Becoming a PE Teacher

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice on become a PE Teacher?

I'm a 21-year-old guy currently working full-time in a completely different job, but my passion is Sports and I would love the opportunity to teach. It's something I've wanted to do for quite some time now and I feel now is the perfect time to proceed with my ambition.

Is it still possible to become a PE Teacher without getting a Uni degree? I was wondering if there are any other courses that I could take instead? unfortunately my GCSE's were fairly average, although I received pretty good grades in GNVQ PE - would this hinder my chances?

Would really appreciate the help, I've done some research but I haven't gained the answer I need.

Thanks in advance
Dan

Reply 1

Onge

why dont you ring up schools and ask them what qualifications they expect their PE staff to have? Thats the simplest way you can find out what you need to do in order to become a PE teacher.

Reply 2

stayd001

If your passion is sport then don't be a PE teacher. Everyone, at least in my experience, doesn't bother doing PE or just mucks about.

Reply 3

Dannnn

Original post by Onge

why dont you ring up schools and ask them what qualifications they expect their PE staff to have? Thats the simplest way you can find out what you need to do in order to become a PE teacher.

I was thinking about doing that, but I thought there might be a new way of qualifying considering those teachers qualified some years ago?

Reply 4

Dannnn

Original post by stayd001

If your passion is sport then don't be a PE teacher. Everyone, at least in my experience, doesn't bother doing PE or just mucks about.

It's something I'd like a career in, I just want to be involved with Sport. I was thinking of Football Coaching, but as far as I'm aware it's not really a career but more a hobby?

Reply 5

Onge

Original post by Dannnn

I was thinking about doing that, but I thought there might be a new way of qualifying considering those teachers qualified some years ago?

well the schools should know if there are new ways as they constantly hire new staff. Just give it a try, nothing to loose.

Reply 6

multiplexing-gamer

What grades did you get?

Reply 7

Operane

...

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

MissLSA

From what I know, I imagine that it'd be very difficult to get into teaching this subject without a relevant degree and a professional teaching qualification (at secondary level atleast)

The PE PGCE is very popular and fills up within weeks of applications opening (according to some people I work with who are applying this year) As such, there are masses of people wishing to get into this profession who do have the relevant degree and other qualifications, meaning schools are probably spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting 'suitable', qualified teaching staff.

Having said that, from what i've read it is technically possible to progress into teaching without a degree but those who do usually have years of experience working within schools and proof of adequate subject knowledge. I work at a secondary school myself and have never encountered anyone who has taken this route, so I think its rare.

Have you considered one of the 3 year BEd degrees? There are a few trainee teachers at my school doing it. It's a 3 year degree course but at the end of it you not only have your degree but also a teaching qualification. You spend 1-2 days a week on placement in a school and the other days at uni. That'd cut down your qualifying time if thats what you were worried about?

Reply 9

evantej

Original post by Dannnn

It's something I'd like a career in, I just want to be involved with Sport. I was thinking of Football Coaching, but as far as I'm aware it's not really a career but more a hobby?

You really need to decide what you want to do specifically; having a passion or wanting to work in sports is simply not enough. You have to ask yourself why a university would want to give you a place on a PE PGCE programme (a postgraduate teaching qualification) over someone with a sports science degree and, most likely, a few coaching qualifications too? The short answer is they would not even bother considering you. That is the honest truth. That is nothing to be ashamed of either.

With a bit of planning and dedication you can get where you want to go. While a lot depends on your individual circumstances, if you want to be a PE teacher then I see you facing three or four steps.

First of all, look at your local college's website and see if they offer an 'Access Diploma to HE: Sports Studies'. It is meant for mature students (19+) and it is a level three qualification which means that it is the natural step up from your GCSEs. Because most of the access diplomas are vocationally targeted, they should not focus too much on your actual GCSE grades. However, if you want to be a teacher then you have to have a GCSE grade C or above in English language and mathematics. If you do not have them I think now would be the best stage to tackle this problem; tell your college you would also like to do the GCSEs part-time and explain why.

Secondly, because it does not sound like you have much experience working in schools (or that sort of thing) or have any coaching badges, I think the next best thing once you complete the sports studies diploma is to do a degree. You have two choices: do a two-year foundation degree at the same college (they should offer a programme which is a natural progression, so to speak) or decide to apply for a three-year degree at a university. The former is likely to be very vocational (i.e. at my local college back home they offer foundation degrees in Applied Health and Exercise Science, Applied Sports Coaching Science, Applied Sports Management and Development, Sports Training and Rehabilitation), and it comes back to know what aspect of sports you are interested in; all of these foundation degrees can be topped up to a full degree if you do the extra year – my college's top up degrees are in BSc (Hons) Applied Health and Exercise Science and BSc (Hons) Applied Sports Coaching Science. For example, if you did a foundation degree in applied health and exercise science (two years) then the top up degree – I assume - would be the Bsc in applied health and exercise science (one year). There are good and bad things about this approach: it is more flexible in the sense that it is cheaper and it means you do not have to study three years in a row like you would on a normal degree, and most courses can actually be done part time so if you wanted to still earn money then that might be an option, but you are limited because a foundation degree would not qualify you to teach and you sometimes limited to where you can top-up your foundation degree; that is, you might only be able to top it up at the same college where you did your foundation degree, because of the way qualifications are accredited.

On the other hand, if you wanted to go to university rather than college then it is more likely to be theoretical and you could, feasibly, study something other than sports at degree level. You have to think laterally about what knowledge and skills you got from your access diploma and what you want to get out from your degree. For example, I see absolutely no reason why someone interested in sports should not be able to take units in biology or psychology, for example. Of course, you will have to do a bit of research and find the best university for your needs and apply like everyone else through UCAS.

One thing I will stress: if you are interested in teaching PE then no matter which option you decide to go with I would start to do get experience in schools or take coaching badges as soon as possible, because PE is probably one of three most competitive subjects to teach.

Thirdly, once you have your degree, and unfortunately I cannot see any other feasible alternatives because you do not have experience to bypass this stage (i.e. you are not a 40-year-old with coaching qualifications and 15 years experience running summer sports programmes for the council or whatever), then you apply for a postgraduate teaching qualification. However, this would be four years from now so you can think of that when you come to it.

This is probably a lot to take in, and I appreciate that it is tough for you, but half the battle is knowing what you want to do. How you get there is often far easier. I hope this helped.

Reply 10

evantej

Original post by MissLSA

Just to back up what MissLSA wrote: of the 38 providers which offer a postgraduate teaching qualifications for PE, only two still have spaces and this could simply be a formality as they are giving out offers.

With regards to the BEd, I cannot imagine many secondary schools would be enthused about this as it is (in my option) a relatively old-fashioned way of seeing teaching as a profession and only a handful of universities actually offer it as a programme.

Reply 11

Kaiser_7

Listen to evantej would be my advice. I have a relevant 1st Class degree, numerous coaching badges and i've been a PE teaching assistant for a while, and i've only just managed to get a place on a PGCE starting this September. It's hugely competitive and they just won't consider you without a degree or experience i'm afraid.