If your child is thinking of being a PE teacher ...

[finalay]

... you may want to suggest they aim to teach a second subject too.

As the graph shows, there's a massive oversupply of trainee PE teachers and an undersupply of most other subjects. So if your aspiring PE teacher is competing for a job in a good school, the school will be looking to see what else they can teach alongside it! PE teachers who have second subjects that are in the shortest supply will be in a much better position than those who don't.

I'm saying this as someone who knows a couple of new PE teachers who are struggling to get the jobs they want, and also as someone who works in one of the many good schools that are struggling to recruit teachers in some subjects.

Yes, PE teachers are the stop gap in every other subject, but you don't need to be qualified, and it won't matter if you are. You will be put where the need is, rather than where your qualifications are in.

something else to keep in mind, a career in PE teaching can be ended overnight, for health reasons, far more easily and frequently than careers teaching other subjects - so experience or qualifications in other subjects very important

Yep. Those dim thickos go to often a top uni and study sports science for 3-4 years and then do their PGCE possibly the most stressful year anyone could do but are waaaay to thick to teach anything else.

It's scary how many teachers are expected to teach other subjects that they aren't qualified in.

During my PGCE (for Geography) year, I had to teach some English lessons as there was no teacher ... I last did English at A Level.

My friend is a Home Ec teacher and resigned when she was forced to teach French.

Good point.

We have a vicious circle where below-par teaching by non-specialists in subject X leads to cohorts of students disliking subject X, so not wanting to study it further, never mind teach it.
I'd take a 50:50 PE/X specialist over a reluctant non-specialist any day.

This thread is hilarious - so much misinformation/old school info. I’m obviously considered to be a thicko (thanks @ProvisionsOnTheDock ) with 3 A’s at A level, a First in Sports Science and Maths at degree level (from a top uni) and a PGCE in PE/Maths. Up to GCSE, if you can teach well, you can teach anything - I’ve taught a huge variety of subjects in my time. GCSE and A level PE have plenty of marking with the theory. Teaching PE is, bizarrely, more than getting out cones and blowing a whistle…!

Oh and @TrishIsMySpiritAnimal sorry you had bad experiences but calling all sports teachers sadistic 🙄 tbh many of the ones I’ve worked with are the most empathetic members of the teaching staff.

I think you’ll find pe teachers have as much intelligence as teachers of any other subject , you sound totally out of touch with education today .

My dd’s new head teacher is a PE teacher.

What is the attraction of being a PE teacher-knowing that for some students it’s the worst experience of their school careers

To make it better?

Omg this is horrible

Can it be made better, some people can’t play team sports due to physiological reasons and that can’t be overcome

I've done a PGCE (got distinction) and whilst it was hard, I really don't think it helps teachers when people use descriptions like 'possibly the most stressful year anyone could do'. It feeds into the 'teachers work harder than anyone else' narrative that is often complained about on MN but, apart from the odd comment like this, never actually seen. A PGCE is hard just like most professional qualifications are. It's a good deal easier than many though! (Medicine, for example).

In the school I work in, and our LA we can't get PE, maths, home and and d&t. We've had vacancies for over 2 years.

Surprised you can't get PE!

I'd also suggest the pastoral side as another string to bow as well. At one of the schools I work for:
Senior AVP Junior School
Head of Y8
Year 6 to Year 7 Transition SLT
Head of Careers
PP gap co-ordinator
Trips and events co-ordinator

Are all PE staff.

We also have a PE teacher who is 50/50 with food/hospitality and another 50/50 with health and social care just to back up OP's point. I reckon only 2 of our PE staff teach solely PE.

I will say though that my experience tells me there's a gender split on this - a female PE teacher who only teaches PE is much more employable than a male one.

Agreed - repeating my previous post but PE teachers these days can have amazing pastoral influences. The days of just blowing whistles on a freezing morning are long gone.

Why are female PE teachers more employable

Presumably a basic supply and demand thing. Dd is in secondary and girls are taught PE solely by female teachers (at least she has been so far - she is Year 9 now).

So demand is roughly 50:50.

But sports science courses are very male dominated. (A quick google has it about 67:33 which surprised me as someone who studied maths in the 90s / 00s where we were about 20% I think.)