Becoming a Teacher or Teaching Assistant

Teaching has long been considered as a very respectable, admirable and valuable career. Teachers come from all walks of life, with different experiences and important life lessons that can be passed on to their students.

Becoming a teacher is actually a relatively uncomplicated process, with people of all ages and backgrounds entering the teaching profession. Similarly, the role of teaching assistants and learning assistants are also viewed as incredibly valuable to the education sector, especially since class sizes and teachers' roles and responsibilities seem to be increasing with each year that passes.

If you've ever considered a career in the education sector as a teacher or teaching assistant, here's how you can make the change and start the ball rolling.

Becoming a Teacher

The type of training and qualifications you'll need is dependent upon your previous experience, and what age group (primary or secondary education) you intend to work with. If you've previously worked with children through either voluntary or paid work, this will be extremely advantageous to your training and employment prospects.

Teaching involves working with children of all abilities and different backgrounds, as well as dealing directly with parents, so patience and good communication skills are a must. Teachers organise their timetables and lesson plans, so your organisational and management skills should be top notch. Children can be very challenging, so a sense of humour is also handy!

Qualifying

All prospective teachers need to meet certain standards, so set levels of numeracy, literacy and Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills are required. Prospective teachers also need to pass a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before commencing their training.

Both primary and secondary school teachers are educated to degree level. Primary school teachers will also need GCSEs or equivalent qualifications in Maths, Science and English with grades A-C. Because secondary school teachers specialise in one or two subjects, a degree that is in the subject that you wish to teach will also be required. Some universities will also recognise Access to Higher Education course as a valid qualification.

To become a primary or secondary school teacher, you'll need to achieve QTS (Qualified Teaching Status). This is done through Initial Teacher Training (ITT), which can be undertaken through 4 different routes: an employment-based route, undergraduate and postgraduate routes, or school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT).

Undergraduate Route

If you are interested in taking the Undergraduate Route, you will need to choose a degree in the subject you want to teach, if you intend to teach in a secondary school. This would then be followed by a PGCE. A BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons) degree alongside QTS is another option, or you can work towards a Bachelor of Education (Bed) degree for both primary and secondary teaching.

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Employment Based Route

The employment-based route allows for training on the job, but you will need a degree or two years of higher education to take this route, and there are a limited number of places. Similarly, the SCITT route requires that you have a degree and the training takes a year to complete before you are ready to train for your PGCE.

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Post Graduate Route

If you already have a degree, at almost any age you can take the postgraduate route, known as a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate of Education), just as long as you have a degree that is in a subject relevant to the primary National Curriculum. Interestingly, PGCE courses usually last for a year if full-time, or can be taken as a two-year, part-time course, with opportunities to undertake some distance learning, too.

At present, the national pay scale for qualified teachers is from £21,588 to £31,522. Advanced skills teachers can earn up to £56,950, with head teacher and management positions being higher still in some cases. Pay scales are higher in inner London due to the general higher costs of living.

Teaching Assistant

If you want to work in education and the classroom, but don't fancy a job as a full-time teacher, then the alternative of working as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) is always an option. Working as a TA is a great opportunity for those that have additional family responsibilities, as the work is undertaken only in term time, with sometimes flexible and part-time opportunities. However in both cases, whether undertaking paid or voluntary work, you'll have to pass a Criminal Records Bureau screening.

Teaching Assistants also go by the name of classroom assistant or learning support assistant. A TA's primary role is as a support to the teacher in the classroom. Depending on the school, this role can include many responsibilities and duties, the most common being supporting and supervising educational games, sports and craft activities, helping children with their reading, administrative tasks and providing extra support for children with special needs.

In many cases, TAs can work with smaller groups of children, such as those that excel or struggle with particular literacy or numeracy skills, or work on a one-to-one basis with a particular child. Bilingual TAs can also work in schools where there are many children whose mother tongue is not English.

To become a TA, it is very helpful if you have some experience of working within a school or with children. Regular Voluntary Work within a school is the best starting place. There is no set entry-level qualification for TAs, as this is dependent on your local authority. In some cases, if you are deemed suitable for the job owing to your employment experience, you can gain an employment-based qualification, such as a Level 2 Certificate for TAs, or an NVQ Level 2 in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools.

There is scope to develop your career towards working as an HLTA. You should be aware though that HLTAs will require further skills and educational development, with the support of the school's head teacher. This is because HLTAs provide extra support to teachers with supervision and learning activities, as well as assisting with lesson plans. In some cases, HLTAs are also qualified to take lessons in the absence of the teacher.

Other Educational Roles

If you would like to work in the education sector but you're not sure if teaching in a school is the right path for you, why not consider a career in Further Education Lecturing and Tutoring?

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Career Change Matcher lets you tell us what is not working and what you want instead and we will match you with career paths that fit. Try it now →