Becoming a teacher in the UK

[CanIHaveChocolatePlease]

Hi there,

I'm don't know if this is the right part of Mumsnet to post it but I feel ye're probably the right people to advise me on this but here goes (and sorry about the length and detail of it and I know that ye'll all probably be advising me against going into teaching at the moment !);

I am Irish and have lived in Ireland all my life and have always gone to school here (have been in normal state schools so have done the Junior Certificate and will be doing the Leaving Certificate- which is the usual end of school exams here- in June 2018). In school I am currently doing English, maths, Irish, French, biology, home economic and geography.

However,for various reasons, for a while now I've been hoping to live in some part of the UK, preferably England in the future, ideally from university onwards (hopefully I'll be starting university in September 2018) so that's where my questions come in.

I am thinking of either being a teacher (most likely primary,but if I was to do secondary it would probably be home economics, biology, childcare or geography that I'd want to teach) or else maybe working with children in a preschool/childcare setting.

So I'm wondering the following about studying and qualifying in these areas;

If I wanted to train to be a primary teacher/childcare worker in England, what is the easiest way to do it straight after school, how long would it take and how much would it cost?

If I wanted to train to be a primary teacher/childcare worker in Northern Ireland, what is the easiest way to do it straight after school, would I have to teach/study Irish, how long would it take and how much would it cost?

If I wanted to train to be a primary teacher/childcare worker in Scotland, what is the easiest way to do it straight after school, would I have to teach/study Gaelic, how long would it take and how much would it cost?

If I wanted to train to be a primary teacher/childcare worker in Wales, what is the easiest way to do it straight after school, would I have to teach/study Welsh, how long would it take and how much would it cost?

If I trained in one country of the United Kingdom
and then wanted to work in another country in the United Kingdom, could I go straight into work and if not how long would it take to retrain and how much would it cost?

If I ended up having to train as a teacher/ childcare worker in the Republic of Ireland and still wanted to then move to and work in the UK, would I be able to go straight into a job or would I have to retrain and requalify and if so how long would that take and how much would it cost?

So what I'm basically wondering is what is the easiest way to become a teacher or childcare worker in the UK straight after finishing school and that if I train in one part of the United Kingdom or Ireland and want to work in another part of the UK, will I be able to go straight into a job without extra training and if not what's the quickest and easiest way to retrain?

Sorry for this lengthy message but I'm heading into my last year of school next week and need to start sorting out what I might do after school next year and what's the quickest, easiest and most cost effective way of training after school that will easily allow me to live and work between Ireland and the various parts of the UK. I am able to get a British passport if that would make anything easier for me.

Sorry again for the lengthy message and I look forward to hearing from ye with yer advice. I did read stuff on how to become a teacher in the UK but I was finding it confusing, especially for someone who's looking to do teaching straight after school.

Thanks in advance!

I'm a primary teacher in Ireland. You can certainly train in Ireland and then go across - you will be snapped up. There's a lot of recruitment of Irish staff - probably because the English ones get burnt out.

Knowing people who teach in England and from what I see on FB groups, I wouldn't touch the education system there with a bargepole. Longer hours, ridiculous paperwork, much more pressurised for teachers and children. If I were to move to England, I'd get a different job.

Scotland afaik has a better education system so I would look into that option.

Oh, and no Ofsted, no academies and no school gradings of Satisfactory etc.

Up to you OP. I value my work/life balance so I wouldn't do it personally. As it is, I work one hour after school, maybe two - none of this marking at night or weekends.

snapped up. There's a lot of recruitment of Irish staff - probably because the English ones get burnt out.

Are you suggesting the Irish ones don't?

Irish teachers in Irish schools getting burnt out to the same degree as those in England? Absolutely not, based on what teachers I know there say - and online articles. I work with two here who left the system there due to that.

As a result, there's a lot of recruitment of Irish staff online. Often young Irish teachers might go to the UK to complete probation (as UK experience counts for completing those criteria here). It's seen as good experience, but with a heavy workload. It makes sense - we're English speaking with good training.

The major problem in Irish teaching is lack of jobs (especially at secondary), and pay scales. But the workload is nowhere near as intense.

But I think maybe you're interpreting what I'm saying as "Irish teachers can miraculously survive in the English system". That's definitely not it.

Aha-sorry, I did misunderstand what you'd said!

I was wondering if they'd had something magical in their training that meant they could come to England put up with all the Gove-shite and not crack like we do!!

Thank you for explaining :)

Oh I reread it and I could definitely see how you picked that up - I could picture all the MN teacher hackles rising

I have a lot of respect for English teachers putting up with all the bs you do - I don't know how you do it. I wouldn't stay in the job myself.

I've read that a lot of Irish teachers have gotten wind of how hard it is in Wales/England and are now going to the Middle East instead. Is that true? I'd imagine Brexit will make it even worse!

Oh some do, yeah - definitely a big increase in numbers for that. But the UK is so close to home and many plan to just suck it up, teach one year and then get the hell out once they've finished their probation - you get three years to do that, so not having it hanging over your head is tempting.

I wouldn't say many Irish teachers go into the English/Welsh system blind to the pressures. We know how crazy it all is - we see it online and hear from our unions that it's not a path to follow.

Dubai etc is more for people who want a foreign adventure while teaching. It's focused towards those wanting an adventure while the UK gets presented as a means to an end.

I can imagine Brexit will impact - will probation in England still be valid, visa issues, transferring paperwork - lots to think about!

Very true. I'm ashamed to say I didn't have a clue, but here I am 11 years later!
Jaysis this first few years were a baptism of fire though. I went to school in Ballymun; it wasn't like I was used to posh schools or anything, but the behaviour freaked me out. And the paperwork! No one had warned me! Why didn't I do me research?! Ah it all worked out in the end, but I lost the pointy bits on me teeth in the meantime...

those not this. Pah.