Time to Teach

Earn a full salary throughout the programme

You’ll get paid from day one on the programme. You’ll even earn a salary during the school holidays, and no unpaid summer training is required.

Turn your professional experience into classroom expertise

In your previous career you built up plenty of skills that are vital in the classroom. We’ll show you the ins and outs of teaching and how those skills can help you get the best from your pupils and develop a fulfilling career in education.  

Get expert training and support from your school and from us

In school you’ll have a mentor you can turn to whenever you need. You’ll also be given a dedicated Teach First contact who can help with any issues that come up inside or outside the classroom.

Shadow teachers and start taking lessons from the start

Training takes place in the classroom, not the lecture theatre. That means you’ll be observing teaching and building up your confidence, and, before long, teaching lessons yourself. You’ll spend your first term getting used to the school, then you’ll be given your own classes to teach.

Be placed in a school in a commutable location

We only partner with schools in low income areas, so you’ll be working with young people who need inspiring teachers the most. As long as you live within our pilot area, you’ll be placed in a school that’s a commutable distance from your home.

Ongoing career development from our networks

Our support to help you change career doesn’t stop when you complete Time to Teach. You’ll become part of our ambassador network, with access to training and career opportunities, advice and career development programmes that’ll help you progress into leadership roles.

Time to Teach is currently only available in Bradford, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester

So if you’d like to work in other areas, take a look at our Training Programme which is available in locations all over the UK.

Time to Teach is currently only for science, English or maths

These are the subjects that are most needed in these areas. To be eligible to apply to teach them you need the following qualifications and experience: 

• GCSE in maths and English (Grade C and above) 
• Honours Degree (2.2) 
• Sufficient subject knowledge to teach maths, science or English. To show this you’ll need to have either, a degree, A level (B or above) or sufficient work experience in a related subject. 
• Three years or more previous experience in another career 
• The ability to work in Bradford, Greater Manchester or South Yorkshire

We look for potential

We’re looking for people who have had great careers, who could now be great teachers. We know that sometimes your degree subject doesn’t reflect your expertise. So if you have career experience in English, science or maths (maybe you were an accountant or an engineer) we still want to hear from you. 

Check your eligibility and or email Katie at khigginson@teachfirst.org.uk who’ll be able to answer any questions and give you advice on your application. 

What if you have non-UK qualifications?

You can still apply. Add your overseas qualifications to the online application form. If we make you an offer we’ll need proof they’re equivalent to the UK ones we require – we’ll help you do this at the time.

Who we’re looking for

As we said, qualifications aren’t everything. Throughout the selection process we look for people with the characteristics to make a great teacher. We call these our ‘key competencies’ and they are:

• humility
• respect and empathy
• interacting with others
• leadership
• planning and organising
• problem solving
• resilience
• self-reflection

Here’s how you’ll spend your time on our programme.

April - September 2020

Settle into your school and get ready to take on your own class in September:

• Learn about planning, assessment and behaviour management, and observe experienced teachers put these concepts in action.
• Start teaching for real - after building your skills methodically, you’ll take on your own lessons when you’re ready.
• Complete a Subject Knowledge Enhancement course to bring your knowledge of the curriculum up to scratch.
• Spend a week in a different school with fewer pupils from low-income families. This will widen your experience of teaching and understanding of the barriers those in areas of high deprivation face.
• You’ll have the May half-term off, and then six weeks paid holiday during the summer, before returning to your school in September.

All your training is based on world-class teaching methods and will be delivered by Teach First. During this time you’ll be earning an Unqualified Teacher (UQT) salary. 

Your first year

From September 2020 to July 2021 you’ll be:

• in school five days a week
• allocated your own classes
• teaching 80% of a full lesson timetable (by the end of the year you’ll be ready to go to a full timetable)
• spending two weeks observing and teaching in another school to widen your experience
• continuing to earn a UQT salary

Throughout the year a mentor at your school will be on hand to give support during the week. And you’ll have regular check-ins with a Teach First contact who can also provide extra support if and when you need it as you change career.

By July 2021 you’ll have official Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Summer holiday

Six weeks of paid holiday during the summer.

Your second year

From September 2021 you’ll be a New Qualified Teacher (NQT). But what does that mean?

Firstly you’ll be earning an NQT salary.You’ll also be teaching a full five-day timetable, so you can really hone your teaching skills. But you won’t be on your own, you’ll still have a mentor at school and a Teach First contact to call on.

Also, as part of our programme even at this early stage you can boost your career by taking a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accreditation in expert teaching or a National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership (NPQML).

What happens once you’ve completed Time to Teach?

You’ll end our programme with:

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
• being part of our global ambassador network
• opportunities to continue developing your career with us

Let’s make education fairer

Too many young people aren’t fulfilling their potential at school. We should, and can, do better.

Pupils from poor backgrounds are less likely to succeed in the classroom and less likely to go on to university or well-paid jobs. The cycle continues from generation to generation, widening social inequality. It’s a cycle we’re determined to help break.

The stats are sobering

• Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are more than 18 months behind when they leave secondary school
• 28.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals achieved five good GCSEs including English or Welsh and maths in 2017, compared to 60.8% of those who aren’t.
• The poorest pupils are half as likely to go to university as their wealthier peers. 

Unlocking potential

Our challenge is to build an education system in which all young people thrive, regardless of their background. Schools in low income areas are already doing a brilliant job in tough circumstances, but with our support they can do even more to overcome the barriers they face.

There’s no quick fix. We work with schools for the long term, developing inspiring teachers and effective leaders, and connecting them to networks of support. We started in 2003 and some impressive strides have already been made:

• We’ve placed more than 10,000 teachers in low income areas positively impacting over 1 million children.
• Pupils in our partner schools improve their GCSE results by one grade overall.
• Within two years of partnering with us underperforming school departments improve GCSE results from 9% lower than others in the same school to 16% higher, on average.
• Our teachers are over seven times more likely to progress to senior leadership positions early in their career than those from other courses.
• 63% of our former trainees who are still teaching work in schools in low-income areas.

Behind every stat are thousands of real stories

It’s easy to get lost in the numbers. They’re important and one way we can measure success. But teachers work with people. Every positive statistic represents young lives changed for the better. That’s where the real satisfaction is, giving all pupils the chance to fulfil their potential.