Teaching

Xelene

Xelene

Xelene

Soldato
Joined
27 Sep 2005
Posts
4,673
Location
London innit
I've been working in the private sector for almost 20 odd years, some of that time has been doing training but i'd like to change my path and be a teacher. I have a huge amount of experience and knowledge that i'd like to share.

Where do I start?
 
My OH is a teacher, for secondary school you need a degree and then I think you do a PGCE year (they have changed the name recently but it's basically a year working in a school and doing Uni assignments).

I think you can also do a GTP (again - may have changed name recently) year.

Once you have fully trained you become an NQT (Newly qualified teacher) and your PGCE Uni should help you get a job.
 
Your degree can be in pretty much anything. The head at the school I use to work at was originally a Maths teacher but had a degree in Computer Science.

You generally either know you 100% want to be a teacher and do a degree in a subject with teaching as part of it or you do a normal degree and then a PGCE year.

GTP is a bit different and I think you don't have to do any Uni work and it's just a full year in 1 school where as a PGCE year would normally include 2/3 placements.

PGCE is much more common. GTP you get paid a basic wage (something around £15k off the top of my head). PGCE did use to be paid (£666 per month I was told) but I believe you get minimal pay now.

An NQT could expect to earn anything from £16k up to £27k depending on your area, how good you are and the school.

The school I worked out would regularly hire NQT's on £23k to get the best of the bunch (£27k would only really be in London). A friend who did a GTP year got £30k for his NQT but that was in the centre of London in a struggling school desperate for good young teachers.

One word of warning, on your PGCE, NQT and NQT+1 (the year after your NQT year) be completely prepared to sack off your private life. I love to tease my OH with the whole 9am to 3:30pm for 39 weeks of the year but the truth is she has done 7am-6pm for the past 8 years as a teacher, regularly brings work home and often does evenings and weekends for special occasions. PGCE and NQT years are very tough and there is so much paperwork to do and things to keep you busy.
 
Well something was wrong there then, I did my NQT year in 2009 an it was 21K on the first point of the payscale. It's illegal to pay less than that.
 
I asked at my old school they said with my 17 years IT experience I could apply for a teaching job there (never bothered info was from some one that would have worked there 20 years so I assume it was correct but as I never followed it up) - ask the school?
 
Ripper said:
Well something was wrong there then, I did my NQT year in 2009 an it was 21K on the first point of the payscale. It's illegal to pay less than that.
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Hmmm she must have lied then.

BigChief said:
pay is pretty much standard through the country, with the exception of london. there is a set ladder.
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Yeah, Google for it and you get the exact pay scales. The school I worked at everybody moved up one point every year and getting a responsability always meant more money. They often created jobs and rolls to give people a bit extra to keep them happy.

Ripper said:
And GTP students still have to do assignments
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Cool, I wasn't too sure but knew the GTP student I worked with did less Uni work and more time in a school. By the end of the year he was doing a pretty full timetable and taking a lot of classes off of proper teachers.
 
WARNING: Be prepared to give up your entire social life and sleep during term time if you do a PGCE.

Term = daytime.
Half term = night time.

Edit: You do an entire day's work in preparation outside of school, just do do an entire day's work teaching in school.
 
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Peerzy sums it up quite well. I will add though, once you get the hang of things and if you work efficiently, even towards the end of the NQT it isn't necessary to always work beyond the school day.

I have managed plenty of short days, it all depends on the time of year (e.g. Parent evenings are long and reporting time is pretty demanding).

The PGCE is absolute hell though. Nothing can prepare you for it.

The big plus for me are the holidays :)
 
Degree and PGCE, Degree is **** compared to a PGCE.

Also as a teacher expect Long hours and little pay for those hours.

Just because the teachers don't "teach" during the kids holidays does not mean they don't work.

My missus gets to work at 7:30am and leaves at 6pm, Then does 1-2 hours in the evening at home. She teaches year 1 - There is an unreal work load on all the time, even more so now because offs-ted are due any moment.
She may just over work, but it pays off because the last two jobs she got, she got without an interview, primary schools are overloaded with applicants as well :P
She is that good :P

Teaching is a lifestyle not just a job
 
First, make sure you can handle the working environment. Start walking out your current job at 3.30pm, after getting a full hour for lunch and a 15 minute break in the morning.
As soon as the nice weather arrives just walk out of your job and tell them you'll be back in the autumn. Insist that everyone (including adults) call you By your formal title.
Prepare to retire at 60 with a two thirds pension.
Start being really bad at your job, but instead of facing the dole queue see if you could cope with just being shunted sideways into a 'support for learning' job. Remember, if anyone from your new profession ever gets sacked it is such a rare occurrence it makes the local press - could you cope with that in the unlikely situation that you did something so serious and repeated that they got rid of you?
 
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