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Job description: Nursery/Pre-school Teacher
Giving people a good start at a young age is key to your role as a Nursery or Pre-school Teacher.
Working with children aged three to five in a nursery school or class, you'll play a vital role in children's social, personal, physical and emotional development. You'll need to plan a large amount of indoor and outdoor activities as part of your daily schedule.
Every day you'll be assisting in teaching language, literacy and numeracy helping the class reaches the early learning goals of the National Curriculum, along with encouraging good behaviour.
Aside from working with the children, your job would also involve setting up and tidying away all activities, analysing and recording each child's progress and talking about it with their parents/carers.
Full support is always at hand, as you'll be working alongside teaching assistants, nursery nurses and volunteer helpers.
Hours/Environment
As a teacher in a state school in England and Wales, you would work 39 weeks a year. Teaching hours vary between schools, but you'll usually work from 9am to 3:30/4pm. Nursery-age children are likely to attend school just for the morning or afternoon session, so you would teach two groups.
You would also spend time outside these hours planning, preparing and evaluating activities and attending parents' evenings and in-service training.
Skills and interests
To be a good Nursery/Pre-school Teacher, you must have:
- the ability to build good relationships with children, parents/carers and colleagues
- commitment to equal opportunities
- the ability to work in a team but also to use your own initiative
- organisational and time-management skills
- the ability to manage classes well and deal with challenging behaviour
- excellent communication skills
- patience and a good sense of humour
Entry
To be a nursery teacher in a state school, you'll have to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) by doing Initial Teacher Training (ITT). There are four types of ITT:
- undergraduate
- postgraduate
- school-Centered Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)
- work-based
Before you begin this, you'll need to have GCSEs (A-C) in English, maths and science or equivalent qualifications - check with course providers for their requirements. You'd also need to pass tests in numeracy, literacy and ICT (information and communications technology) and gain CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) clearance.
Having experience of working with children in a relevant age group, such as at a local school, would be an advantage whether it's paid or voluntary.
You can choose from the four types of ITT, depending on whether you already have higher education qualifications.
Undergraduate route
If you do not already have a degree you can gain QTS alongside your degree by doing one of the following types of course:
- BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons) with QTS
- Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree course (at a few universities).
Some of these courses would give you the opportunity to concentrate on the three to five age group (Early Years). The courses last for three or four years full-time.
To take this qualification, you'd need at least two A levels (one of which should be in a National Curriculum subject), and at least five GCSEs (A-C).
Universities may accept other qualifications, such as an Access to Higher Education course. Check with course providers for their exact requirements.
Postgraduate routes
If you have a degree or an equal qualification in a subject relevant to the primary National Curriculum, you can get QTS by doing a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course. Courses can be one year full-time, two years part-time or flexible by distance learning. You can search for PGCE courses and apply on-line on Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR).
School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)
SCITT is classroom-based training which takes one year and leads to QTS. You would need to have a degree for this course.
Employment-based routes
You can gain QTS whilst working in a school on a trainee salary on one of the following programmes:
- Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) - you must already have a degree
- Registered Teacher Programme (RTP) - you must have completed two years of higher education (for example, a BTEC HND, foundation degree or two years of a degree)
- Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP) - you must have an overseas (outside the EU) teaching qualification that is equivalent to a UK degree.
The number of places on employment-based programmes is limited and competition is strong.
Training
To become fully qualified after you've completed your ITT course, you would need to finish a probationary period of three terms in employment. During this time you'd have a reduced teaching timetable and would be supported by a mentor.
Throughout your teaching career, you'd need to keep up to date with new methods and ideas in education by doing in-service training. This could be done by attending training days in school or at local authority training centres.
Fast Track Teaching
As a qualified teacher, you can enter the Fast Track Teaching programme. This provides coaching, mentoring and development activities to help especially talented teachers progress more quickly to senior roles, such as advanced skills teacher or deputy head. The selection process is challenging and you must have the support of your Head Teacher. See the Fast Track Teaching website for details (not available in Wales).
Transferring to another age group
Before moving to a different age group, you wouldn't need any more training. However, schools recommend that you get some experience of the age group you want to teach. This can be done on a voluntary basis. Some LEAs and teacher training institutions offer short conversion or refresher courses. See the Training and Development Agency for Schools for details.
Returning to teaching
If you are a qualified teacher wanting to return to teaching after a career break you can find information, including details of returners' courses and other available support, on the Training and Development Agency for Schools website.
Opportunities
There are a variety of places you can teach as a Nursery/Pre-school Teacher. Although most teaching jobs are in state schools, there would also be places available in independent schools, hospitals, schools run by the armed forces and Sure Start Children's Centres.
In most schools, you can progress to Curriculum Leader, Deputy Head Teacher and Head Teacher. Alternatively, you can specialise in teaching pupils with special educational needs or move into private tuition. Part-time and supply teaching are also an option.
Annual income
As a Nursery/Pre-school Teacher, your main salary would tend to range from £20,627 to £30,148 a year (£25,000 to £34,768 in inner London).
If you wish to apply for assessment to move on to the upper pay scale, you'd need to have reached to top of the main salary. This would range from £32,660 to £35,121 (£39,114 to £42,419 in inner London).
Salary scales are reviewed each year. See details of the full pay scales on the Training and Development Agency for Schools website.
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