Primary or secondary? Help me choose!

[Chapterhouse11]

I'm going to apply for teacher training to begin in September but I'm not sure whether to go for primary or secondary English.

I'm almost thirty. Have a six year old DS and a DH. DH could do morning school run but I'd need to do after school and collect DS from wrap around at 5pm (Just in case this has an impact on which option to go for).

I graduated last year with a BA and I'm due to finish an MA in the same subject in August. It's not English but a subject very closely related.

I have wanted to teach since I was fourteen and always imagined myself teaching secondary English however I have spent the last year working as a TA in a primary school and loved it (prefer KS2, ideally Year 4 - 6, not so keen on KS1).

So basically I don't have any experience of secondary but it's what I always imagined myself doing. However, I'm also a little bit apprehensive of the behaviour in secondary.

The primary I work at is in a very deprived area, high percentage of PP, EAL, SEN. Lots of behaviour issues. I love it, regardless. But I do worry that at secondary level the risk of personal harm is probably higher.

I definitely want to teach. I'm aware of how awful things are in education and how tough teachers have it from working in a school myself and also reading with interest ever thread on MN that comes up about education.

I just want to work out which option would be better for me. Primary or secondary English

Get some secondary work experience.
The two things couldn’t be more different.
You’re either a primary person or a secondary one.
I’m a primary. The though of teaching a bunch of 14 year olds makes me want to cry.

I'm a secondary teacher and DH is primary. I have to say that he works a lot harder than I do! Secondary schools also often finish earlier than primaries, so I get a lot of work done before collecting DS from after school club.

Depending on the school, secondary can be tougher in terms of behaviour, but at least you only have any one group for an hour at a time! My DH has a really tough KS2 class, and is solely responsible for all pastoral/parental issues as well as teaching them all day every day. Good English teachers are always in demand, although there is often an additional pressure for results as a core subject.

I think it depends on your personality and love for your subject. I adore my subject, and wouldn't want to teach anything else. DH is more of an "all rounder" and enjoys seeing the progress kids make over the course of the year.

I did apply through an agency to do cover supervising in secondaries, which I was hoping to start after the Easter hols, but the agency were waiting on a reference. I keep calling and chasing but not getting anywhere!

I do love working in primary. But I love Y4, 5 & 6 which are very different from KS1!

Hi,

Thanks for this. It's really helpful.

I do adore the subject and love the idea of having groups for an hour at a time.

I guess in primary with the same cohort for the year, if they're a particularly difficult group, then there's no let up.

I imagine at primary, there are more issues to deal with beyond teaching.

I am a secondary teacher and absolutely love it but I teach a lot of GCSE and A level classes so I get to really teach my subject which I love. It's a huge spectrum as someone else said. Teaching reception students and A level classes is entirely different so I think some work experience in both would be good and trying to see a range in secondary would be good too. Teaching key stage 3 is also very different to teaching key stage 5.

I teach English at secondary. My sister teaches in primary. She does a lot more work than me, she’ll often be telling me about something that I wouldn’t have to deal with and I’d be able to pass it over to the pastoral team or SENCO or attendance officers etc. She’s also higher up in the management of the school and has more responsibilities, due to it being a small school and therefore there being more chance of progression there I suppose, but I have a TLR in top of my role and so actually get paid more than she does as it’s easier to get through UPS in secondary and have less to do for the money. Plus I suppose our SLT reflects the size of the school, so maybe the odds of progression are the same in both settings. I also don’t spend any of my own money for classroom supplies, while she does.

But it’s what you love that is most important. If you can easily get a job at KS2 and you love it, then that matters more. I love my subject and I’m very results driven; I love getting good GCSE and A level results. I’m not a primary person at all. Behaviour is up and down, I mostly have good behaviour but some kids really are unmanageable for anyone, though I’ll only have them a couple of hours a week so it balances out.

Thanks. Another really helpful post. Lots to think about.

I have taught secondary English for 15 years and I’m thinking of moving to primary. It’s partly due to behaviour but more that I want a change. The main difference is the marking. If you have two classes of Year 11 the mocks are a killer. Maybe get some experience and see which teachers are happier etc.