Switching career - anyone teach art at primary school ?

[closethippie]

hello everyone

does anyone teach art at primary school or anywhere else ?

could you give me some tips on what qualifications i will need to change career into teaching art ? are there any shortcuts, like gaining practical experience without having to do an art degree ?

i am nearly 40, an ex-lawyer (god how boring, eh ?) but have artistic flair and was always the top art student at school. i just never pursued this line of work as i was too busy thinking about money : (

now my son is 3.5, will be going to school in sept., so I need to think about a career change as i don't ever wish to go back to being a lawyer.

any tips please, am i just day dreaming : )

has anyone changed into this lane after doing something else before having children ?

The good news is, if you already have a degree you can qualify for teaching in a year! You can either do a PGCE or follow a GTP programme (Graduate Teacher Programme) when your training is based in one school and you get paid. You'd need to contact your local Uni to find out what they offer- I bet there's also details on the DFES website.

The bad news is it's really hard work to train and I know a few people with young children who've dropped out halfway through because it was too much work. Also, very few primary schools employ art teachers- you'd probably be expected to teach everything, and definitely will while you're training.

Don't want to put you off, because it's a great job if it's the job for you... Good luck!

hi yeti - thanks. i contacted someone today who gave me the gttr website details. it is great to know that i can do it in such a short time. thanks : )

hi yeti - thanks. i contacted someone today who gave me the gttr website details. it is great to know that i can do it in such a short time. thanks : )