How to Become a Primary School Teacher

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.