Primary School Teacher Job Information | National Careers Service

The work

You would work with children aged between five and eleven in state and independent schools, and be responsible for their educational, social and emotional development while in your care.

You would teach subjects covered by the primary national curriculum at Key Stage 1 (ages 5 to 7) and Key Stage 2 (7 to 11) — subjects such as English, science, music and art. In some classes, you may have a teaching assistant to help you.

Depending on your qualifications and experience, you may work as a subject specialist teacher, where you would concentrate on a particular subject, for example maths or modern foreign languages.

As well as teaching you would:

• plan lessons and teaching materials
• mark and assess children's work
• manage class behaviour
• work with other professionals, such as education psychologists and social workers
• discuss children's progress and other relevant matters with parents and carers
• attend meetings and training
• organise outings, social activities and sports events.

As a primary teacher, you could also work with children under the age of five (Early Years Foundation Stage) in settings like a children’s centre or a reception class in a school.

Hours

Full-time teachers work an average 37 hours a week, with typical class time starting between 8.30am and 9.15am and finishing around 3.15pm to 4pm. Teachers may spend more time outside of normal hours, planning lessons, marking work and also taking part in activities, such as parents' evenings and outings.

Teachers normally work 39 weeks a year split over three school terms.

Income

The main salary scale is from £21,588 to £31,552 a year (£27,000 to £36,387 in inner London and £25,117 to £35,116 in outer London).

Teachers who reach the top of the main salary scale may be able to move on to a higher scale, ranging from £34,181 to £36,756 (£40,288 to £43,692 in inner London).

There are also separate scales for teachers who have advanced skills or progress into leadership roles, and additional payments for those who take on extra responsibilities.

You can find more information about teaching salaries on the Teaching Agency website.

• Teaching Agency - salary scales

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

The most common way to become a primary school teacher is to do Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The following ITT routes lead to QTS:

• undergraduate degree
• postgraduate award
• work-based programme.

For all routes you will need:

• GCSEs (A-C) in English, maths and a science subject or equivalent qualifications. Check with course providers which qualifications they will accept
• passes in numeracy and literacy skills tests
• Enhanced Disclosure checks through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

See the CRB website for information about clearance.

• Criminal Records Bureau (Home Office website)

You will also need experience of working with young children through paid work or volunteering for example, at a local school or on a holiday play scheme. The Teaching Agency has useful advice about contacting schools for work experience.

Undergraduate degree route

You can study for a university degree and gain QTS at the same time by doing one of the following courses:

• BA (Hons) degree or BSc (Hons) degree with QTS
• Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree course.

These are usually full-time courses and take three to four years.

To get on to a degree course, you would normally need at least two A levels — one of which should be a national curriculum subject — and at least five GCSEs (A-C). Universities may accept other qualifications, such as an Access to Higher Education course. Check with training providers for their exact requirements.

Find out more about national curriculum subjects on the following website:

• National Curriculum

Go to the UCAS website to search for degree courses.

• UCAS

Postgraduate routes


If you have a degree in a subject area relevant to the primary national curriculum, you can gain QTS by doing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course. Courses are one year, full-time or two years, part-time. A small number of flexible courses are available mainly aimed at those already working as unqualified teachers.

You can search for all PGCE courses and apply online through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR).

• Graduate Teacher Training Registry

Work-based routes


There are several options you can look at if you prefer to train and work in a school at the same time. These options are very popular and there is a lot of competition for places.

School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)

SCITT is a classroom-based training programme that takes one year, and is aimed at those who already have a degree related to a national curriculum subject.

The programmes are run by groups of schools and colleges within a local area and you would spend time in one or more of the schools while doing your training.

School Direct

This option replaces the Graduate Teaching Programme and has two alternatives:

• School Direct Training Programme
• School Direct Training Programme (with salary – starting in September 2013).

You will need a degree for either option, and for the paid training route you will also need a minimum of three years’ working experience. The aim is to attract people into teaching, who can bring in skills and knowledge from commerce and industry.

You can apply directly to schools offering the programmes and work while you are training. Both options take around 12 months to complete and lead to QTS.

Contact the Teaching Agency for a list of schools taking part in School Direct.

Teach First

Teach First is a charity that runs a two-year teacher training and leadership programme for graduates with a good degree (2:1 or higher). Training is based within schools located in areas facing social and economic challenges. See the Teach First website for more details.

• Teach First

Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP)

Teachers who have teaching qualifications from another country should check the career opportunities pages of the Department of Education website for details about extra training that may be needed to work in schools in England and Wales.

• Department of Education overseas trained teachers

Moving from further education into school teaching

Since April 2012, lecturers in further education who hold Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status, and are members of the Institute for Learning, can be employed in primary or secondary schools as fully qualified teachers. See the Department of Education pages on QTLS recognition for more information.

• Department of Education QTLS recognition

Visit the Teaching Agency website for full details of all entry routes into teaching and funding for training.

• Teaching Agency - Get into Teaching

Northern Ireland


For details of routes into teaching in Northern Ireland see the Department of Education Northern Ireland website.

• Department of Education Northern Ireland

Training and development

After your teacher training course, you would need to successfully complete three terms in a teaching job before you could gain QTS. During this time a mentor would support you.

Throughout your teaching career you would also need to continue training to keep up to date with new methods and ideas in education. You could do this by attending training days in school and local authority training workshops.

The National College for School Leadership also offers programmes for:

• teachers who are taking on leadership and management responsibilities, including heads of subject or area and subject co-ordinators
• deputy head teachers, assistant head teachers and those hoping to move up to their first headship
• newly-appointed, first time head teachers
• leaders in early years settings.

To find out more visit:

• National College for School Leadership

Transferring to another age group

You do not need to do further training to transfer to teaching another age group. However, schools recommend that you get some experience of the age group you are intending to teach. This could be on a voluntary basis.

Some local education authorities and teacher training institutions may offer short conversion or refresher courses.

Returning to teaching

If you are a qualified teacher wanting to return to teaching after a career break you can find information on the Teaching Agency website. This includes details of returners' courses and other available support.

• Teaching Agency - Get into Teaching

Skills and knowledge

As a primary school teacher, you will need:

• enthusiasm for the subjects you teach
• the ability to develop good relationships with pupils, parents, carers and colleagues
• a strong commitment to equal opportunities
• the ability to work in a team and also use your own initiative
• creative ideas to inspire the children
• the ability to organise and manage time
• the ability to manage classes and deal with challenging behaviour
• excellent communication skills
• patience and a good sense of humour.

More information

Teaching Agency - Get into Teaching
Teaching Information Line (freephone): 0800 389 2500
www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching

Department of Education Northern Ireland (DENI)
Rathael House
Balloo Road
Bangor
BT19 7PR
Tel: 028 9127 9279
www.deni.gov.uk

Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR)
Rosehill New
Barn Lane
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL52 3LZ
Tel: 0871 4680 469
www.gttr.ac.uk

Opportunities

Most teaching jobs are in state schools but you could also work in independent schools, pupil referral units, hospitals and schools run by the armed forces. Part-time and temporary teaching (supply teaching) is possible.

As an experienced teacher you may become an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST), supporting other teachers as well as teaching your own class.

In most schools you could progress to curriculum leader, deputy head teacher and head teacher. You could also choose to specialise in teaching pupils with special educational needs or move into private tuition.

You may find the following links useful for vacancies and general reading:

• Education Guardian
• Local council websites
• eteach.com
• Times Educational Supplement

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.