Secondary School Teacher
Job Description:Secondary school teachers teach children from 11 to 16, or up to 19 in schools with sixth forms.
Job Category:What you will do:
Day-to-day tasks
In this role you could:
- prepare teaching materials, set up the classroom and organise displays
- plan and teach lessons and work with small groups of students
- mark work and talk to parents and carers about their children’s progress
- manage the work of teaching assistants
- follow safeguarding procedures and work with careers advisers, counsellors, education psychologists and social workers
- organise trips, after school clubs or exam revision classes
- work and attend meetings and training outside of usual working hours
Working environment
You could work at a school, at a college, at a pupil referral unit or at a special needs school.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.
Skills:
You’ll need:
- knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
- maths knowledge
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
- the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
As well as:
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- leadership skills
- to be flexible and open to change (adaptability skills)
- excellent verbal communication skills
- administration skills (organisation skills)
Entry Requirements:
To become a Secondary School Teacher, here are the subjects that are generally considered important:
- English Language: This is usually a mandatory requirement as strong communication skills are crucial for teaching.
- Mathematics: Many teacher training programs require a qualification in Mathematics due to its importance in the curriculum.
- Science: Depending on the subject you want to teach, having a qualification in a science subject (Biology, Chemistry, or Physics) can be beneficial.
- ICT (Information and Communication Technology): In the modern educational landscape, having a basic understanding of ICT is advantageous.
Post School
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
University
Undergraduate degree:
You can do an undergraduate degree that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), for example:
- Bachelor of Education (BEd)
- Bachelor of Arts (BA) with QTS
- Bachelor of Science (BSc) with QTS
Postgraduate certificate:
If you already have a bachelor’s degree without qualified teacher status, you can complete a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). This can be done at university or through a training programme based in a school.
You do not always need to have a degree in the subject you’d like to teach. Your teacher training organisation will decide whether you have the required skills and knowledge to teach the subject.
You can sometimes do a subject knowledge enhancement course to improve your understanding of the subject you want to teach.
More teacher training options:
There are more training options if you want to change career or specialise in teaching certain subjects.
Work
You could start as a teaching assistant or learning mentor and do a part time degree. You could then move onto a postgraduate teaching course to qualify as a teacher.
Volunteering
You might find it helpful to get some experience of working with young people.
You could volunteer at a school, do youth work or work on a holiday scheme.
Working Hours and Environment:
A typical week consists of 37-45 hours of work during term time. You could be required to work evenings attending events or appointments.
Career Path & Progression:
With experience you could:
- become a special educational needs teacher, further education teacher or move into pastoral care
- become a specialist leader of education and support teachers in other schools
- move up to be a curriculum leader, head of year, deputy head or headteacher
- work for an exam board, local education authority or work in a gallery or museum as an education officer
- work freelance as a private tutor