JobsAndCareersSpringIssue2017 - 127

SPOTLIGHT ON TEACHING

EARLY YEARS TEACHER

In this first stage of the teaching
process, you would be working
in the Early Years Foundation
Stage (EYFS), teaching children
aged between three and five in
nursery, pre-school and reception
classes. From developing the social
and communication skills of your
pupils to teaching them the basics
of reading and writing and also life
skills -including going to the toilet
- you need to be patient and kind
in this role that inspires children just
starting out on their educational
journey. Starting salary is £22,244.

PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER
As a primary teacher, you'll inspire
young pupils by teaching a diverse
curriculum that touches on a wide
range of subjects, from maths
and science to literacy, history,
performing arts, physical education
and beyond. This gives you the
responsibility - and opportunity
- to make a big impact on
pupils' lives and ensure
they progress into
secondary education
not only with
confidence, but also
with the enthusiasm
they will need to learn
and succeed. You can also train
to qualify as a specialist with an
extra focus on certain subjects.
The starting salary is between
£22,467 and £33,160.

Words: Sam Burnett, Images: Shutterstock

SECONDARY SCHOOL

Working with children aged between
11 and 18, your primary role is to
deliver lessons in line with national
objectives as well as support, observe
and record the progress of your class.
Working hours are long and often
include extra hours for parents'
evenings and breakfast and
after-school clubs, but, of
course, there is the benefit
of the long holidays (from about
12 weeks) throughout the year.
Newly-qualified teachers (NQTs)
in England and Wales start on
a salary of £22,244 which goes
up incrementally to £33,160.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
TEACHER

Helping students learn and
improve their English is
the role of an EFL (English
as a Foreign Language) Teacher.
If you enjoy meeting people
from different countries and
teaching English from the
ground up, this role might
appeal. You'll need an excellent
standard of English and some
employers want a degree - preferably
English, linguistics, languages or
education studies. To work overseas,
a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign
Language) qualification will improve
your chances of finding a job. The
salary is £13,000 rising to £27,000.

TEACHING ASSISTANT

Your role (also called a Classroom or
Learning Support Assistant) is to support
the teacher in the classroom, with duties
including setting up activities, helping
students with reading and managing
classroom behaviour. Full-time TAs can
work up to 40 hours a week in local
authority, private and special schools.
You'll need GCSE grades A to C in maths
and English and experience of working
with children. Salaries start at
£11,000 to £15,000 and may
rise to £21,000 with experience.

EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGIST

Helping children or young people
deal with problems that may be
causing them to fall behind in their
learning is the main role of the
educational psychologist. Working
alongside parents, teachers, social
workers, doctors and other people
involved in the child's education,
you will conduct observations,
interviews and assessments.
You may recommend learning
programmes and collaborative
work with teachers or
parents. You'll need a British
Psychological Society (BPS)
accredited undergraduate
psychology degree. Starting salary
is £22,503 rising to £30,737.

EDUCATION TECHNICIAN

Technicians work in schools, colleges
and universities. They support
science, design and technology,
art and information technology
(IT) teachers, by preparing the
necessary equipment and
materials and helping in
practical lessons such as
conducting experiments
in chemistry. To get into this
job, you will need a good
standard of general education,
for example GCSEs. Some employers
may ask for higher qualifications such
as A-levels or equivalent. A possible
route into this work could be through
an apprenticeship. The starting
salary is £15,000 rising to £28,000
with a few years' experience.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL
NEEDS (SEN) TEACHERS

From pupils with physical
disabilities, learning difficulties,
emotional or behavioural
problems as well as dyslexia or
sensory impairments, the role
of an SEN teacher is to offer
support and a safe learning
environment and to identify
individual needs. It's possible
to work in mainstream,
private or special schools.
To become a SEN teacher
you will need QTS
in England and Wales.
Previous teaching
experience may be useful and
qualified teachers can undertake
additional training to teach
pupils with special needs.
Starting salary is £22,247
rising to £33,160, but you also
get an additional allowance,
ranging from £2,064 to £4,075,
for taking on the responsibility
of looking after SEN children.

FIND OUT MORE
* education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching
* prospects.ac.uk
* ucas.com (for qualification information)

J O B S & C A R E E R S /// 1 2 7
http://education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching http://prospects.ac.uk http://www.ucas.com
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