The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Teacher in The UK

If you want to become a teacher in the UK then there’s a lot to consider. Teaching isn’t just a job but an entire industry. All the way from preschool to higher education, mentoring adults or working with special needs children, there are many paths you can take.

Today we’ll explore the wide world of teaching. We’ll be covering how to become a teacher at different levels of education, the qualifications you’ll need, the costs involved, and how to decide which path is right for you.

Teacher Career Paths

Before digging into the specifics let’s start with a broad overview of teacher career paths in the UK.

To become a teacher in the UK you will almost always need a degree. While there are some options for teaching without a degree (which we’ll discuss in more detail later), a full teaching role at any level of education will require a degree either explicitly or implicitly.

In England and Wales your end goal will be to get your QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). If you’re in Scotland you’ll be wanting to get registered with the GTCS (General Teaching Council for Scotland) while in Northern Island you’ll be registering with the GTCNI (General Teaching Council for Northern Island).

The Scottish and Northern Irish systems are a little different but in practice, throughout the UK, your career path to becoming a teacher will require 3-4 years of university education.

You can also go for a postgraduate route if you already have a degree. This is called a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) and is essentially a direct path to getting your QTS as a postgraduate. These courses tend to be shorter as they’re focused specifically on teaching (1-2 years).

There is another option for postgraduates and that’s to learn while you earn with some hands-on experience. There are several programs in the UK that allow for an apprenticeship system in which you do your teacher training on the job. These routes often mean working in more challenging schools but the end result is a more robust and well-rounded introduction to the world of being a full-time educator.

Becoming a Preschool Teacher

Many assume that becoming a preschool or early childhood teacher is an easier goal than secondary or higher education but this is not necessarily the case. In practice, preschool teaching is its own complex discipline with a lot to learn.

To become a preschool teacher in the UK, you’ll usually need either a level 3 qualification in Early Years Education, GCSEs in English and Maths, or experience working with children – either paid or voluntary. Preferably you’d have all three but you can get by with just one.

You don’t necessarily need a degree to work in early years education but if you want to progress in your career, then you’ll eventually need to complete a degree and gain that all important QTS. Otherwise it can be a bit of a dead-end in the long run.

Primary Education

The majority of traditional teaching jobs will be in primary and secondary education and while the career paths can be quite similar the experience is often very different.

Primary school teachers blur the line between teacher and carer a little more than in secondary education. In some ways this can feel like a much higher responsibility as you have to pay close attention to children’s emotional and physical wellbeing.

At the same time, your lessons tend to be broader and more foundational. Teaching primary can feel a lot more repetitive than teaching in secondary schools where you’ll be focused on your subject and will have much more freedom to vary up the curriculum. 

That said, many find primary to be more fulfilling than secondary because these early developmental years are so important to children. As a primary teacher you have the chance to play a pivotal role in someone’s life, helping to shape the person they’ll become.

Secondary Education

Of course, that’s not to say secondary teachers can’t also have their fair share of influence over a child’s development. While secondary teachers tend to have less direct responsibility for a child’s wellbeing they also help to play a pivotal role in young people’s development.

Secondary education is usually where kids start to think about their careers, gravitating towards the subjects that interest them most. If you’re passionate about the subject you teach then secondary education is your chance to be the advocate for that subject. Whether it’s science, languages, history, or art, you’ll have the chance to inspire kids, helping them to see what makes your subject so special.

As a broad generalisation, if you’re more interested in getting to know the kids and helping them develop then primary is probably for you. If it’s the content and the curriculum you’re focused on, then secondary is the way to go.

How to Become a Substitute Teacher

If you like flexibility, then becoming a substitute teacher (or a supply teacher as it’s sometimes referred to) might be ideal for you.

Substitute teachers fill in when regular teachers are absent, covering different classes and subjects. Adaptability is a core skill for the role as you’ll need to be able to make decisions on the fly, meeting and getting to know new students just about every day.

Substitute teachers do also require a QTS as well as lots of experience working in your chosen age/subject. You’ll also need to be registered with a teaching agency or local authority.

It’s also worth noting that there are some disadvantages to being a substitute teacher, not least of which is that students can be a lot more challenging to work with. To put it simply, substitute teachers need to have a lot of patience and a thick skin compared to traditional teachers.

So with all that in mind, you might wonder why anyone would choose to become a substitute teacher. You need all the qualifications and experience of a teacher but without the stability and consistency a normal teaching role would provide.

