The UK Teaching Market

There is a high demand for well trained and motivated teachers in the UK. This is to fill the gap caused by a shortage of trained British teachers in the country. Many teaching jobs are on contract rather than permanent employment in the UK and there is a particularly high demand in the area of ''supply'' teaching (emergency relief). No more so than the teaching industry in London.

 
UK Teaching Pay Rates
Supply teaching in the UK pays very well and you can expect to earn £90 - £145 per day. However, although it is a requirement for teachers to receive sick pay and holiday pay, with regards to supply teaching in the UK it is usually built into the contract pay rate and in effect you do not get paid when you are not at work.

Permanent teachers in the UK can expect to be paid a salary ranging from £18,000 - £40,000 per year dependent upon the teaching experience and qualifications held.

UK School Holidays
The school year runs from September to mid July and includes 13 weeks holidays. The longest break is the summer holidays (normally 6 weeks) from mid July to early September. There are 195 days in the British school year divided into three terms. The remaining holidays take place at mid-term breaks and end-of-term breaks.

Teaching in UK Primary & Secondary Schools
Teachers in UK primary and secondary schools are required to have a Bachelor Degree, Diploma of Education or Higher Diploma of Education from a recognised training institution. Also as a matter of safety, it is required that a police security check on every teacher be performed before a UK teaching position can be undertaken.

The UK has public and private schools. The strange thing is that the names are used in the opposite context to which we normally use them. Public schools are those that charge a fee to their students, while private schools are state owned. These days the confusion is usually avoided by using the terms "independent schools" (which charge a fee) and "state-maintained schools".

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Teachers in State-maintained and non-maintained special schools in the UK are required to have QTS. This is similar to teacher registration in Australia and New Zealand and is designed to ensure the standard of teaching in British schools is of an acceptable level. The rules differ a little between England, Scotland and Wales due to each having a separate General Teaching Council (registration body for teachers).

In England, most teachers attain QTS by studying an approved teaching qualification and completing a period of "initial teacher training". Teachers who completed their training outside the European Economic Area are usually considered Overseas Trained Teachers (provided their teaching qualification is recognised). Overseas Trained Teachers are allowed to teach in English schools for a maximum of 4 years before they must have obtained QTS. The 4 year period starts on the first day you teach in a maintained school in England and expires 4 years later regardless of whether or not you were teaching in England for the entire period.

Overseas Trained Teachers (OTTs) can obtain QTS by undertaking an employment based training programme through the Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA) whilst teaching in an English school. Experienced teachers may be able to follow an 'assessment only' route to QTS which involves skills tests in literacy, numeracy and ICT and a portfolio demonstrating that the teaching standards are met.

Teaching in UK Nurseries
By law, UK nurseries are required to be registered and a minimum of half the teaching staff must hold a 2 year full-time qualification. UK pre-schools are also referred to as nurseries. Nursery recruitment is a specialist area and not all teacher recruitment agencies work in this area. Please let us know, when you register, if this is your specialist area of teaching.

British Teaching Curriculum
To unify the British curriculum, the National Curriculum was introduced in 1989. It was designed to improve teaching standards and provide a consistent level of education across the country. The core subjects of the curriculum are Design & Technology, English, Information Technology, Languages, Mathematics and Science. Schools source teachers to offer further subjects to meet the needs of their students.

Schooling is compulsory for British children aged 5 to 16 years. Primary school is divided into Reception, Key stage 1 (5 - 7yrs) and Key stage 2 (7 - 11yrs). Secondary school caters for Key stage 3 (11 - 14yrs) and Key stage 4 (14-16yrs). At the age of 16 students undertake the GCSE exam (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and some students then go on to undertake their A levels (Advanced Level) at around age 18. Passes in three A levels are required for entry into most universities and their grades determine which universities they can apply to.

For further information visit the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) website www.dfes.gov.uk or their standards website www.standards.dfes.gov.uk.

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