Category: Education

When you qualify as a teacher you will need to consider what age group of children you wish to teach. It may be that you don’t really have a preference but teaching primary school children can be worlds apart from teaching in a secondary school.

Depending on what type of character you have, will help you decide on what age children to work with. If you are extremely confident, don’t mind confrontation and cope well under stressful situations then secondary school teaching may be for you.

You could always try supply teaching initially to see which you enjoy the most before applying for a full time role. There are some great teaching agencies around that will be able to find you suitable roles to gain experience and help you decide which is best for you.

Teaching on the whole can be very stressful and test even the most experienced of teachers but finding the right school to teach is in a massive part of being able to cope with it.

Whether you use an iPhone or an android device there really is an app for everything!

Now some of these apps are purely novelty apps with games on or fun things to do, however there has been a rise in the amount of educational apps released for young children.

Most of the app companies realise that children love to play on mum or dad’s phone so have developed a number of apps to improve language skills, math and learning shapes and colours.

These apps base learning activities around games that are popular with young children so they can play and learn as they do so. If you want to get some of these apps it’s always worth checking some of the reviews out and always have a go yourself first to check that they are suitable and age appropriate for your child.

Also don’t for get to disable ‘in app purchasing’ on your device to stop your children accidentally running up a huge bill buying game add-ons or clicking through advertising links.

Learning to play a musical instrument is not only fun and rewarding – recent studies suggest that this type of learning can help improve brain functions such as memory. Happily, it’s never been easier to get into the world of music through e-learning. There’s a huge range and depth of courses available for learning pretty much any instrument you can think of. There are also courses in music theory, for those wishing to get a greater understanding of the science and structure of music.
There are loads of free tuition videos on sites like Youtube which are a great jumping off point. When you want to go further you can sign up to online courses with structured lessons laid out by professionals. Tuition videos are a great way to learn and you can even get one to one live tuition online with a fully qualified instructor. So, whether you want to go at your own pace or take more structured and interactive lessons, the convenience and flexibility of online music courses mean there’s never been a better time to pick up an instrument.

If you feel that you’ve missed the chance to attend a university and get a degree. It could be that work and family commitments prevent you from doing so, or perhaps you lack the academic qualifications to gain entry. Happily, there are some great distance learning options available. The Open University is the largest provider in the UK and offers most undergraduate courses with no need for A-levels etc.

Studying for a degree in this way is great if you need a flexible course that fits your lifestyle. You may have childcare responsibilities, some kind of illness or disability that stops you travelling to a campus or simply want to continue working as you learn. These kinds of courses are typically cheaper than attending a university and the flexibility may help you get a head start on a new career.

It’s no soft option, however, with standards as high as a regular degree. That’s something to bear in mind if you have not achieved previous academic qualifications as you may have a lot of extra stuff to learn.

Studies have shown that the best time to learn a new language is when you are a child. People often say that a child’s brain is like a sponge and just keeps absorbing new information, and learning language is much easier to do when you are younger. Most schools in the UK teach at least one other language – this is often either French, German or Spanish, some offer more.

If you have the opportunity to learn an additional language then you should grab it with both hands. With the huge increase in online activity and worldwide trading, employers are often looking for people that are multilingual and if you have this skill you may find that you can land that dream job a lot easier than you thought.

Even if you do not need it for a job, it is a great skill to have in life. There may be many times when yo encounter people who speak a foreign language either in the UK or away on holiday and if you can have a conversation with them it can make things a lot easier.

In education it certainly is the case that one size does not fit all.

How children learn and develop can vary greatly depending on many factors such as age of the child, gender and the current academic level of the child.

When teaching in a class of twenty-plus children, catering for all the different learning styles can be nigh on impossible so with limited TA’s (teaching assistants) available what can be done to improve education for the children who need a little extra help but do not qualify for their own TA?

More and more parents are now investing money in getting extra tuition for their children outside of school hours to improve their chances of obtaining higher academic achievements. These one on one sessions can cover all subjects on the curriculum and can be focused around the learning style of the child to get the best results from the sessions.

Some parents feel that they should not have to pay extra for this form of education and that the onus should be on schools to provide small group tuition to boost the overall exam statistics of the school as well as the individual results of each pupil.

As a teacher you may often hear the phrase, oh what are you moaning about, you get loads of holiday don’t’ you? Yes, teachers do get more holiday than maybe people in other professions, but with the perks of the additional holiday comes some challenges too.

A teaching job is very stressful and unlike some other jobs you cannot pick and choose when you have time off. Holidays are always going to be expensive as school holidays are peak times and you will have to accept that most places you go will be full of children on their school holidays.

The working day for a teacher may seem relatively short, 9-5, but if you ask a teacher, they are normally working 7.30-5.30 and then still have marking, parents evenings and school fates, trips etc. to add on top of that.

Obviously for many teachers the perks and fulfillment they get out of teaching outweighs these negative points, but extended holidays are not all it is about.

A new national curriculum has been introduced for England this term. A major review is also ongoing in Wales. New requirements can put teachers under a lot of added pressure if they are hastily introduced, as in England. The National Union for Teachers is urging teachers to try not to panic. It is the teacher who makes the curriculum work for the learners. Governments can not do that.

Schools do not have to have every element in place from day one as the curricula specify coverage over time, not in one single term or year. Ideally schools will develop the curriculum as they go along and it should be developed by the profession so it meets the needs of the pupils not just to meet the national curriculum requirements.

There are sources online that allow you access to materials and details of conferences designed to help schools with these changes.

If you want to work in the education industry, there are many roles available and you do not just have to become a teacher. Education ranges from nursery / childminding positions through to schools and adult learning. They all have the same goals, to teach a person a skill or qualification required for a job or for life in general. You could also work in any of these settings in a more administrative role, which may be more suited to what you enjoy doing. All roles in education can be very rewarding and not all of them require you to have a degree. To become a teaching assistant for example, is reasonably straight forward and can be an entry in to a more teaching based role. Careers advisor positions are massively important in the education industry and provide a link between schools and the work place, often advising pupils on what routes they need to take to gain a job in their chosen profession.

There are a number of ways to find the job of your dreams if you are planning on becoming a supply teacher. In fact, recent developments in technology have made it easier to find supply teaching jobs in the UK, although many individuals are still unsure where the best places are online to look. Here are some tips when looking for supply teacher jobs UK.

1. Complete your CV

A good CV will often be the first piece of information a prospective employer will see about you, so make sure your CV is well-written and up-to-date. The document should be no longer than 2 pages of A4 paper, and should include your educational history, any work experience or internships you have undertaken, and the necessary teaching experience required for a role. Make sure you explain the qualities you have to make a good supply teacher, and the training you have undertaken in the past that will further your career. A professional careers advisor will be able to look through your CV and suggest ways you can improve the document. Although there will be a fee for the service, it could help you out in the long run.
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