Primary school teacher
Education & Instructors
Primary school teachers typically teach the broad range of subjects included in the national curriculum, with particular emphasis on the core subjects of literacy, numeracy and science. Some specialise in a particular subject, such as maths, languages or science, and there are teacher training courses to support this.
Primary school teaching is a rewarding career with good employment prospects. Teachers may be supported in the classroom by teaching assistants and can progress by taking on additional responsibilities, such as becoming head of year or taking on the role of special educational needs coordinator. It is rarely a 9.00 am to 3.00 pm job, as there is usually preparation to be done before and after school hours during term-time.
- lesson planning and preparation
- checking pupils' work
- attending parents' evenings
- preparing for Ofsted inspections
- running extracurricular activities
- undertaking professional development
Personal Qualities and Skills
Key skills for primary teachers
Pay And Opportunities
Typical employers of primary school teachers
Primary teachers are employed within state-maintained, voluntary-controlled (such as religious-aided) and private schools. Teaching vacancies are advertised in local authority jobs lists, the Times Educational Supplement, The Guardian and local newspapers. They are also advertised by individual schools, agencies, teacher registration schemes and databases for specific local authority areas, and pool application systems.
Qualifications and training required
A degree is a standard requirement for anyone who wants to obtain qualified teacher status (QTS) and teach in state-maintained schools. There are several different postgraduate teacher training routes open to graduates in England who wish to train as primary school teachers. These include the PGCE (Postgraduate or Professional Graduate Certificate in Education), School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT), employment-based School Direct training programmes and Teach First. Teacher training routes can vary in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Most initial teacher training programmes in England and Wales use the UCAS Teacher Training application system and it is advisable to apply early in the final year of your university studies. You can apply to a mixture of primary and secondary teacher training courses if you wish.
Some teacher training providers prefer you to have a degree in a national curriculum subject if you are applying for primary teacher training. A science or technology background can be an advantage, as can extra skills such as music. You will need GSCEs or equivalent at grade C/4 in English, maths and science.
You will be required to pass a disclosure and barring service check.