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Primary school teacher

Alternative titles for this job include Junior school teacher

Primary school teachers are responsible for the educational, social and emotional development of children between the ages of 3 and 11.

Average salary (a year)

£32,000 Starter

to

£49,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 45 term time

You could work

evenings attending events or appointments

Meet Tom

Tom started working in schools as a PE coach and is now a year 5 teacher.

2 minute watch

View transcript

My name is Tom. I'm a year 5 teacher. It is my third year of teaching and I'm at Lowdham School in Nottingham.

So, I saw an opportunity that was advertised for a sports coach. I didn't know what I wanted to do at the time, so I saw this opportunity and I thought, I’ll give it a go. Instantly loved teaching PE, but it was also a mix of some classroom work which I actually never even thought I was going to be doing but really enjoyed.

I was kept on for a year, which was absolutely amazing and was enjoying my time working in schools and was then kind of given the opportunity to continue sports, or would I like to go into classroom full-time, which kind of then lent itself into becoming a teacher.

So as a teacher, obviously there are there are many, many tasks you have to do. First of all, it's teaching the children, and it's about making sure they're engaged for not just 1 hour a day, it’s 4 hour-long lessons a day, with interventions dipped in and out of there. Guided reading sessions. You have to keep them engaged. You have to make things fun. Marking is very, very important.

And then there's just the extracurricular stuff, which I think makes teaching fantastic. So, for me, I've led the football team, I’ve taken children to cross-country. I've been involved in basketball teams in previous years, you know, and just having those opportunities for children. Sounds obvious, but it is something you have to be on top of and it's time management.

Teaching is, I always say this to people when they, when they ask me about my job, I've never, ever finished a day where I've been bored, or clock watching to try and finish the day. And that is because the day goes so quickly. And if you take your eye off it, you know, you can be sort of, behind on anything you need to do, whether that's printing out, whether that's sorting out your, your intervention groups or marking books. So staying on top of it.

It is really rewarding when you when you know that you're all set up, any challenge that can come your way as much as that as possible in teaching you know, you've always got things like nosebleeds or children not feeling very well or shoelaces coming undone, but are you ready? Are you able to react? And it's just a, it's a really fast-paced but, but exciting environment to be in.

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role

University

Undergraduate degree

You can do an undergraduate degree that leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), for example:

  • Bachelor of Education (BEd)
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA) with QTS
  • Bachelor of Science (BSc) with QTS

Postgraduate certificate

If you already have a bachelor's degree without qualified teacher status, you can complete a postgraduate qualification like a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) to get QTS. This can be done at university or through a training programme based in a school.

You need QTS to teach in most primary and secondary schools in England but you do not need a PGCE to teach.

Find out more about QTS from Get Into Teaching.

Change careers to teaching

Find out about the support available if you want to change to a career in teaching.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

More Information

Apprenticeship

You may be able to apply to do an Undergraduate or Postgraduate Teacher Level 6 Apprenticeship to teach children from ages 3 to 7 or 5 to 11.

The undergraduate option takes up to 4 years to complete. The postgraduate route takes around 9 months, with both leading to qualified teacher status (QTS).

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths
  • GCSE science at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) for primary school teaching

  • a degree for a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship

More Information

Work

You could start as a teaching assistant and do further training like a part-time degree or an undergraduate teaching apprenticeship to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).

Volunteering

You'll find it helpful to get some experience of working with children in different age ranges, though this is not essential.

You could volunteer at a school, help at an after school club or work on a holiday scheme.

More Information

Registration

Career tips

You can attend a Get Into Teaching event before you apply to get advice about teaching, funding and the different training routes available. You can attend events in person and online.

Further information

You can learn more about becoming a primary school teacher from Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • knowledge of English language
  • maths knowledge
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As a primary school teacher, you could:

  • prepare teaching materials, set up the classroom and organise displays
  • plan and teach lessons and work with small groups of students
  • mark work and talk to parents and carers about their children's progress
  • manage the work of teaching assistants
  • follow safeguarding procedures and work with education psychologists and social workers
  • organise trips, after school clubs and sports events
  • work and attend meetings and training outside of usual working hours

Working environment

You could work at a school or at a pupil referral unit.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience you could:

  • become a special educational needs teacher or move into pastoral care
  • become a lead practitioner, supporting and mentoring other teachers and developing best practice
  • be a curriculum leader, deputy head or headteacher
  • move into private tuition
  • teach overseas in an international school

The Get Into Teaching website has more information on how to develop your career.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a primary school teacher right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Education (Teaching - Primary) - Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma

  • Provider: BLACKPOOL AND THE FYLDE COLLEGE
  • Start date: 01 September 2025
  • Location: Blackpool
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

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