSE’s you can
re-take them through many establishments and they are called GCSE
equivalence tests.
These requirements are very drab and
boring, but yes, you MUST have them or else they won’t let you begin
your training. There are many more attributes and requirements to
becoming a primary school teacher. There is so much more vital knowledge
to learn that will give you a head start on other applicants and let
you make a much more informed decision about whether primary school
teaching is for you. Visit our Male Primary Teachers if you are a man, and visit our Shop
page if you are a woman, for more information and to find out the truth
about how to become a primary school teacher in the 21st century.
