Teacher - Primary School
Teach primary school children, help them enjoy learning and encourage them to be confident about their abilities.
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£577
Entry level
£904
Experienced
Monthly
£2,500
Entry level
£3,917
Experienced
Yearly
£30,000
Entry level
£47,000
Experienced
38,500
people are currently employed
High growth
500 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
A day in the life — teacher - primary school
What it's like
Imagine inspiring the next generation to learn and develop in primary school. You'd teach a wide range of subjects to your class. You might be putting pupils through their paces in gym class one day and testing their times tables the next.
You’d plan and deliver lessons across different areas of learning, including:
expressive arts
health and wellbeing
languages
mathematics
religious and moral education
sciences
social studies
technologies
Your main responsibility is to improve the knowledge and understanding of your pupils. Your lessons would follow the Scottish Government's Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). Although, you might have a different curriculum if you work in an independent school.
You’d encourage children to express themselves and play a positive role in school life. With your guidance, your pupils will feel confident and prepared so they can thrive at secondary school.
If you enjoy helping others and are passionate about learning you might be a future teacher!
Your tasks might include:
creating lessons and teaching materials
creating an environment that encourages learning, cooperation and good behaviour
evaluating progress in the curriculum and helping pupils assess their own work
adapting your teaching to support children struggling in class
considering additional support needs in lesson plans and the learning environment
discussing children's development and progress with parents and carers
helping pupils apply learning to different subjects and see how it fits in to the wider world
organising and supervising outings, clubs, social activities and sports events
attending meetings and training courses
working with other professionals, such as education psychologists and social workers
Hours
Environment
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- motivating others
- mentoring
- coaching
- ethical
- social conscience
- empathising
- written communication
- verbal communication
- supporting
- positive attitude
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Care
Childcare and Development
English
French
Gaelic (Learners)
Gàidhlig
History
Skills for Work: Early Education and Childcare
You'll need a BA degree (SCQF Level 9/10) in Primary Education.
If you already have a degree, you can study for the one year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) - Primary Education (SCQF Level 11).
To enter a BA degree in Primary Education usually requires four to five Highers including English plus Maths and another subject at SCQF level 5 (Standard grade Credit level or Intermediate 2 or National 5 at B).
To enter a PGDE in Primary Education you require a relevant degree. The course will prepare you for teaching children in the 3-12 years age range.
If you do not have the entry requirements for a degree course, you may be able to get into a one year (SWAP) Access course at college. To be eligible as a SWAP student, you must have been out of full-time education for at least three years (or five years if you have an NC or Highers).
You will be expected to have particular strengths in arithmetic, mathematics, reading and writing as these are key elements of a primary teacher’s job.
Experience of working with children in a primary school or similar.
An up-to-date knowledge of the education system
To be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland.
You must normally have studied at least two of the following subjects in your degree or elsewhere:
Science
Social studies
Expressive arts
Religious and moral education
Technology
Modern foreign languages
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