Which subject pgce

[HazelHelper]

Hi 56 years of age and I have a social worker degree, never worked in it.
Worked in nursery and residential childcare.
I want to do a PGCE but what specialist subject do I do ?
I enjoy empowering people, I like talking and I'm ADHD and dyslexic

It depends whether you’re thinking of primary or secondary and what subject speaks to you, if secondary.

How would you cope with literacy and SPaG in a primary school, do you think?

I'd seriously consider something else. The PGCE will be challenging but nothing compared to the actual day to day teaching. I'm nearly 56 and have left after 30 y in a secondary school. I just can't work that hard anymore. There is a reason why people are leaving.

Have you thought of teaching in FE on BTEC courses or something similar?

If you don’t know which subject you would want to teach then secondary single-subject teaching probably isn’t for you! It sounds like you would be better in primary or a special school where you teach everything and won’t typically need to specialise in anything. If you do have the option to choose a specialist subject sometimes you can choose areas such as EYFS or SEND rather than choosing an academic subject.

I would definitely spend some time volunteering in schools though before committing to a PGCE just to make sure it is for you; if you’re really not sure what you want to teach then maybe try and get at least a little experience in a couple of different ages or types of school (eg: mainstream vs special).

Health and social care GCSE would be perfect 👌

Have you ever spent time observing lessons in a school? "I like to talk" is seriously not a good attribute in a school teacher these days. Being dyslexic won't exempt you from the skills tests either. I trained as a teacher long before I got diagnosed with ADHD and if I'd known I had ADHD I never would have done it. Honestly it's the worst possible career for ADHD, the level of planning and organisation you need to be a teacher is unreal, there's always more stuff to forget. Working as a one-on-one mentor or in another setting with young people might be better for you?

Why not use the degree you already have instead of spending a year retraining?

Health and social care GCSE is no longer available in Englamd following the 2017/18 reforms. It is still available in Wales.
Most students now follow Health and Social Care as a level 2 or level 3 BTEC and this is widely available in sixth form colleges and FE colleges.
I would suggest FE teaching because your professional background will be relevant for those students.
You can take an FE teaching qualification alongside working in the sector on a part-time basis.

With a degree in social work you might struggle for a pgce at secondary level without a degree in a national curriculum subject.

if you don’t know what you want to teach then, at secondary at least, I suspect it’s not the career for you.

Thank you everyone I think I may need GCSE maths and English as numeracy and literacy is not acceptable anymore

As a mimimim you will need a good pass at GCSE English maths and science, regardless of what age and subject you wish to teach.