Everyone who's been to school knows that teaching is a challenging profession. After years of testing our teacher's patience with un-tucked shirts, unfinished homework and under whelming grades, most of us will have wondered what on earth made them turn up for work every day. It is in fact a question most people rarely ask themselves, what makes someone want to teach?

For a start things are changing in the world of teaching. Recent reforms give teachers better rewards, better career prospects and more opportunities to develop and update their skills and knowledge. These changes are reflected in the numbers of people going into teacher training. But it's not just better prospects that get teachers out of bed. Even though we took it for granted at the time, teachers like to teach. What other job can give you the opportunity to make a difference to so many young people's lives?

You may be surprised by how rewarding a teaching career can be. With starting salaries matching what you’d receive in many other professions, your experience and performance can see you achieve rapid progression, and enjoy the financial rewards to match.All qualified teachers are paid according to pay scales, set each April by the Government. Starting on the 'main' pay scale, each year, subject to performance, you will move up a step until you reach the maximum level or move on to a scale associated with a different position or level of experience. Once you have completed your initial teacher training and achieved qualified teacher status (QTS), from September 2007 you can expect to start as a newly qualified teacher (NQT) in England and Wales on £20,133 a year (or £24,168 if you work in inner London).

For the first few years of your career, you might find yourself progressing to a leadership pay scale, or even a headship pay scale. These pay scales apply from September 2007 and include:

• Advanced skills teacher pay scale
• Excellent teacher pay scheme
• Leadership group pay scale, and
• Head teacher pay scale

 

Where you fit into these scales will depend on your position, experience and location, as well as on your individual school.

So, if you're interested - how do you start training and how is training funded?
Eligible trainees completing PGCE courses in England are entitled to receive a tax-free training bursary of £6,000-9,000. The precise amount depends on the subject and course start date. Similar training bursaries are available in Wales, where eligible trainees receive £6,000-£7,000, depending on their subject.

An incentive payment worth £1,200 is also available for some trainees who undertake secondary initial teacher training (ITT) through the medium of Welsh.

In addition to funding such as this, you may be eligible to receive taxable 'golden hello' payments (or teaching grants in Wales) worth between £2,500 and £5,000, depending on the subject, after successfully completing your induction period as a newly qualified teacher (NQT).

If you are unsure about which age group you would like to teach or whether life in the classroom would be suitable, you might find a taster course useful. These usually last around three days and are aimed at under-graduates and mature career changers.

There are courses for different subjects and for primary and secondary teaching.
There are many different routes leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), the qualification necessary for teaching as a qualified teacher in a maintained school.
The route you choose will depend on your qualifications and experience and the range of training on offer is diverse and flexible.

Undergraduate and postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) is available throughout the country by full or part-time study. Some postgraduate programmes are available by distance learning or flexible study and you can also train while working in the classroom, although this requires an initial and on-going commitment from schools.
The postgraduate route is the most popular route for secondary teaching and is becoming increasingly popular for primary teaching.

You will need a degree or equivalent that gives you the necessary foundation for the subject and age range you want to teach. Entry requirements vary and you should check with the individual provider of ITT. Many ITT courses take one full academic year (38 weeks for primary, 36 weeks for secondary).

Employment based training offers the opportunity to earn a salary while you train. The Graduate Teaching Programme (GTP) is for those who already have a degree. Your school will pay you an unqualified or qualified teacher's salary (anywhere from £14,040 depending on your responsibilities, experience and location). The TDA may pay the school up to £13,500 to help meet your employment costs as well as a training grant of up to £6,270 depending on the teaching subject and length of programme.

If you have taught in the past, and are considering a return to the profession there are refresher courses that offer bursaries and support with childcare while on the course.

Applications to all teacher-training courses are considered on their own merit against agreed and published selection criteria.

Graduates and career changers can now also use the Internet to apply for teacher training courses and track the progress of their applications online once they have submitted their form. You can apply online through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) Applicants can register on-line and then log in and out of the site, to complete the form at their own pace. The interactive service guides users through the application process, helping them to provide information accurately. This will help improve the efficiency of the system and ensure that universities and colleges receive the application forms more quickly.

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991, or visit the TDA's website: www.tda.gov.uk