If you are interested in becoming a Primary School Teacher initially you would need to do your Teacher Training and gain qualified Teacher status. For this you will have good GCSE results in English, Maths and a Science subject. You can gain Qualified Teacher status by doing an undergraduate degree, a postgraduate award or a work based programme.
To be a Primary School Teacher you need to be passionate about children’s education and be interested in the subjects that you will teach. You also need to be able to relate to children and also build relationships with their parents.
As anyone with experience of children knows you need a great deal of patience and a sense of humour to work in this environment as at times it can be extremely frustrating and stressful yet very rewarding which is why teachers love what they do.
In a Primary School setting you would work with children aged between 5 & 11 and you would teach subjects at Key Stage 1 which is aimed at children aged 5-7 and Key Stage 2 which is aimed at children aged 7-11. These subjects will include English, Maths, Science and Art. Usually you would have a teaching assistant to help you in the classroom. In a school where they have a reception class you would also teach the Early Years Foundation aimed at the under 5’s and reception year.
As part of your role as a teacher you would also be responsible for planning the lessons and providing the teaching materials working to the correct standard. You would have to mark and assess a child’s work, manage behaviour within the classroom and playground, work with other education professionals, organise events and outings for the children etc.
This role requires a great deal of patience and enthusiasm, not for the faint hearted but certainly a challenge and a very rewarding one at times.