the bits you need to know.
-
how to become a teacher in the UK?
Qualified teacher status (QTS) is a legal requirement to teach in many English schools and is considered desirable for teachers in the majority of schools in England.
Get into Teaching explains teacher training routes to QTS for UK citizens.
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) is responsible for awarding QTS. They also award QTS to qualified teachers outside England.
-
how to become a teacher in Wales?
To become a school teacher and teach in a maintained school in Wales, you need to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), this means completing a programme of Initial Teacher Education (ITE).
There are a variety of ways to start your teaching career and Educators Wales will help you explore what teaching is like and the routes available.
Find out more about initial teacher education in Wales click here. -
is QTS a requirement?
Schools where QTS is a legal requirement
Schools where QTS is a legal requirement are referred to as maintained schools. Maintained schools are part of the state-funded school system in England and Wales – funding and oversight are generally provided by the local authority.
They include:
- community schools or voluntary controlled schools (where the local authority employs the school’s staff and is responsible for admissions)
- foundation and voluntary-aided schools (where the school’s governing body employs the staff and is responsible for admissions)
You must also have QTS to teach in a non-maintained special school.
Schools where QTS is not a legal requirement
In some schools in England and Wales, QTS is not a legal requirement. For example:
- within the English and Welsh state school sector, academy schools and free schools can employ teachers without QTS
- outside the English and Welsh state school sector, private schools or independent schools can employ teachers without QTS
Even where QTS is not a legal requirement, many schools use it to assess the quality of candidates for teaching jobs.
-
what is the UK teacher pay scale?
As a new teacher, your salary will be between £25,714 and £32,157, depending on where you teach.
The school you teach in will have their own pay scales for qualified teachers. Pay increases will always be linked to performance, not length of service.
-
what is the holiday entitlement?
You’ll get more days of holiday than people in many other professions. In school, full-time teachers work 195 days per year.
For comparison, you’d work 227 days per year (on average) if you worked full time in an office.
Click here to view the full benefits of becoming a teacher in the UK.