Thinking of becoming a teacher? This is what you need to make it in the classroom

The aim of the game when you’re training to be a teacher is reaching qualified teacher status (QTS). This is the accreditation you receive when you have completed your course, whether it’s through a university, or a school-centred training programme such as School Direct or Teach First.

Regardless of the route taken, there are some essential elements needed to begin working towards QTS: you must have C grades or above at GCSE level in English and maths (science too, if you’re training to be a primary teacher); you need to have a degree (for secondary this should either be in the subject you’ll teach or closely related to it); and you’ll need to pass professional skills tests in literacy and numeracy.

David Mitchell, postgraduate certificate education (PGCE) tutor at the UCL Institute of Education, says you also need to “show passion and enthusiasm for young people, for example, through volunteering. And we want to see a long-term commitment to developing yourself as a teacher.”

Once you begin training, the shape of your course will depend on the path you have chosen. Those taking the School Direct route will train in the school partnership that recruited them, as well as carrying out academic study, usually at a university. Similarly, those taking the School Direct (salaried) route will work towards QTS while being employed by a school.

Those undertaking university-led training will have applied through a university; they complete about a third of their training there, and the rest on placements at two schools.

Despite the differences in pathways, there are often common elements, such as the need to complete master’s-level essay assignments in the areas of teaching, learning and progress.

“These assignments help trainees learn to reflect and evaluate using their own practical teaching experience and existing educational research,” says Mitchell. “The topics will vary according to the subject you’re going to teach, but will involve learning how to plan and develop a curriculum that supports students’ needs, understanding how to assess what has been learned and how teaching relates to wider education concerns – such as behaviour management.”

Another common factor is the support offered to those undergoing teacher training – all trainees will have mentors in their subject department, as well as those offering guidance about the profession in wider terms.

The key, Mitchell says, is being able to “create the space to reflect, think and gain the knowledge of teaching so they don’t just meet the standards of QTS, but exceed them”.