Teaching at a Sixth Form College

Hello,

I am a postgraduate student in philosophy. I am currently wondering what teaching at a sixth form college involves and might be like. (Presuming that philosophy would be a possible subject. As far as I know, very few colleges actually teach philosophy as a subject (leaving aside RE)).

I have a couple of questions on teaching in sixth form colleges and was wondering whether anyone might help me with them.

- Is it actually very common to also teach outside your specialization if you are a teacher at a sixth form college. (On the ATL website, I read something suggesting that, but I may have misunderstood this.) I am here simply curious to which extent one actually sticks to what one has studied or also commonly gets involved in teaching other things. (I am a bit ambivalent about this. If that was the case, it would suggest that there is flexibility but also that maybe specialization and having a proper grounding in your field is maybe not valued quite as highly after all.)

- Do good sixth form colleges employ teachers who have a DTLLS (Diploma for Teaching in the Life Long Sector) or do they tend to rather employ teachers who have full qualified teacher status (QTS)?

- Just in case anyone happens to have some ideas: are there sixth form colleges that actually teach philosophy (rather than) RE?

- If I am not mistaken, there will is a new law according to which teachers who have gained QTLS (Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills) can also teach in schools, i.e. also have QTS (Qualified Teacher Status).
Does it matter whether one gains QTS after getting a PGCE or via the FE route (first DTLLS and then QTLS)? Is there a difference in "status" associated with those two routes? Does the FE route not have as high a reputation as the PGCE-route?

I am well aware that this is quite a long post. If you have got any feedback on any of those questions, I would be very grateful!

Thank you!
Jean

Reply 1

tamimi

Very few places teach Philosophy A level, but it exists.

Is it common to teach outside your speciality?
- Yes and No. Yes in the sense that it's acceptable, no in the sense that teaching A level, you're expected to have a very deep understanding of the subject. It's acceptable when you teach something very close. For example, I had a teacher who had a chemistry degree and taught physics. Et cetera.

Do Sixth forms employ DTLLS - Depends on the place's standards, depends how well you do in the interview, and on whether there are better candidates than yourself. For example, if you and another candidate have the same capability, but they have a QTS, they will be chosen. Common sense really.

-Not sure about new laws.

99% of the time you'll be required to have relevant teaching experience. Hence most sixth form teachers would have taught GCSE, or were teaching assistants at secondary schools - This is so that the admins know for sure that they will cope well when they are let-loose onto a bunch of A level students, some of which may be total little ****s.

Best of luck.

Reply 2

Jean82

Thank you very much, tamimi. That is very helpful.

Reply 3

evantej

Original post by Jean82

[…] (1) Is it actually very common to also teach outside your specialization if you are a teacher at a sixth form college. (On the ATL website, I read something suggesting that, but I may have misunderstood this.) I am here simply curious to which extent one actually sticks to what one has studied or also commonly gets involved in teaching other things. (I am a bit ambivalent about this. If that was the case, it would suggest that there is flexibility but also that maybe specialization and having a proper grounding in your field is maybe not valued quite as highly after all.)

(2) Do good sixth form colleges employ teachers who have a DTLLS (Diploma for Teaching in the Life Long Sector) or do they tend to rather employ teachers who have full qualified teacher status (QTS)?

(3) Just in case anyone happens to have some ideas: are there sixth form colleges that actually teach philosophy (rather than) RE?

(4) If I am not mistaken, there will is a new law according to which teachers who have gained QTLS (Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills) can also teach in schools, i.e. also have QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). Does it matter whether one gains QTS after getting a PGCE or via the FE route (first DTLLS and then QTLS)? Is there a difference in "status" associated with those two routes? Does the FE route not have as high a reputation as the PGCE-route? […]

(1) Yes. When I went for an interview for a PGCE PCET (English), I was asked whether or not I would be willing to teach mathematics as well. So far as you are concerned, you are more likely to be in one of two positions. One, if you want to stick purely to philosophy then you will not be on a permanent full-time contract. Two, if you are on a full-time contract you I am guessing you will be used elsewhere within the sixth form (e.g. to teach general studies or politics).

(2 and 4) I will address questions two and four at the same time. Colleges do not care about qualifications per se. What they care about is experience and quality. For example, a new job advert for a lecturer in English asks for teaching grade of level two or higher. The teaching qualification was expected as standard; they were more interested in having a good teacher who could jump in at the deep end and get on with things.

