There are more than 435,000 teachers in the UK in well over 20,000 maintained schools, and each year around 40,000 people in England are recruited to train as teachers. This article will focus on teaching in England, but the systems in Wales in particular, as well as Scotland and Northern Ireland, are similar.

Teaching is a graduate profession. Along with a degree, all teachers are required to have qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in primary and secondary maintained schools and non-maintained special schools. QTS is not always required by people working as teachers in other sectors, although many of them hold formal qualifications.

The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) encourages people to enter teacher training in England, with other bodies responsible for the rest of the UK. More than a third of new teachers are mature entrants (over 30), who often have relevant personal qualities and professional skills and knowledge.

Many providers, including local education authorities, offer 6- to 12-week ‘return to teach’ courses for qualified teachers returning to the classroom. Participants may qualify for financial assistance including help with childcare costs.

Taster courses of three- to four-day modules can be arranged by the TDA for people in England interested in teaching particular subjects or particular age groups. These courses are open to those planning to teach a priority subject at secondary level or to groups currently under-represented in the profession. The Open Schools Programme is available to anyone interested in observing teachers in practice and offers a structured day to experience life in a school.

Routes into teaching
The first step is for individuals to decide whether they wish to teach across a wide range of subjects in a primary school or specialise in one or two subjects at secondary level. The TDA’s website contains useful information and its Teaching Information Line has experts to answer questions.

Initial teacher training (ITT) entry requirements include GCSE Grade C or above in English and maths, and in a science subject for people wishing to teach in a primary school. Access courses are available for people without the minimum academic standard. Prospective teachers can train in any of the national curriculum subjects.

They can also train to teach six vocational subjects in selected pilot areas. Primary school teachers are expected to demonstrate a sound basic knowledge of all the subjects in the national curriculum for key stages 1 and 2.

Teachers can train to teach one of five different age groups:

• 3 to 8 – including specialism in nursery and reception, and taking advanced early years studies instead of a national curriculum subject
• 3 or 5 to 11 – the whole primary age group
• 7 to 14 – upper-end primary and lower-end secondary
• 11 to 16 or 19 – secondary
• 14 to 19 – generally for public exams or vocational qualifications.

ITT providers may expect some background in working with youngsters, and the TDA can advise on opportunities to acquire this. More than 130 providers offer mainstream ITT, ranging from universities to groups of schools providing school-centred ITT (SCITT). There are also more than 100 employment-based routes.

Qualified teacher status (QTS) is the target for anyone starting ITT. It means that they have met the standards for:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Planning, teaching and class management
• Monitoring, assessment, recording, reporting and accountability
• Other professional requirements (legal/professional responsibilities).

The undergraduate route into teaching combines degree studies with QTS. Degrees (usually BEd, BA or BSc), will usually require two A-levels or the equivalent and last three or four years, including 24 or 32 weeks respectively in schools. Some providers offer part-time courses, and applications are made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

The postgraduate route usually leads to the award of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) as well as QTS. The starting point is a degree that provides the necessary subject knowledge. Applicants without sufficient knowledge may be able to take a six-month enhancement course prior to ITT. They can also take a short, intensive knowledge-booster course. The PGCE takes a full academic year, with half or more spent in the classroom. There are longer courses for people who need to build up their subject knowledge.

Entry to most postgraduate courses is through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR), although some training providers accept applications directly.

Employment-based routes enable people to earn a salary while training by being employed as unqualified teachers in certain schools. The Graduate Teacher Programme is for people with a degree who wish to train on the job. It takes up to a year, depending on previous experience. People on the Registered Teacher Programme need two years’ higher-education experience before starting a two-year programme that includes completion of a degree as well as working in a school.

The Overseas Trained Teacher Programme enables teachers from outside the European Economic Area to achieve QTS. Suitably experienced people can undertake QTS assessment without further training. Those with at least two years’ full-time teaching experience can also be assessed against the induction standards at the same time as the QTS assessment.

All newly qualified teachers (NQTs) need to complete a three-term induction programme with an individual support programme, and the monitoring and assessment of their progress. If they are teaching part-time, the period may be longer. The induction programme may be completed up to five years after qualifying.

Teacher salaries and funding
From 1 September 2008 a newly qualified teacher will start on a salary of at least £20,133 (£24,168 in inner London). The pay scale for good, experienced classroom teachers rises to £34,281 outside London and £41,004 in inner London. Additional allowances may be paid to teachers considered to be excellent, and to those who take on management and other responsibilities. The pay scale for head teachers can rise to more than £90,000, depending on size of school. Further details are available at www.teach.gov.uk/payandbenefits.

Eligible trainees on secondary postgraduate initial teacher training courses in England are entitled to a tax-free training bursary worth £6,000 to £9,000. Newly qualified teachers with a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) in maths and science may also be eligible for a ‘golden hello’ payment worth £5,000 (taxed) after successfully completing their induction period. Those with a PGCE in modern languages, design and technology, information and communications technology, music and religious education may receive £2,500. Details are available on the TDA website at www.teach.gov.uk/funding.

The bursary for trainees starting ITT courses in secondary postgraduate English, dance and drama has been reduced from £9,000 to £6,000, and trainees are not eligible for a ‘golden hello’. The bursary for trainees starting primary postgraduate ITT courses has been reduced from £6,000 to £4,000.