Teacher help needed, moving into teaching!

[dreamonlucid]

With what seems like so many teachers on here I wondered if I could ask for some advice.

I'd like to move into teaching at almost 50 but with 30+ years experience in my field I'm finding the options for retraining confusing.

I'd like to teach GCSE/a level as my experience is in creative industry's? I've seen some schools would accept me straight from industry and do a QTS? But I'd rather do some training first.

I'm just online now looking it all up and trying to find the most effective route to prepare myself for making the move in the next 1-2 years.

Thanks in advance.

I hadn't thought about adult education or prisons, thank you such great advice.

I think I'd feel more confident learning to teach before going straight into a class. So I'll take a look at PGCE courses as well.

So the pathway into teaching isn't clear

It is.

Do a PGCE which will make you a qualified teacher (ie gives you QTS) or you’ll be paid on the unqualified teacher scale.

A PGCE will give you two qualifications: your Postgraduate Certificate in Education and your QTS (qualified teacher status).

Alternative/school-based providers like SCITTs will only give you your QTS.

Both will give you classroom and teaching experience.

You’d be fine in a sixth form college, and they don’t pay less (FE colleges are a different kettle of fish, but sixth form pay scales are equivalent to schools’).

How about teaching at uni instead? No discipline problems but people who actually want to be there.

I think I'd feel more confident learning to teach before going straight into a class. So I'll take a look at PGCE courses as well.

Even on a PGCE course there won't be much time to build your confidence before you're expected to be in a classroom.

No worries. But you will be teaching almost right from the beginning on a PGCE, but perhaps this will build up more slowly than it might in alternative training.

You will attend university classes alongside school - usually you will split your week for the first month or so building up to longer, full-time school-based work. You will be given a school-based mentor in your subject and you will spend time observing them and other class teachers and then gradually will start to plan and teach part-lessons and then full lessons and then sequences of lessons etc. in your first placement. Then in your second placement you are likely to take some responsibility for your classes but the class teacher will always be present and will give you feedback for each class.

You will of course have the school holidays off but for the PGCE will have university assignments to complete as well, which usually get done in the holidays.

This is untrue. Many SCITT offer PGCEs now.

A PGCE is not to the only way to achieve QTS.

Please just talk to Get Into Teaching, OP. You’re getting a lot of misinformation on this thread.

Happy to be corrected -- thanks @ThanksItHasPockets

Apply for a PGCE in Art or DT or if you can find one in Graphics or whatever. When employed you are employed as a ‘teacher’ and not of any specific subject. Your school will then put you into the subjects they think you can teach basically.

TBH you will likely end up teaching KS3 Maths as there are no Maths teachers as well as your subject specialism for the older years!

There is a local school near me with no English specialists for example.

Worth looking into Teach First as you'd be paid to train. They don't do art I don't think but you could be taken on for DT and teach art once you're qualified if that was what you wanted to teach. They find the school for you. The sector is crying out for STEM teachers so DT is probably the best route for now.

For reference I did SCITT and that was nearly 20 years ago. I wouldn‘T particularly recommend it, although things will have improved. IMO a uni course would be better really.

You could wait for a bit and see what incentives there are to get people into teaching in the next few years. Surely something has to be put in place or there will be no teachers in front of the kids. The recruitment crisis is very very real.

i wouldn’t go into school unqualified, unless you are absolutely sure they would definitely help you get QTS. It would be very easy for them to keep you on as an un qualified teacher (this is absolutely legal for Academies, and nearly every school is an academy now). Schools will have to do whatever they can to cut costs moving forwards.

God help the kids if that happens I barely scraped GCSE myself.

Ok that's good to know

That was on I was looking at, lots of schools around here stop at A-level and we have a few 6th form colleges.

I don't mind teaching all ages I just know my subjects and potential best skilled areas aren't selected until GCSE or A level so had assumed there wouldn't be a need for a teacher prior to that age.

I doubt teach first would suit you, it is for new graduates, and not only that but you get tied in for a certain number of years with massive financial penalties if you try and get out

Just do a PGCE

I know someone who did Teach First in their 40s. She said quite a few had been in other careers first so what you're saying isn't accurate. She ended up leaving due to medical reasons and there were no penalties 🤷

In the spirit of giving correct information to the OP and anyone else reading:

Teach First is a two-year commitment (meaning that you now need to do an additional year to complete the statutory ECT framework).

Most of the trainees are recent graduates but there have been a fair number of career-changers for many years now.

There was briefly a system of a financial penalty for dropping out but this is no longer the case.

They don’t train Art teachers so OP would likely have to do D&T.

You can theoretically be placed anywhere; you can express preferences for a certain region and people with extenuating circumstances will be prioritised for their preferred region.

Thank you for all the information, I'm not surprised there is a lack of teachers it's so darn confusing for anyone other than a graduate wanting to join the profession.

I dare t ask about independent schools as that was my other route in?

Yes I would go independent to see if it is for you, just send your cv to a bunch of local private schools and see what comes back. Honestly public schools are so hard to work in right now if you are doing this for the last bit of your career do not rule out independent, especially for a subject like yours. They employ people with no teaching certificate often.

Hi there, I'd really recommend Now Teach (www.nowteach.org.uk) they are a charity set up to support career changers into teaching - as well as to give support and a network to help you thrive once you start.

There is such a shortage of Teachers that they can't afford to turn anyone away unless there is a criminal record. Just apply for a big standard PGCE and you will get QTS with it. It will involve placements in different schools. You will have to teach all year groups though you can't pick and choose to get GCSE and A level.

The days of independent schools employing people without PGCEs is not a thing any more and I’d be wary of a school that did this. My school, big city academic independent wouldn’t do this and they rarely appoint ECTs either. We have a very well qualified, experienced staff and lots of them stay put so the shortages are mostly in the state sector. Do a PGCE and see how you go.

Are you in the UK? Or just prefer the US use of the term public school (which I actually prefer too! )

I thought public school in the UK was the elite version of private, so Eton, St Paul's, etc

Versus state school being the non-independent, non-fee paying type.

I couldn't teach in any of them. Teachers must have such thick skins and loads of energy to even get through the day.