Current teaching climate and starting a PGCE

beckett85

Hi lads,

I'm a 27 year old male teaching ESL in Korea and am becoming a bit tired of it after 3 years. I'm considering returning and doing a PGCE in the UK(unfortunatly no LC hons Irish). I just have a couple of questions as I've read a lot about the current situation at home but I havn't been there in 3 years, so I'm out of touch with the relaities of the sitaution. Would really appreciate it if someone could answer any of the following.

-Has anyone completed the PGCE and how stressful/difficult did they find the course?
-I believe you have to do a year in a school after to be fully qualified, is this correct?
-Is a PGCE viewed negatively when applying for schools in Ireland?Surely candidates trained in Ireland would get preference?
-How did you fund the course? Are we eligible for student loans(I have a degree from the north but no student loan)?
-Would people generally advise teaching as career choice given the current economical climate? I really enjoy teaching and have a good rapport with kids, but still I have to put a roof over my head and bread on the table!

Many thanks,
Beckett

byhookorbycrook

Jobs are rare, even subbing jobs. You must have Irish, one way or another. Why are you tired of ESL?

beckett85

I'm working in a public school with with 30 students per class, extremely fluent students lumped in with kids who barely know the alphabet. I only see my students for three forty minute periods a week. I guess I just don't feel like I'm making much of an impact and I'm a little jaded with Korea at this point. It's a great country to live in, but I'm feeling a little burned out.

My plan after doing a PGCE would be to stay in the UK for a couple of years and then return home, in hope that job market improves. I realize I will have to complete my Hons Irish along the way at some point.

Is the primary school job situation as grim as the secondary one?

Trained Monkey

Hi Beckett, I finished a PGCE in the UK last year and walked into a job in a primary school in the UK. There are loads of jobs in London, Birmingham etc at the moment. I cant advise about the job situation in 12/24 months though. I will try to answer your questions.

Has anyone completed the PGCE and how stressful/difficult did they find the course?
It is a tough course. Especially when you are on placement. UK systems are quite heavy on planning and assessment paper work. They workload is increased as the year goes on and the learning curve is quite steep. Your teaching background will stand to you though.
-I believe you have to do a year in a school after to be fully qualified, is this correct?
Yes, if you do your NQT year in England you can have your qualification recognised anywhere in EU. Much easier to sort an NQT year in UK than Ireland.
-Is a PGCE viewed negatively when applying for schools in Ireland?Surely candidates trained in Ireland would get preference?
Not sure on this one. Its possible that some schools would view your experience in the UK as a distinct advantage instead of hiring someone straight from University.

-How did you fund the course? Are we eligible for student loans(I have a degree from the north but no student loan)?
Yes, student loans are available with low interest rates. You only begin paying back the loan when you are in fulltime employment earning over £16,000 a year, I think. See student loans company. I got a £3,500 loan to cover my fees but fees have increased quite a bit since then.
-Would people generally advise teaching as career choice given the current economical climate? I really enjoy teaching and have a good rapport with kids, but still I have to put a roof over my head and bread on the table!
Yes, if you enjoy it. If you want to do it and believe it is the career for you, then go for it. The wheel will turn again and jobs will be more plentiful.

beckett85

Cheers TM,
I have a couple of other questions if you don't mind!
-In placement are you assisting the teacher or teaching the class yourself and being evaluated?
-I'm assuming there are hefty amount of lesson plans, how many a week are you expected to do on average? Are they chopped and butchered by the lecturers? I did a Celta (Teaching English as a foreign language course) and would spend about three hours writing a lesson plan only to have it decimated by the lecturers. Very disheartening.
-Is your NQT year in England paid?
-Do you take home work in the evenings/weekends?
-What is the starting salary(in London) and how did you find the cost of living?
-I notice you are looking come to back to Ireland in another thread, are you just tired of the UK?

Sorry to bombard you with questions just good to talk to someone who did the course!

Thanks,
Beckett

Trained Monkey

-In placement are you assisting the teacher or teaching the class yourself and being evaluated?
At the beginning of my PGCE I had a one week placement of just observation and working as a TA. Then I had 3 more placements of about 6-8 weeks. By the end of P2 I was expected to plan and teach the core subjects (maths, english), workload increased gradually up to 80% of all teaching by end of P4. 80% is the workload of an NQT as you get 2 mornings/evenings for planning time as an NQT.
-I'm assuming there are hefty amount of lesson plans, how many a week are you expected to do on average? Are they chopped and butchered by the lecturers? I did a Celta (Teaching English as a foreign language course) and would spend about three hours writing a lesson plan only to have it decimated by the lecturers. Very disheartening.
Yes, loads of lesson plans during PGCE year. We started by doing individual lesson plans for each lesson before moving to weekly plans (much easier) by my third placement. Scrutiny of lessons depends on your mentor. Some will go through them in detail, some will just glance through, some will ask you if you have them done without actually checking!

-Is your NQT year in England paid?
Yes, NQT year is paid and starting salary outside London is £21,000.
-Do you take home work in the evenings/weekends?
Yes, but by the end of your NQT you will be a lot cuter about how to work more effectively. Most schools can give you plans from the previous teacher and you can tweak these to suit your class. Marking gets quicker also as you become more familiar with what you are looking for in a childs work. ie. their targets etc.
-What is the starting salary(in London) and how did you find the cost of living?
Not living in London so cant advise. Think salary is about £25,000.
-I notice you are looking come to back to Ireland in another thread, are you just tired of the UK?
Yes, been away for a few years. Going to give home a try. If it doesnt work out, I'll be back in England. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.



There is a lot of work involved between applying to universities, interviews, moving, studying, placement, finding a job and everything else involved but it is worth it. School gives you a new challenge every day, time flies and the children are good fun. The holidays are great too!

Jimmy Iovine

beckett85 wrote: »

-What is the starting salary(in London)

The salary in London depends on where you are teaching. If you're teaching on the 'fringes' you will start off on £22,626. If you are teaching in 'outer London' then you will get £25,117. Finally, you get £27,000 if you are teaching in 'inner London'.

You can see what the definitions of the different places are here.

The rise in salary is consistent with the rise in the cost of living apparently.

Everyone else in England and Wales will be starting on £21,588. However, they will more than likely be able to find accommodation for less than half, maybe even a third, of what a person in Inner London will.

Trained Monkey

Beckett85 what direction did you head in the end?