Some substitute teachers take the role as a stop gap whilst looking for a full time career position but there are also some major advantages that draw people to the role.

First and foremost, substitute teachers are well paid for their time, often drawing in very competitive rates. At the same time, they have a lot more flexibility over their hours. Where teachers are almost always glued to a strict schedule set by the school, substitute teachers can set the hours they’re willing to work and can often turn down jobs with relatively short notice.

It can also be a very fulfilling job if you want a broader perspective on the education industry. Substitute teachers work across many schools getting wide insights along with the chance to network far and wide. A few years as a substitute teacher could look great on your CV, ultimately helping you to settle down into that dream role you’ve always wanted.

Teaching in Higher Education

Teaching in higher education is very different to almost any other teacher career path in the UK. If you want to work in a university (or other higher educational establishment) you won’t need a QTS but you will need a solid academic background.

That means a degree but it can mean more than that. At a university you’ll need to have an undergraduate along with postgraduate qualifications. You’ll be diving into the world of academia so you’ll be combining teaching with research – giving lectures while also doing your own studies.

If pay is your main motivator then becoming a university lecturer is an excellent path for you. Although they work hard, lecturers often earn £40-60K with some more senior roles even exceeding £70-80K.  It’s definitely one of those careers that will dominate your lifestyle but if you’re really passionate about your subject then you’ll have the chance to dedicate your life to it.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for something a little less all-consuming, you could work in further education (generally the 16-18 bracket although you would be working with some mature students too). FE means you’d be teaching A-level, BTEC, or  NVQ courses along with apprenticeships and foundation courses.

FE teachers don’t need a QTS but they do generally require some teaching qualification although this will depend on the level your teaching at and the subject in question.

Teachers in Further Education generally earn around the same amount as traditional teachers. That places them squarely in the £25-40K margin.

How to Become a Teacher Without a Degree

If you’re looking to become a teacher without a degree then your options will be more limited but there are still several choices open to.

It all depends on what you’re looking for in a teaching job. If you’re passionate about working with kids and making a difference in young people’s lives then you could become a teaching assistant. TAs don’t need degrees in the UK so long as they have a good command of English and Maths.

Furthermore, you can become a teaching assistant with no direct experience, so long as you can clearly display the right skills and have a solid CV. For many, being a teaching assistant is a step on their road to becoming a fully qualified teacher, although that does still mean getting a degree.

Alternatively, if what you’re passionate about is sharing your skills then you could become an online tutor or a mentor. Online tutors have fewer direct responsibilities than classroom teachers, often playing a more supplementary role to education. They also often work with adults, with a focus on learning specific skills rather than gaining qualifications.

So if you like the idea of being self-employed and working with adults then online tutoring may be the perfect path for you.

How Much Does it Cost to Become a Teacher

Okay – so let’s say neither of the above is right for you and you really want to become a full teacher. What are your options?

Well, as we said earlier, you’ll need a degree. There’s just no getting around this. Many worry about getting a degree – especially as a mature student – because they think it will be expensive but this isn’t necessarily the case.

If you already have a non-teaching degree, then you may be able to enter one of the programs we mentioned earlier, offsetting the cost of your learning entirely. If not, The Open University has many options for helping mature students to fund their degrees through student loans.

That said, if you can’t get a student loan then degrees are expensive. The tuition fees for an undergraduate degree are generally around £10,000 per year, meaning £30-40K for a full undergraduate course. The same is true for post-graduates although the courses do at least tend to be shorter.

From a financial point of view your best option by far is to become an apprentice. While the pay can be low, it’s still far more affordable than covering the costs of a degree yourself and will allow you to earn on the job.

Final Thoughts

It can take a long time to become a teacher – four to five years minimum for most people. It certainly isn’t the kind of career path you can rush into and it has a broad influence over your lifestyle. Being a teacher is a very social job. Alongside patience and understanding it requires performance skills and the ability to entertain a class.

All told, you shouldn’t become a teacher unless it’s something you’re drawn to but for those who are it can be one of the most rewarding career paths out there.

If you’re not sure whether being a teacher is right for you, then we strongly recommend finding a job as a TA to test the waters and see how you like. It may add a year or two to your career timeline but that way you can be certain about what you’re getting into, allowing you to invest in a future you’re genuinely excited about.