Teaching in England/Scotland

TerrorFirmer

So, I have been thinking the past few years of trying to get into teaching - I have my arts degree, and I had been looking at doing the Hibernia course - but more and more I've become aware of people talking about teaching in Scotland, its shorter course times and greater availability of work - and I have heard myself of the lack of teachers there, particularly in the north. Does anyone have any experience or opinions?

aunt aggie

Hey both my cousins did primary teaching training in scotland. One of them is working there at the minute as part of the nqt year. He finds it hard because hes living out the middle of nowhere but he really liked the course and if you want to pm me your email I could send it onto him...

duffyp

Post primary school teacher in UK, did my PGCE there too. Courses are really good, however the works extremely tough- I work 70h a week, this is the done thing in state schools- its a great job but a lot of pressure! Good luck.

Baldlydrawnboy

Teach in Scotland, not England - teaching in England has horrendous burn out rates and is not a pleasant job (60-70 hours a week MINIMUM) for the salary, whereas in Scotland you'll more than likely be in the middle of nowhere for your early few years but have nicer kids, more disposable income (generally cheaper/better accommodation), work with a better Highers curriculum which is also closer to the Leaving Cert (assuming secondary?)and be less at the whimsy of constantly-moving curricular goalposts - every time there's a new govt they tinker with the English curriculum which makes it a not very nice scenario to work in. Just my own 2C, I taught in london for a couple of years and it's seriously hard graft - friends who work in Scotland love their jobs and really get a lot out of it. I think it can be both the best and worst job the world depending on school environment - best of luck!

chippers

duffyp wrote: »

Post primary school teacher in UK, did my PGCE there too. Courses are really good, however the works extremely tough- I work 70h a week, this is the done thing in state schools- its a great job but a lot of pressure! Good luck.

Is it really 70 hours a week in England? That is atrocious. Is this a factor in you wanting to leave the system?

duffyp

Hi Chipper,
Yeah it is tough work as we are expected to teach 'outstanding' lessons for every lesson, so a lot of preparation and cpd sessions are needed every week- also mentor trainee teachers which is time consuming too.

Its true the work-life balance isn't great however the long hours aren't the main reason I'm moving home- I need to be closer to home for family reasons.

I'd recommend it to someone learning to teach, the PGCE courses are really good and the experience of working in the state system makes you a better teacher (and gives you hair on your chest;) )
Trish

Inspector Coptoor

I'd agree with the above.

I did the PGCE in the UK, taught some A level material, got a huge amount if experience out if it.

Made getting a job at home easier for me as u had so much experience built up.

That was sept 2007.
It's much harder to get work here now though.