DC’s teacher didn’t go to university.

Yes, this is true. But it's not a given that having a PGCE gives you the ability to do that.

And I think it might be hard to gain high level knowledge without a degree. Sure, knowledge of the curriculum is easily gained - it's designed for children to study. Personally I think teachers should have higher level knowledge than what they are actually teaching. All of DD's teachers with PhDs (she's had several) have been excellent but I guess you will get excellent teachers of whatever stripe if you can pick and choose (which some schools can).

What would you be hoping for by raising it with the school? Presumably they already know this because they employed her and she must be doing a good job otherwise they would've got rid of her?

I wouldn’t want to pay for a teacher that has no degree… especially at secondary level.

does that make me a snob? Maybe.

What a weird thing to be concerned about!

I have a friend who is not only a teacher without a degree, they are head of department.

Just to add with my tongue less in my check - I would also want to be assured that this wasn’t a cost saving exercise - ie school habitually ‘promoting’ TAs off the back of ‘proven adeptness/talent in the classroom’ meaning in reality the school benefitting from ‘teachers’ at a much lower cost because they are offering a ‘pay rise’ but still to nowhere near what a qualified teacher would cost them.

If they consider her a teacher and pay her the same regardless, and she can teach and has been getting results then fair play.

My mum was a primary school teacher in the 70s. She had A levels and a teaching qualification but no degree. She also couldn't swim but was asked to teach the children swimming too. It was shallow water but I doubt this would be allowed nowadays. In contrast my daughter is also a primary teacher and has 2 degrees as well as previous experience working with children with specialist needs. I didn't realise the private sector was different on this

Some extraordinary ignorance there. There are independent inspections just like OFSTED and my school and the previous does still use the TPS. I know if no colleagues in the private sector now who do not have or are working on a QTS qualification. We teach, with minimal issues of crowd control, we can choose with much more freedom what we'd like to teach or what our students would be interested in. Many of us have taught successfully in state but chose private for a variety of reasons, not least the reduction in fees for own children. So many sad generalisations on here.

Teachers at state schools don't have to be qualified teachers either ... the law was changed to allow schools to hire people without QTS to teach.

What is the point of a degree in primary education? Think of your own primary school teachers- how many of them were good and didnt have a degree in primary education?

If the students in her classes persistently have worse results than the rest of their cohort, I think you could raise concerns - not about her lack of a degree but about her teaching ability.

Private schools can hire whoever they like

As others have said, private schools can employ non qualified teachers if they choose to.

As an aside though, I have a degree in history (and a Masters), and you definitely wouldn’t want me teaching your child history, because I can’t teach. And the most important thing about being a teacher is, in my opinion, being able to teach.

If I found out my child was getting a non qualified, non university educated teacher as a new teacher to the school I wouldn’t accept it (private, so they can make their decisions but equally so can the parents who can and will vote with their feet). However if she was getting a teacher with a well accepted known track record in the school (which is apparently the case here) and I subsequently found out she wasn’t qualified and didn’t have a degree I wouldn’t care.

Because my degree doesn’t make me a competent teacher and her lack of degree but proven track record of teaching doesn’t make her an incompetent one.

I would, however, make discrete but urgent enquiries about how this did come to happen - as in does the school have a policy of employing any Tom, Dick or Harriet off the street if they fancy a bash at teaching, or was this an exceptional case because she was already there proving her value. If the latter, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. If the former, I’d be concerned!

So someone who has spent 3+ years teaching is likely to be a better teacher than someone spending the same time researching.

You don’t have to chose between them, you can have both. But only one of them is actually needed.

The questions are - are your DC’s learning? Do your DC’s like and respect her? If they are learning and there are no issues - what is the actual problem?

Think private schools can hire who they like….or whoever is the cheaper option….it’s not like state schools

If she has experience and the necessary skills to get a class good grades does it matter

No, it’s not. I’d much rather trust someone who is time served through experience and demonstrable results, than someone who has just ‘studied’ at a higher level. The ability to educate others is much more than qualifications.

Cash won't make a difference, there are plenty of suitable people training and then leaving. Need to majorly reduce workload. I qualified 10 years ago and no longer in a full teaching role.

To the same ends that not having a degree/teaching qualification won’t mean you are a bad teacher, having a Masters/phd won’t necessarily make you a good one either. Some private schools flaunt these teachers as though they will be excellent teachers and far superior to those without, but it really doesn’t work that way. Teaching is about being able to disseminate knowledge and skills in a way young people can understand and retain, the best teachers are those who have the ability to do this well.

I went to a private school. A new chemistry teacher started. Made a huge song and dance about everyone needing to call him Dr Bloggs rather than Mr Bloggs as he has a PhD.
No educational qualifications whatsoever.
Our lessons - genuinely - consisted of him writing out a chemistry-related essay on the whiteboard, and us copying it into our notebooks.

You can also get some with excellent degrees who can't teach their subject!

During WW2 a lot of totally unqualified women went to teach when men were called up and a lot were excellent teachers, some were still teaching in the '60s and were awarded 'qualified through experiences' status.
A degree is no guarantee of teaching ability.

Why does 'still teaching' default to 'defecation', luckily I do a quick check!

DDs school was private. Most teachers were TEFEL from abroad. They had no idea. I took her out.

Why should teachers of course have a degree? Teachers should be good at teaching. You can be good at teaching without a degree.

Absolute rubbish.
At gcse and A level you need in depth subject knowledge to teach properly.
Shall we have doctors with no degrees next?