How to Become a Primary School Teacher

As a primary school teacher, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the minds of the next generation. In this guide, we’ll discuss the benefits of becoming a primary school teacher and what steps you can take to achieve teacher status and start your teaching career.

Start your teaching career today 

Why should I choose primary education?

Being a teacher, no matter what age you teach, can be incredibly rewarding. From making a significant impact on children’s lives, to becoming part of a teaching community, there are many reasons why you should become a primary school teacher.

Teaching children in primary education is a great fit for anyone who wants to teach a broad curriculum, since you’ll teach everything from maths to history to science. The profession is ideal for those looking to help create a nurturing environment for pupils to grow and feel safe, all while providing them with the skills they need to transition into Secondary school.

What school years are primary?

 In the UK, primary school years are broken into 'key stages'. These are fixed stages of the national curriculum that a child will pass through.

Key stage 1 includes years 1 and 2 (ages 5-7), and key stage 2 includes years 3-6 (ages 7-11). Some schools may also have their own Early Years Foundation Stage, most commonly known as reception, for children aged 4-5.

5 reasons to become a primary school teacher

There are a huge number of reasons why to get into teaching. Listed below are some of the most common reasons we see.

Make a difference in children’s lives

From the moment you start teaching in a class, you’ll be making a difference in the lives of the children you teach. From every lesson to every conversation at lunch, each interaction you have could inspire your pupils, shaping their outlook on their future and the world around them.

Your impact isn’t just limited to children, either. You can make a difference to your schools, your colleagues and the wider community too!

“It’s really worth it, when you see the children shine and reap those benefits and see them progress, it is really worth it.”

September 2024 Learn with FA1 ITT Graduate

Use your skills from previous careers

Contrary to popular belief, you can change your career and train to teach at any age. Teaching provides you with a great opportunity to utilise skills you may have developed from previous roles, as well as share fresh perspectives.

The skills and experience you bring from your previous role are invaluable in the classroom. From using different ways to communicate, to problem-solving and people management, your pupils might learn more from you than you might think!

Career progression

Although everyone’s career pathway may differ slightly, one of the many benefits of becoming a teacher is the opportunity for professional development.

Teaching can offer a clear career path, including becoming a subject head, a headteacher and even specialist support leadership roles. No matter what your career goal is, teaching can allow you to progress as far as you’d like. You could even use your skills to teach internationally.

Push your creativity

Teaching in a primary school allows you to push your creativity and adapt your teaching style to match. The national curriculum will tell you what you need to teach, but with the support of your school’s trust, the school itself and your peers, you’ll be able to plan lessons how you like and incorporate creative and practical elements to engage with your class.

Pay, pensions and holidays

In addition to the personal rewards of teaching, there are many practical benefits too that can help to support you and your family.

When you achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), you’ll earn a minimum starting salary of £32,916 (outside London).

You’ll also automatically be enrolled into the pension scheme once you are employed by a school. Teachers’ pension contributions are tax-free since the scheme is registered with HM Revenue and Customs. It is also one of 8 schemes backed by the government.

Lastly, you’ll benefit from more holidays. In school, a full-time teacher will work an average of 195 days per year, compared to 227 days if you worked full-time in an office. However, don’t let this number fool you! You may still need to do the ‘admin’ side of work whilst you’re off in the holidays.

Become a Primary School Teacher in the North West Today 

How to become a primary school teacher

Before you apply to become a teacher, there are a few important steps you must take.

Check your qualifications

To train to teach, you’ll need to have:

• GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above in English, Maths and Science
• A bachelor’s degree of 2:2 or higher

If you don’t have a grade 4 or above in your GCSEs, you can take an equivalency test that provides the same qualification level as a GCSE.

Consider gaining experience

If you haven’t worked in a school before, it is a good idea to gain school life experience. This is a great way to get a good understanding of the ins and outs of a classroom, as well as to prepare you for the first day of training.

We can help you visit a school through an experience day. These days usually involve you joining classes to do the following:

• Observe lessons
• See how teachers manage a classroom
• Get a feel for a specific school and trust
• Speak to school staff and meet pupils
• Learn more about teacher training, including the specifics of the course

If you’re interested in an experience day, please get in touch with our Learn team for more information.

Apply for Teacher Training

You can start applying for teacher training courses from October to July here at Learn with FA1, ready for the course to start in the following September.

We are a proud delivery partner for Ambition Institute, a UK-based charity that provides training and professional development based on the most rigorous research and evidence about what really works.

Whether you’ve just graduated from University, or you’re changing your career, our Initial Teacher Training course is the ideal route for you to achieve QTS in just 11 months!

Apply now!