Ways into Teaching

Becoming a teacher can be one of the most challenging and rewarding careers you can choose. You can make a real difference that will be felt across the whole of a person’s life, and there are many opportunities to develop your skills (and salary) across your career.

There are more routes than ever into the teaching profession. The traditional choice is to study an education degree at a university, but more options are available.

On the Job

School Direct and Teach First are programmes that let you train in the classroom, directly in association with a school. School Direct lets you apply directly to schools you are interested in so you can choose where you train and, likely, where your first job will be based.

This is a popular choice for people who have been working with a school all ready to take the next step in their career: for classroom assistants, for example, to maintain a close relationship with their school and the children in it.

Teach First gives you less choice but is more accessible and provides more support to those without an existing association with a school.

Both programmes will grant a PGCE (a qualification required for teaching) upon successful completion, and have options and bursaries that let you earn money will you train, potentially tax-free.

This can be a stressful entry point into teaching for people without prior experience. It’s very much a sink or swim situation, with only 43% of Teach First alumni remaining in teaching after three years.

University

Many universities offer Undergraduate courses that train you to become a teacher. It’s important to choose the right one for you. Obviously looking at league tables of results is a good place to start, but there’s more to the student experience than that.

For one thing, you’ll need to look at the content of the on offer to make sure it equips you with the skills to be the sort of teacher you want to be. The course that turns out drama teachers who are involved in organizing inspiring extracurricular clubs and activities is not likely to be a good fit if your plan is to climb the hierarchy of the system to become a year head, and or headteacher.

Different universities will excel in different areas, of course. Manchester University can offer a vibrant nightlife alongside its courses, whereas for student accommodation Huddersfield may be your best bet.