Contemplating training as a Primary School Teacher

[Nicky898]

A relative is at this stage after working in the hospitality industry for a number of years since graduating in Biomedical Science from a south coast university. She earns good money but works very long hours including week-ends and late nights. Her family think she would make a superb teacher. She loves maths and has A level and Higher/Further maths qualification.
Reading round posts here, now several years old, I am wondering if it is still the case that entry to permanent primary teaching posts is extremely competative and that very high numbers of applications are chasing very few vacancies? It was suggested that schools (for budgetary reasons) tend to manage with NQTs and tempoary posts, and that changes to pensions arrangements and the rise of Academy status are depressing the sence of reward individuals perceive. Is this still the case, or is there reason for optimism?

I just treated the PGCE like full time work, and put in about the same hours I do now as a teacher.

It was fine. Not academically rigorous and as long as you're organised it's eminently doable.

My problem would be after-school care for my own DCs. Plus the hour's travel each way to uni.

I'm self-employed so am used to putting the hours in.

I'm going to ask for some (more) volunteering time in school after the summer and might just apply for the PGDE anyway.

I'm an TA and I would not do it. Or at least, I would not want to be a class teacher.

I would recommend anyone who wants to be a Primary teacher to spend a lot of time in school before they embark on training, so they go in with eyes wide open.

I love my job, and really admire the teachers in my school.

I did the GTP and it was fine, no more demanding than a normal full time job tbh. I didn't have kids though, so my evenings and weekends were not in demand.

No GTP in Scotland

Am considering secondary maths teaching, but I have an engineering degree (MEng Civil Engineering). Obviously this covers a lot of maths, but would they accept me onto a PGCE without a maths degree?

Teachers have directed & non-directed time as part of their contracts. Directed time is the 1265 (I think) hours which includes actually teaching the children, attending parents' evenings, staff meetings etc & must take place on the 195 days a year a teacher is required to be in school. Non-directed time is the time it takes to plan, mark, prepare etc. This can be done at any time outside the 1265 hours directed time i.e. evenings, weekends, during holidays. There is no time limit on this because the time taken can vary. Teachers are definitely not only paid for 1265 hours a year.

I'm sure they would, Maths teachers are in very high demand and not enough are training. Presumably you have maths at A level.
I'm all for anyone deciding to be a teacher, you are all strangers to me and I have no idea how you'd handle the demands of being a FT teacher in a primary classroom in state education. You may excel, I know a number of mature entrants who have been briliant.
The only thing I'd say is that if it really doesn't suit you and you find your mental and physical health beginning to crumble, have the sense to recognise that and change what you are doing before you fall into the abyss.
But if it's what you truly want to do, go ahead. I love teaching, never found the salary a problem. But because I love teaching, I'm happier on supply now, working 5 days a week and free of the politics and stress.

Dh qualified as a maths teacher with an engineering degree. He had to do a subject enhancement course first.

I have A grade Maths and Further Maths at A-Level, degree is 1st class honours. Hopefully that's enough! I would prefer the GTP, just need to find a school though...

You may be better qualified than the lecturers.

Primal, 40 days is not all the holidays you get though, there are other days labelled as school closures days which are unpaid - you wouldn't notice the difference though as pay divided over 12 months. (These remarks refer to Scotland)

Primal, 40 days is not all the holidays you get though

I know. 40 days is 8 weeks, not 13.

Captaintripps said:
By the way, those 13 weeks teacher 'holidays' are unpaid. For this key reason, it will NEVER change.

Primal, in Scotland there are 40 days paid, but more days than that are off school - you wouldn't notice the difference as the pay is averaged over 12 months.

Bugger, thought my reply hadn't posted.

I understand that Iggi. I'm not disputing it. It is Captaintripps who said all 13 weeks are unpaid.

I agree - Don't. Do. It.

It's such an easy job, we don't work hard, oh and the bloody holidays. That's why a huge proportion of NQT's leave within 5 years, morale is at rock bottom and we have a huge teacher shortage around here and regions are advertising abroad for teachers.

I would love to get out of it, like 90% of people I know in teaching. If only it were that easy. My dcs have all been told from an early age there's no way they're going into teaching.

Jaded, me? That's 25 years at the chalkface for you

undoubtedly I have recently switched from state to independent secondary teaching. Chalk and cheese. You can't really comment on state education and its demands on teachers if you haven't worked in the state system in the last few years.
I love teaching in the independent sector as I can actually teach . I work long hours but have a much better work life balance.

No, let them. I've decided to stop being a Cassandra, no one believed her anyway.
Go into teaching and find out the truth as it applies to you as an individual.
You can always quit, it's not a contract with the devil.

tillie why not leave, if it's so awful?

I agree, worked for me.
Or do something that's not teaching. You are not trapped, find a way out.

Yeah it's that simple. Those who can't teach, yunno.

I can teach, did so for 30 years.
Still doing it now.