Job Profiles and progression routes

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Task 1:

In this task, I will be talking about different careers if have considered taking. I will describe 3 different careers and include information such as qualifications required to get the job, roles that are to be carried out and the responsibilities that are assigned to each role.

Teaching

There are many roles in the teaching sector. These include:

  • Nursery teacher
  • Primary school teacher
  • Secondary school teacher (High school)
  • Tertiary school teacher (College/6th form)
  • Technician
  • Supply teacher
  • PSW (Pastoral Support Worker)

The teaching job is mainly in the public sector meaning their salary is given to them by the government. Public sector jobs are more secure than private sector jobs as they are less likely to be made redundant.

The job roles that are to be carried out by the teacher, is specified in the job description. Similarly, the skills needed to become a teacher are mention in the person specification. These recruitment documents are put up along with the job advert so the teaching institution can get the right person for the job.

A teacher gets paid on salary, not a wage which depends on the amount of experience they have. For example a teacher who has worked at an institution for 5 years will get paid more than someone who has just started teaching. The salary can also depend on what type of teacher they are. For example, the starting salary for a nursery teacher is £15,000. This can reach up to £30,000 but this is unlikely unless they become they come the manager of the nursery. The starting salary of a primary school teacher is £17,000; the starting salary for a secondary school teacher can range £19,000 - £23,000 depending on what type of subject they’re teaching. For example an English teacher would get paid more than a Music teacher because the English teacher has to more students to teach therefore they have more responsibility. The starting salary for a tertiary teacher can range between £26,000 depending on what college/6th form they’re teaching at and the starting salary for a technician is £11,000.

The teachers are paid differently because some have more responsibility than others. The technician is paid the lowest because their job is to fix things in and around the school and to ensure safety whereas the actual teachers also ensure the safety of the students as well as educating them. Another reason for this is because there are fewer qualifications required to become a technician.

The requirement to become a teacher would vary as the job level get higher. For example a secondary teacher would need more training and qualification than someone who is a nursery teacher.


Nursery Teacher

A nursery teacher is a teacher that takes care of children aged 4 – 5. They are given responsibility by the children’s parent to take care of them. The primary roles of the nursery teacher are to make sure the children are in good care. This responsibility is given to them by the parents and by the people who recruited them. As well as this, they are also responsible for ensuring the children are fed properly during lunch or break times as they are too young to feed for themselves. The nursery teacher stays in constant contact with the children’s parents so they know how well they’re doing.

A typical day for a nursery teacher it to take the register to ensure that all the children are in. Activities are planned for the children to do until lunch time such as painting or jigsaw puzzles. During lunch time, the nursery teacher has to ensure that the children are fed properly. More activities or work is given until the end of the day where the children’s parents come to pick them up.

A nursery teacher only teaches the same children for a 1 year period; until they move onto reception. Therefore they have to get used to remembering new faces and names.

Primary:

A primary teacher is someone who teaches students from reception (age 5) to year 6 (age 11). Like every other teacher, primary teachers are responsible for educating the students. However unlike secondary and tertiary teachers, there is no specific teacher who teaches a subject, the form teacher also teaches the same students their subject lessons. For example the form tutor will also teach History, English, Geography, Maths etc to the same students, they don’t change teachers for every subject like in secondary or tertiary school.

Primary school teacher have to attend parent evening to discuss the students progress with the students as well as their parents. During parent evening, targets are set for the students so they can improve their class/homework.

A typical day for a primary school teacher is to take the form class to discuss any announcements as well as taking the register. After form period, the first lesson and the students would stay in the same class. Each lesson lasts for an hour and after every 2 lessons, there is a break such as break or lunch. After lunch, form is carried out again and also the register is taken again to ensure that everybody who was in during the morning, is in during the afternoon. The afternoon form period is shorter than the morning form period as all the announcements and discussions take place during the morning.

Like every teacher, the main role of a primary school teacher is to educate the students. Other roles include monitoring behaviour, punctuality and attendances as well as ensuring the students are learning in a safe environment. Some teacher may organise trips. Doing this isn’t mentioned in their job description but is optional as they want the students to get a better experience.

Secondary

A secondary school teacher is a teacher who teaches students in high school (from ages 12 – 16). They are responsible for the students passing in their GCSE’s which is done at the final year of the school.

In secondary school, the students are taught at different classes and by different teachers therefore a specified subject teacher is employed to teach the students.

A typical day for a secondary teacher is to take the register during form time as well as getting the students involved in some sort of activities, discussions or debates. After form period, the teacher would change class so they can teach their lesson. After the lesson is over, they would usually stay in the same class to teach the next set of students. At the start of every lesson, the register is taken so the teacher knows what students are in if homework is set. Registration is done again during the afternoon form periods which normally last 5 minutes and is done to ensure no students are truanting.

Some secondary teachers are given other duties. They may include taking over a cover lesson if a teacher isn’t in. A specific teacher is chosen to take over the lesson for example a business teacher would be told to take over a business lesson as they have the right knowledge to teach the students. Some teachers are given patrolling duties. This is when they stand around the school to ensure that students aren’t misbehaving to ensure their uniform is correct.

Tertiary

A tertiary school teacher is a teacher who teaches students in college/6th form (from ages 17 – 19). Out of all the teachers, mentioned, the tertiary school teacher is the most important as they’re responsible for the student’s A level which determines what university they go into and what job they get.

If the institution only offer college/6th from by itself such as Southall College then the tertiary teacher would be recruited whereas if the institution has a high school and college/6th form as one school such as Greenford High School, then the secondary teacher would normally carry out the duties as a tertiary teacher.

The primary role of a tertiary teacher is to educate the students. They also have to make sure the students are attending their lessons so they can do well in their exams/coursework. As well as this, the tertiary teacher has to assess the students work and give them feedback of what went well and what could be improved, monitor their progress and deliver lessons that engage student which will help them to achieve

In order to get the most out of the students, the teacher may give the students a quiz. This will not only warm up their brains, but it will also give them a brief overview of what the lesson is about. Towards the end of the lesson, if there is any incomplete work, the teacher would normally tell the students to finish it off for homework. When coursework is being marked, it is the duty of the tertiary teacher to give the feedback on their work such as things that went well or things that could be improved.

If the school is a 6th form/college only then the tertiary would have more free time a there are less students to teach.  Contrastingly, if the school has a high school as well as a 6th form/college, the tertiary teacher would have less free time and a bigger work load as there are a lot more students to teach.

Technician

A technician is someone who is employed specifically to fix thing around the school. For example a school will have an ICT technician to fix the computers and problems that may arise on the school system network, a technology technician to fix the machines such as the pillar drills and science technician to ensure that experiments are carried out safely and to ensure the equipments are safe to use.

Technicians do not teach the students, they are only there to help and guide the students and to ensure safe practical lessons.

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Technicians job vary from day to say because there are always different problems to fix. For example, if the computer hardware has been broken, it is the role of the ICT technician to fix it. Similarly, if there is something wrong with the school’s network or a virus has been installed then the ICT technician is called upon to fix it .

When a science practical lesson is being prepared for example experiments, then it is the role of the science technician together the right equipment ready for the experiment. They also have to ensure that the students are performing ...

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