Retraining as a primary school teacher

[carefreeeee]

I am thinking about doing this. I already have a degree. What are the options? Is there an equivalent to pgce for primary age teaching (I.e. a one year training course) ? Searching online only seems to bring up info about secondary. Tia.

You can do a primary pgce or have a look at school direct (salaried route).
Look at universities near you for your options, and the ‘get into teaching’ website is useful if you’re uk based.

Hi carefree- I'm also planning on retraining as a primary teacher and aim to start a PGCE in 2019- when I decided 'enough is enough I'm going for it-' I get the 2018 was too soon to prepare as I'd like hence applying for next year

Like pp said salaried entry is an option but as I don't (yet) have experience or contact in schools I didn't think this was for me and I'm going down the 'student' route

Good luck-maybe in a few months we can start a PGCE 2019 thread

Thanks mara - that's helpful.

I'm not sure which route would be better. Obviously being paid something would be preferable, but I don't have a connection with a school at the moment. On the other hand, I have spent a long time in higher education already, so in a way going straight into a school might be preferable to going back to being a student again.

Future - good luck with yours too - I think I will aim to get some more school experience and apply 2019. At the moment I have done a few odd bits of volunteering but I haven't spent a full day in the class room which would be the next step for me I think.

Schools Direct or similar in-school ones are generally seen as more stressful, and throw you in at the deep end a bit more! PGCE is more academic (more essays!), but still with lots of school-based experience.

I went from work into a PGCE and for me it was the right option - it was a slower start into school with time in college to get my bearings before the first placement, and then chunks out of school to -recover- be a student. And having the support of the university was very important. Downsides were that you don't know where your placements will be until about a week before, and they could be quite far! My schools were very different from each other, which was a good thing to see so early. My uni also had a 2-week 'alternative' placement in the middle, where you could go to a special/forest/private/nursery/foreign school.

School Direct - especially the paid ones (they're not all paid)- are competitive to get on, too. Some of them are run by universities and some by schools or groups of schools. Some people love it, and they often have a job at the end, I just know it wouldn't have been right for me. It can also be limiting in terms of the experience because often you'll be sent to nearby, similar, schools for your second placement. But if you have a lot of school experience and feel ready to hit the ground running, it can be great.

I would say in terms of your experience now to definitely try to get whole days in. You'll need to have 2 weeks experience to apply anyway. Try to work with different children, not just the ones who need a lot of help who they might put you with!

Also try to get in to different schools. Schools vary hugely, and I really think it helps to have seen as many as possible. The two schools I trained in were very different from each other in ethos and intake, and the one I now work in is different from both of them! I know some people who worked in terrible schools and thought they hated teaching, but it was because they'd never seen anything else.

Good luck! It's the best job in the world, even when it's a bit shit

That's really interesting - thanks!

Don’t bank on getting a salaried school direct place. Where I live, they’ve taken the salaried element away, so you’re just getting the basic bursary.

I have been looking more into schools direct and thinking I'm going to go that route- I wouldn't even apply for salaried schools direct training as I've heard from a friend in teaching they are usually reserved for those who already work on a school

It'll be a tough year with only dh wage but I'm seeing it as just like mat leave again and we survived then!

Does anyone know if the School Direct (pref salaried) would be open to me?
I'm also interested in primary teaching, I did secondary PGCE and NQT year in the early
1990s but have not taught in the UK since

I do have an old NVQ in Early Years and have been teaching ESL Overseas (have CELTA) I've also been a parent Governor.

I have been trying to find out info about returning to teaching (I absolutely could not walk into a primary class and just do it, I need some kind of mentor/return course. I have no clue about primary class
Management or delivering curriculum)

Bookwitch I thought once your NQT is done you can teach anywhere? I've known secondary teachers move to primary and vice versa without doing any additional course. Your best option is probably to ring your local university and see what they say.

They may be able to offer short courses or something on the curriculum?

That's what I keep being told but it makes me worried. I trained for secondary MFL a quarter of a century ago. I feel in no way competent to teach Y6 maths.
I feel ready for a new challenge and feel it's what I want to do but just to be thrown in with no updates or at least some mentoring is not fair on me or the kids, is it?

