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Any newly qualified teachers out there??

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  • Valli
    Valli Posts: 24,703
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    Why not volunteer as a parent helper in your local primary school? If you were to apply to take a teaching degree chances are the course provider would be expecting you to have had some voluntary experience in a school anyway - but you will get a feel for the job, and some of what it entails, directly.
    Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY
    "I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
    :heart:Janice 1964-2016:heart:

    Thank you Honey Bear
  • Dunroamin
    Dunroamin Posts: 16,908 Forumite
    Valli wrote: »
    Why not volunteer as a parent helper in your local primary school? If you were to apply to take a teaching degree chances are the course provider would be expecting you to have had some voluntary experience in a school anyway - but you will get a feel for the job, and some of what it entails, directly.

    THERE'S NO POINT VOLUNTEERING IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL IF THE op WANTS TO TEACH SECONDARY. (Sorry!)

    From the fact that she wants to do a one year course, I assume that she's already a graduate.
  • celyn_2
    celyn_2 Posts: 24 Forumite
    I am a graduate and also have a PhD. I have tried to get work experience and voluntary work in many schools (primary and secondary) and the answer is always the same - "we are completely full for the next year and have been inundated with requests"

    Seems everyone is trying to do teacher training these days!
  • Valli
    Valli Posts: 24,703
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    Dunroamin wrote: »
    THERE'S NO POINT VOLUNTEERING IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL IF THE op WANTS TO TEACH SECONDARY. (Sorry!)

    From the fact that she wants to do a one year course, I assume that she's already a graduate.


    Don't shout! ;)

    It does not say, anywhere in her post that she wants to teach in secondary; moreover it's possible to do a 1 year PGCE and train to teach in Primary schools.
    Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY
    "I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
    :heart:Janice 1964-2016:heart:

    Thank you Honey Bear
  • mrcow
    mrcow Posts: 15,170
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    I did my PGCE with 3 small children in tow and found it just fine.

    Some people cope better with these things than others. Some people find the PGCE hard. I just didn't. With 3 kids, I'm an old pro at juggling and was more organised and experienced than most others on the course.

    Don't believe everything you read. Everyone is different.
    What subject do you want to teach? That will make a difference to your job prospects.

    ETA: And yes, you can fit it round your children if you work hard at it.
    "One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
    Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."
  • celyn_2
    celyn_2 Posts: 24 Forumite
    Thanks mrcow. I would teach science if I went down the secondary route, but am thinking primary at the moment.
  • Who?_me?
    Who?_me? Posts: 206 Forumite
    If you can teach physics to A level, you should have fewer problems getting a job than if you want to teach primary. I believe primary is even worse than secondary. You could always find some part time adult education work in an FE college, which would get you onto a part time Adult Education qualification, leading to QTLS. Once you have QTLS, you are now able to work in secondary and FE / 6th Form. I qualified in both, as you couldn't transfer at the time with the FE Qualification. I now teach in FE, which is a different set of skills to teaching in Secondary. You may find this more family friendly, but the work is still very hard to come by and is generally hourly paid. The funding in FE at the moment is in Functional Skills, which is like teaching secondary in an FE environment.
    [FONT=&quot]Good luck with what ever you choose, sorry, my initial response had been rather rushed as I was trying to do too many things at once. Family friendly means you have school holidays, a big advantage, but you will spend a lot of time at home planning etc. which ever route you choose. I wish you good luck in what ever you do, and don’t rule out teaching support either as a starting point.[/FONT]
  • tyllwyd
    tyllwyd Posts: 5,496 Forumite
    Dunroamin wrote: »
    THERE'S NO POINT VOLUNTEERING IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL IF THE op WANTS TO TEACH SECONDARY. (Sorry!)

    That's not always the case - my friend was made redundant about five years ago, and she volunteered in a primary school one day a week for a year before going on to do a one year teacher training course based in a secondary school, and now works as an English teacher in a secondary school. It was competitive to get onto the in-school training, and the last I heard another friend had tried to do a similar thing a couple of years later to be told that the course wasn't running any more.

    I wouldn't say it was an easy career though - she is a single mum, and apart from the school holidays she works long hours and needs childcare before and after school and to cover TD days, parents evenings etc, and really struggles when her child is ill. (I think she is allowed a certain number of 'family' days off in a year, but it's not that many.) And she often asks my DD to go over and play with her DD so that she can get a bit of peace at weekends to do marking. She's was lucky to find a job easily, but the school has had all sorts of trouble with redundancies and other politics.
  • snozberry
    snozberry Posts: 1,200 Forumite
    celyn wrote: »

    snozberry, I did not ever say that i thought teaching was easy! I was asking if it was flexible and/or family-friendly, which is a different thing.

    Actually, you will find that I answered your question.
  • pinkshoes
    pinkshoes Posts: 20,036
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    I'm currently doing a Physics PGCE, and have a £15,000 bursary :)

    I have an almost 2 year old, and there's loads of people on the course with kids. It's hard work, but certainly flexible when it comes to having a family. I get most my work done during the day, then once my son has gone to bed at 7.30pm, I then usually have another hour or two of work to do.

    I know so many people who have Primary PGCEs and can't get a job.

    The best thing to do is just look at the top PGCE providers, and which courses they offer. They tend not to offer courses for subjects where very few jobs are available for.
    Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
    Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')

    No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)
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