Primary PGCE but no NQT

[Nellsbells173]

Hi all.
I completed my primary PGCE over ten years ago but didn’t go into a teaching job due to life circumstances at the time and not feeling I could give it my all . Worked in various roles since, including 16-19 training and have now been a TA for over 3 years. I feel ready to look back into teaching, but how would I do this? Would I need to redo some formal education? Could I even apply for an NQT role? Where could I get this advice from? Just wanting some advice of where to look first and if it would actually be feasible.
Thanks

The rules used to be that an NQT year needed to be completed within 5 years of the ITT qualification. That was recently changed - there is now no time limit. However, I have no idea whether this was applied retrospectively.

There is still a time limit on doing supply. Because it’s more than five years since you got your QTS, you shouldn’t be able to get any supply work (although whether agencies actually check..) and so need to find a contract of at least a term so you can start induction.

The jobs market is going to be very odd this year because there are no tours at the moment and no face-to-face interviews. Trainees this year had their placements cut short in many cases. So with a full PGCE and three years TA experience, many schools might consider you a better bet than a freshly minted trainee.

One thing to bear in mind is that from September 2021, it’ll be two years to complete induction, with a more structured support programme and a 5% reduced timetable in your second year. That might appeal or you might prefer to try to get a post for this year to get through while it’s still just one year.

It depends where you are, OP. The five year rule still applies in Wales.

PS the two-year induction that @partystress mentions will be national from Sept 2021 but it was due to start from Sept 2020 in a few areas, Greater Manchester being one.

I'm not sure how useful they'll be, but you could try contacting the get into teaching helpline. Their website is absolutely useless at the moment- but the number is available here: getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/contact