I am interested in this too. I have a PGCE with ESOL for post 16 education but can’t find a teaching job. I am a piano teacher in the evenings and work full time in the daytime. I would like to train as a primary school teacher but think I’m possibly too old in my late forties. Also, working full time, it’s hard to get time to volunteer in a school to get some experience.

Bookwitch - I'm in exactly the same position as you - I did a secondary pgce 15 years ago, stopped teaching when my oldest was born (he's now 11) and now want to switch to primary teaching, but am finding it almost impossible to work out how to do it. I know in theory i Could teach primary, but I'm in no way prepared for it. Am very frustrated that there doesn't appear to be any way to retrain. At the moment I'm working as a ta and then doing voluntary work in anything related that I can find - but I wish there was some way of retraining.

@Tokelau
I'm 48 this year, I hope I've got a good 10-15 years in me yet and not considered too old.

@Apanicaday
We should stay in touch and let each other know if we stumble over a solution!
I'm still overseas at the moment teaching ESL, move back in July

Bookwitch you may be able to do a refresher course but to be honest the pgce doesn't go into massive detail about the curriculum because they are pressed for time. I had 4 hours on the teaching of phonics! Maths English and science are obviously dedicated more time but they don't go into what to teach so to speak. Just give you ideas a lot of the lectures I found a waste of time if I'm honest because as soon as you go into a school you pick it up and develop your own practice.

Could it be an idea for you to do some supply in a primary? That way the planning is done for you, you'll be paid and you can develop as you go. I had year 6 on a placement and uni didn't prepare me for year 6 at all. They can't teach you all the content for every year group so it's very much teach yourself and it's so easy to pick up. I didn't have a clue about half the year 6 maths but Just taught myself and my colleague did in year 6 also! Going into do supply may be a good option and then you could get a feel for some schools?

@Morewashingtodo
Thanks, yes that's probably the way to go, I just know why a high pressured job it is. I feel going into a job as "qualified" but really having no clue is so scary!
Ultimate imposter syndrome I suppose

I could, I'd have to brush up my French a bit but that's do-able. Or is Spanish more usual these days?

Is there an equivalent to pgce for primary age teaching (I.e. a one year training course)

Yes, it’s called a primary PGCE .

Make sure you go into it with your eyes open though. Have you read all the threads on here from teachers desperate to leave?

@appiskidu in my defence it's hard to find useful info on the websites - even tried chat function on 'get into teaching ' site but it was rubbish.

Been reading some of the other threads - scary stuff. Thinking hard and planning some school time.

Now for my next question... If you do a pgce that's 9000 in tuition fees. If you get a bursary do they pay these fees as well, or not?

People have said that school direct salaried is very competitive. Is school direct unsalaried any easier or is it still the case that you would need to work in the school already? Do you have to pay fees if taking this route?

Finally has anyone done school direct for primary and could give their view of it?

My school is the lead school for schools direct near me but I've never heard of a salaried one!

You can search on UCAS for salaried school direct places. The TA at the school I work in is doing salaried next year.

I have heard that they generally go to staff already in schools. But a quick check on UCAS does show vacancies

Hi, I’m starting SCITT in September - it’s a salaried position and the fees are paid for me - that’s the only way I could afford to do it! I’ve been working as a TA for a few years and am training at the same school. I think you can do it unsalaried but there are still fees to pay so I’m guessing the salaried places are very popular!

I did non-salaried primary Schools Direct 3 years ago. I qualified for a bursary as a mature student (I was 40 at the time) which was very handy. The bursary wasn't for paying for the fees, but helped me with living expenses. I am paying the fees back now that I am working. It comes out of my pay directly so I don't really notice it.

It was competitive to get on the course. A full day of interviews and an observation. In fact, it was more stressful doing that than actually applying for teaching jobs subsequently! I spent time volunteering in local schools beforehand so that I had relevant experience.

I found the Schools Direct route fantastic for me because it was straight in at the deep end. Doesn't work for everyone I know, but I found that the fact it was so full on meant I could just go with it. You teach in small groups from the beginning so by the time you progress to class teaching, you don't feel as apprehensive as you would if you were suddenly faced with an entire class. Plus, I knew exactly what to do on the first day when I started working the following year (I think that would have really made me worried had I chosen a PGCE).

In the first few months in particular I had lots of opportunities to observe my mentor and other teachers around the school which was very useful too. You can also gain valuable contacts in the local schools too which is always a positive when job hunting.