Newly trained teachers...ever wondered why you bothered?

andyrules

I have recently qualified as a primary school teacher and am having a hard time finding a job. I am in the SW and they are hard to come by. I am beginning to wonder why I bothered doing my PGCE....seems like ot was for nothing.

There's been a huge recruitment push over the last few years, and it seems like the cake has been over-egged so now the market is flooded in some areas. Most nqts I know are either in temp jobs, or working as nursery nurses or TAs. But many teachers are leaving the profession as they become increasingly disillusioned so hang in there!:D

anyone having trouble on here today? I nearly gave up trying to post that!

jellyang

stacey21 wrote:

In Scotland it is quite good as we are guaranteed a years 'probation' where we teach 70% and are on full pay, to gain experience and still have a little eye on us - is there nothing like that there?

Someone was also telling me the course is only 3 years in Wales, its 4 here, is that true?

There are 2 other ways of getting into teaching, namely the GTP (Graduate Teacher Programme) and RTP (Registered Teacher Programme)

GTP is for people with an honours degree who want to teach, but don't want to or can't for some reason get on a PGCE. You basically work as a teacher (not on full NQT pay, but I think it's still about 14k a year) while training for a year. I think they're quite hard to come by, and you have to apply direct to the school (not all schools offer this). It would probably suit those that already have experience in a classroom (ie teaching assistants) and it seems to be quite 'hands on'.

RTPs are even harder to come by - this is for people who have not yet completed their degree, and the school where they undertake their training also sponsor them to complete their studies.

I think this is how it works anyway! I remember reading about the options on a government website a while ago, and the GTP quite appealed to me (i'm an OU student). Whether there will be a school in my area willing to train me remains to be seen, but it's good to know there isn't just the PGCE route into teaching.

jayarr_2

forgot to mention we had a seminar on fri-how to write yr personal statement-and the guy taking it was saying how its pretty much the norm now for there to be 100 applications for 1 job....great!

Prudent

This link might interest some of you:

http://education.independent.co.uk/schools/article2290883.ece

jayarr_2

thanks for that..can show that to my family-i'm sick of trying to tell them i'm not guaranteed a job!