Essential Requirements for Becoming a Teacher

Teaching is regarded as a highly reputable profession in any society. It is an art on its own and not just a job anybody can randomly decide to pursue. To become a teacher is to become a giver of knowledge and it takes a lot of discipline, dedication and commitment to teaching. Possessing a healthy dose of tolerance is also a must for a teacher, as you are expected to show restraint when necessary, and never to lose your cool. 

Every teacher is a parent to his or her student for the time in which they’ve been put under their care - loco parentis. They serve as an interim parent and possess a strong mental and emotional balance; it is perhaps just as important for a teacher to have the right qualifications to become one in the first place. Without the right credentials, it is impossible to meet the requirements necessary to teach in any educational institution. 

Qualifications Required to be a Teacher

To become a teacher, you have to achieve what is referred to as QTS - Qualified Teacher Status. To get this, you must first go through an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) program. This road consists of a few certifications deemed highly imperative in the walk to becoming an educationist. 

The following qualifications serve as requirements needed to gain employment as a teacher. They include; 

Possessing a Relevant Degree 

To become a primary school teacher, ITT programs demand a relevant degree associated with one or any of the subjects on the general curriculum. However, in a secondary school, an aspiring teacher is expected to have a degree in close quarters with the subject he or she desires to tutor in. 

The GCSE Requirement

You are expected to possess a GCSE grade C/4 in mathematics and English as the lowest acceptable grade of GCSE required for you to participate in an ITT program. However, primary schools are a bit more demanding and would usually require that a prospective teacher also possesses at least a grade C/4 in GCSE science or higher. 

Completion of Professional Skills Tests

It is a basic requirement for a teacher to have aced his or her professional skills tests in both literacy and numeracy. You cannot apply for the Initial Teacher Training program without passing these tests. The tests are important, and their value cannot be overemphasized.

Take Subject Knowledge Enhancement Courses

There are a few subjects that rarely ever have sufficient professionals to handle them in schools. Therefore, when there is such a vacuum, and a teacher wants to rise to the occasion, he or she must first possess a certificate having gone through Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses. This is needed especially when the teacher’s degree is not closely related to the subject in question. 

The Assertion of Health Status and Criminal Convictions

It is not unusual for the ITT provider to request an aspiring teacher to fill out a declaration of a health questionnaire. This is routine and so is declaring any criminal convictions, which is investigated by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before proceeding with any teacher training. 

The ITT program typically takes about one year to complete before your induction. If you’re able to meet each criteria for achieving your QTS successfully, you will then be referred to as an NQT – Newly Qualified Teacher.  

Are you an aspiring teacher or a teacher looking for a new job? If so, we can help you! We can provide tips and advice on how to become a teacher, finding a job and how to excel in your career! For more information on how we can help visit our Routes into Teaching page.