*Please don't move this to jobs + employment*


Hey, i'm in teacher training at the moment, on a BSc with QTS course, and i'll be on my placement from next September. I'm looking to go into a private school to get the best start in my career as possibe. However, this means that i will have to do all the legwork myself, as my uni dont have any ties with private schools.

So... is anyone here a teacher? Can you put me in touch with the right people? Full CV will be sent upon request, basics are... 21 years old, male, 5 A levels at A/B, hopefully to teach maths, physics and chemistry to GCSE.

Thanks,

Ben

Why will a placement in a private school give you "the best possible start in your career"? Surely a comprehensive school would give you a wider experience of dealing with different groups of people?

What sort of private school are you looking at? I'm doing a teaching degree at the moment and i am on placement now at a private school.

MAybe we can swap notes and conflab.

Shine - i would like my career to be in private schools, so an appropriate teaching placement would help that along. yes, a comp school would give me a wider experience, but that's not what i want.

bonny - do you mean which sex, etc? i don't mind. unfortunately, i don't have many notes to swap or compare, i presume you're a postgrad on a pgce?

Sorry, bit of confusion. There are different types of private education apart from single sex schools. I am doing the Steiner/Waldorf education degree which qualifies me to teach in thier schools, the pgce is included in the course.

well, technically, you don't need any qualifications at all to teach in private schools, or so i've been told. is your course post grad?

I am a teacher, and I would strongly recommend you get a grounding in a normal comp before you try your hand at private school.

There are a lot of lessons to be learnt as a teacher that they don't teach you at university. Infact, I found my course didn't prepare me for anything in the real world.

As a teacher in a state school you can gain valuable experience in the practical issues in being a teacher. Classroom management being the main. Don't get me wrong, the behavior in a private school is not perfect, infact they often commit more "high class crimes" than those at some state schools. The pupils at these schools can be very arrogant and disrespectful. I mean, they come from backgrounds where their parents are real professionals so they regard you as a teacher as pretty unworthy.

They are often high pressure envionments as it's results and standards that these schools sell themselves on and as an NQT where you're trying to get to grips with your new career, this can be extra daunting.

On the plus side, at a private school they do not have to follow the national curriculum as it is a DfES initiative, but I would've thought that they would still have a hard structure to it.

If you want to be a maths teacher, in a state school you would be snapped up as there is a national shortage at the moment, so there are all sorts of incentives to teach in a state school. I'm a maths teacher, and my student loans (all of them, not just those I took out on teaching practice) are being paid back, which is brilliant.

I think it's probably the behavioural issues that make private school seem like a better option, and it maybe. It's hard work, and it's stressful, but it's one of the most rewarding jobs you can do, even when you work in a difficult school like I do.

Hope this was useful. Good luck!

Originally posted by Maldonado
well, technically, you don't need any qualifications at all to teach in private schools, or so i've been told. is your course post grad?

No, it isn't, It is a Ba Hons in Steiner/Waldorf education. Done at Plymouth University, but affiliated to York.

Originally posted by bonny
No, it isn't, It is a Ba Hons in Steiner/Waldorf education. Done at Plymouth University, but affiliated to York.

cool, never even heard of that one before! care to enlighten us about what it's all about?

Miss - cheers for your input, i went to private school myself so i'm aware of what they're like. i also taught a little whilst i was at school, and i'm aware of the challenges present.

as for shortage subjects, all 3 of my favoured subjects are in great demand... i'm aware that i can walk into the state sector, but i want to put some serious research into private school teaching. we have also had lots of info regarding the financial incentives... :D

http://www.steinerwaldorf.org.uk/training.htm

here is a link with info.

What made you decide to teach it bonny?

wow, i didn't know that such establishments existed...

Originally posted by stelps
I'm hoping my children will be able to go to a Steiner school - either that or I'll Home Educate with a Waldorf/Steiner based education.

What made you decide to teach it bonny?

There may be good news in store for you if you are in Sheffield regarding school.

My children have and do attend the Steiner Kindergarten in Sheffield so that was one reason. The main reasons were that I was asked to and had been keen to anyway and it is something that has worked for us and I believe in it.

At the moment we are in Sheffield but my eldest is only 20 months and we are fairly certain we won't still be in Sheffield when they reach school age.

Originally posted by stelps
At the moment we are in Sheffield but my eldest is only 20 months and we are fairly certain we won't still be in Sheffield when they reach school age.

Do you know any parents that home educate? If you wanted to meet the parents in Sheffield for a chat then ELF on this forum has got their numbers to contact them.

We were looking at moving to Heanor as there is an upper school there but plans have changed now.

Do you know where you are/will be moving to?