Hands up! Who wants to be a teacher? We’ve given you some classroom assistance and completed all the homework for you with our guide to paths into teaching as a career explained

BY GAGAN VIRDI

If you think teaching is for you, you can pursue your passion in a variety of different ways. Regardless of the route you choose to go down into teaching, it is worth remembering that 9 out of 10 teachers are employed within 6 months of finishing their training.

Teaching is an ever-popular career choice and it is a profession which requires a thorough education and a deep knowledge of the role. There are several ways into a teaching career – the conventional and most popular route to go down would be the typical GCSE and A-level option then on to a degree. However all it all depends on the grades you receive. A large majority, if not all teaching employers will want the following:

GCSE or equivalent in English:
Grade C minimum

GCSE or equivalent in Mathematics:
Grade C minimum

GCSE or equivalent in Science, if you want to teach primary:
Grade C minimum

After this, universities expect you to have A-levels in English and the specific subject(s) that you want to teach. You must have a C grade or above at A-level in order to gain a place at university on a teaching degree.

To become a teacher, you need to hold a degree and complete a course of initial teacher training (ITT). If you don’t have a degree yet, an undergraduate ITT course will enable you to study for your degree and complete your ITT at the same time.

There are two types of undergraduate ITT which lead to qualified teacher status (QTS). These are:

Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) with QTS

This option allows you to specialise in a certain subject (for example, maths, physics, chemistry or languages), while gaining your honours degree and QTS.

Bachelor of Education (BEd)

This is an honours degree course in education. BEd degrees are available which will enable you to teach in primary and secondary schools but a BEd is a particularly popular choice for those who want to teach primary school children.

You can complete BA/BSc with QTS or BEd degree courses at universities and colleges throughout the UK. Courses generally take three or four years full-time, or four to six years part-time. However, if you have undergraduate credits from previous study you may be able to complete a course in two years.

PGCE

A PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) is a one year course which focuses on graduates acquiring teaching skills and not a specific subject. It includes 12 weeks of seminars and 18 weeks one to one experience, as well as building skills; it enables you to build relationships with the other staff members and children. For primary level teaching you can have a degree in any subject plus a PGCE and for teaching at secondary level your degree must be related to the secondary subject you want to teach.

SCITT

If you have had enough of lectures and want to get straight into teaching then the School Centred Initial Teacher Training course is ideal. With fewer lectures and more on the job training, it allows you to do the same as the PGCE. There are consortia of schools and colleges running SCITT courses all over England. These groups provide all kinds of SCITT, covering primary, middle years and the full range of secondary subjects. You will usually be based in one school from the consortium – the ‘lead school’ – while completing teaching practices at others within the group. School Direct places are available in some of the best primary and secondary schools across England and programmes generally last for one year. Financial support is available throughout your training. Successful completion of the programme will lead to the award of qualified teacher status (QTS), and may also include a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE).

SDTP

The School Direct Training Programme (SDTP) is for high-quality graduates who want to feel part of a school team whilst training. You’ll pay fees but may be eligible for a bursary of up to £20,000 or a scholarship of £25,000 to support you.

The School Direct Training Programme (salaried) is an employment-based route for high-quality experienced graduates with at least three years’ work experience. You will earn a salary while you train.

To learn more about school-led routes into teaching, visit the UCAS Teacher Training website: http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/teacher-training