With regards to question four, and how it relates to question two, I will clear up a number of misconceptions. A secondary PGCE is more respected because the compulsory sector is more unified. This does not mean they have better teachers though. This is why the government legislated to make QTLS and QTS equivalent; so primary and secondary schools could no longer discriminate FE candidates on paper.

However, I do not think you realise that it is impossible for you – as someone who has probably never taught people before – to gain DTLLS. You can gain PTTLS with minimal teaching. But for CTTLS and DTLLS you need contracted teaching hours in order to do the actual qualification. This means you are in a bind. You are unlikely to ever be in a position where someone will take you on without a teaching qualification, but unless you have a teaching qualification you cannot get the teaching hours to gain the qualification. The reason why this separate route exists is primarily for vocational and non-standard FE teaching (e.g. community or education in prisons etc.), where staff retention and qualifications might be an issue. The simplest thing to do these days is to do the full-time PGCE PCET. This is the FE PGCE. Whoever you train with organises everything (i.e. placements and teaching hours etc.), and the PGCE is essentially the three 'TTLS qualifications stuck together, and the fact it has the 'PGCE' name attached to it will make things far simpler for you if you apply for secondary schools.

(3) Yes. My local college teaches AS level philosophy, and there is no trace of RE whatsoever.

Reply 4

Jean82

Thank you very much for your detailed response, evantej. I did not realize that I cannot do a DTLLS (as things are) and I'm very glad you clarified this. (I have taught university undergraduates as a TA, but I suppose that does not help.)

I was wondering whether the Graduate Teacher Programme be a way of getting into sixth form teaching, too? (Assuming there are places for philosophy A-level.) Or would that make me less employable than doing the PGCE PCET on the long run? I.e. do colleges tend to prefer candidates who have done the degree rather than GTP?

I'd be grateful if you happen to have any thoughts on this, too!

Thanks,
Jean

Reply 5

evantej

Original post by Jean82

The GTP is not offered at post-compulsory level so you would need to find a secondary school that offered philosophy at GCSE or at A level in order for it to work and train as a secondary teacher. I do not see this as an easier or more useful route for you to go down because you do not always gain a qualification out of it (i.e. the PGCE) and the number of providers who offer the GTP is low which might mean relocating.

The GTP has not been running that long so it is hard to say how colleges might look at someone who had gone down that route rather than taking a PGCE PCET. The two points I would raise if I were recruiting would be: the second candidate has obviously worked in a college while gaining their QTLS therefore they are the better candidate on paper, and why the first candidate bothered doing the GTP if they wanted to work in a college?

If you have done some teaching at university I would say that the PGCE PCET is the better option of the two. Apart from the wage, there are no real benefits to you training in a secondary school (i.e. the GTP route) and it will probably make you less employable in the long run.

I hope this answers your question.

Reply 6

Jean82

That's again been very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Reply 7

ferguson147

Some good info on here, thanks all :smile:

I have a question that I would appreciate some advice on, I am about to complete my Degree in Health and community studies does this mean that I would only be able to teach health and com studies ( yes this is the only subject I will be adequately qualified in)
I actually aspire to teach in youth offenders institutions, prisons and Pupil referral units, do you think gaining the FE PGCE is the right thing to do? ( bearing in mind I dont have GCSE grade C or above and the FE PGCE accepts people regardless)

Ultimately I aspire to teach PSHE and or citizenship would my degree qualify me to do this ??

Thank you in advance :smile:

Reply 8

wasza

Original post by Jean82

That's again been very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Hi..
I have recenlty completed my PTTLs and CTTLs. CTTLs course requires you to teach a minimum of 30 hours which is not to bad. The college or establishment that your are doin the CTTLs course at will organise you the workplacement. however I must say if you work full time and are trying to complete your CTTLs (as it is a semester 2 course after completeltion of PTTLs during semester 1 it is very hard getting days of work. Plus on top of that the work load is massive because of the teaching hours, planning, and supporting evidence which also includeds accessing candidates. It is not impossible.

Also most PGCE in FE/HE offer Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) know but as a previous person stated it is not seen as great as the secondary PGCE. However with that beening said if you apply for a job and meet all the criteria then you have as good a chance of getting the job as a person with a PGCE in secondary.

Hope this helps best of luck.

Thanks,
Jean

Quick Reply

Latest

Articles for you

What university is really like

How important are your GCSE grades?

What can you do after GCSEs? Academic and vocational options for 16-year-olds finishing school

What is an LLM and how could it benefit your career?

Teaching at a Sixth Form College

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you