School Teacher Job Profile
Teachers of statistics provide students with employability skills which we know employers in every sector are seeking from new recruits, be they school leavers or graduates. Statistics can be applied to several subjects that one can choose to teach.
What does a teacher of statistics do?
Statistics is taught at primary and secondary levels. At secondary level, statistics is taught as part of mathematics curricula and used in many other subjects across the curriculum.
Statistics teachers spend a significant amount of time outside of lessons preparing and marking work. Some schools are concerned with developing strong data handling and statistical work on a school-wide basis, to bring real data collected by students as part of a biology, psychology or geography course, into the mathematics classroom too.
Take a look at our profiles of teachers Robin Nicolson to learn more.
What qualifications do I need?
School teachers are required to have an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE). A great deal of information about the PGCE can be found on the website of the Graduate Teacher Training Registry, which also deals with applications for PGCE courses.
A PGCE requires an additional year of study after the undergraduate degree.
Schools have mentors who are specifically trained to offer advice and counselling to PGCE students. The process of learning how to teach continues into the first appointment: newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are given a reduced teaching load and further mentoring during their first year.
How do I find a job as a teacher?
Most teaching jobs are advertised in the Times Educational Supplement. Some schools have their own websites on which vacancies are posted and where you can register your interest in case a suitable vacancy arises.
What are the career prospects of a teacher?
It is possible to be promoted depending on expertise, for example, to head of department or vice-principal. There is always the option to switch from teaching to lecturing at a university – this typically requires a PhD.