Undergraduate Teaching Degree! A pathway towards a career that is highly respected by society
There are certain professions that are always in demand and looked on with respect. Teaching is one of them, and the Undergraduate teaching degree is a basic qualification that can open the door for the further career progression.
By pursuing the career in teaching, you do not only inspire the upcoming generation with your skills, but can also gain plenty of transferrable skills in return. Taking an active part in someone else’s growth and helping them become respectable members of a community is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching.
With the addition to job satisfaction, this career also gives you the benefits of a competitive salary, holiday allowance and a pension to secure your future. In this article, we are going to present the best route you can take to start pursuing your teaching career.
Take an Undergraduate Teaching Degree course to become a Qualified Teacher
If you are planning to become a qualified teacher anywhere in the world, it is a must for you to undertake an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) or Initial Teacher Education (ITE). In this course, the entry is usually competitive, but it does vary for certain subjects such as maths, physics, and other languages.
Completion of ITT leads to QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) in England and Wales, whereas the same course completion leads to the Teaching Qualification (TQ) in Scotland. Some of the independent schools, academies and free schools might not consider this QTS or TQ as an entry requirement.
Choosing an undergraduate route for teaching includes qualified teacher status (QTS) that allows you to get school placements. There are full-time programmes, that take around three to four years, or part-time courses, that take a longer period of time to complete.
It is a popular route to leading to primary school teaching, and includes the option of a specialism, such as maths. Secondary school teacher training courses provide an exposure to the specialism such as PE with QTS. The QTS degree courses are available in certain subjects such as modern foreign languages, physics and computing.
Even though the applications are made available through UCAS, in the case of Future Teaching Scholars, you have to apply directly.
What’s this Future Teaching Scholars?
Future Teaching Scholar is a government programme introduced in 2017 and designed for those who are interested in studying maths or physics at the university level, but do not hold any A-levels. It is a six-year programme that makes a pathway into the teaching career. It also allows you to obtain school experience, and financial support of £15,000 while studying.
Entry requirements for Teaching Career
Entry requirement for teachers training courses differ for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Concerning England, the entry requirement are as follow:
- You need a minimum of 2:2 undergraduate degree (Hons) or above. If you are interested in teaching at the secondary or post-compulsory level, then your degree subjects must be relevant to the subject you want to teach. If it’s not the case, then contact the training provider so that you can take a subject knowledge enhancement course
- You must have at least a GSCE grade C/4 or equivalent in English and maths if you are interested in teaching primary or early years At some instances, the training providers may accept equivalent tests.
- For any teaching training course, you have to pass the professional skills test for numeracy and literacy. This has to be done during the application process.
- A current Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) has also to be provided regarding any previous convictions and it must include whether you have previously undergone some criminal records or not.
Skills Needed to Become a Qualified Teacher
Apart from the qualification, to become a qualified teacher you must also show certain skills and personal qualities, such as:
- enthusiasm for your teaching subjects at the secondary or FE level in particular
- in-depth knowledge of the subject/age range and relevant curriculum. This subject knowledge enables you to know how to build a good foundation concerning learning
- ability to convey knowledge to the students in an engaging and understandable manner
- confidence in your ability to teach and convey the message.
- ability to present yourself to be a good role model even when you are going through tremendous work pressure
- excellent organizational teaching skills that enable you to perform the assessments, lesson preparation, etc.
- commitment and dedication towards your work. A positive mindset to adopt new things related to learning and applying that can improve the quality of your teaching.
- a good sense of humour that can enhance the students to become interactive in the classroom
- ability to tackle any stressful situation with patience and calmness
