New and recent graduates

Astra 69

If teaching is your first graduate level job, we are here to help you make the transition into a demanding and yet fulfilling role.

Teaching is not without its perks:

The chance to work in a role that makes a tangible difference to the lives of children and young people
The energy, enthusiasm and eager expectation of working with pupils in the classroom
A role that lets you share your passion for your subject, especially in secondary, and the opportunity, too, to develop your subject expertise
Clear paths for career progression, enabling you to develop your leadership skills and gain wider school responsibilities
A high chance of gaining employment at the end of your training
Over twelve weeks of holiday (including Bank Holidays)

Nonetheless, for new graduates the move to a professional environment following university can present challenges and Astra has over ten years of experience of working with new and recent graduates.

Support for new and recent graduates

Astra teacher training courses are able to support new and recent graduates to make the transition from university to employment as smooth as possible. We carefully design our courses and include:

Specialist advice and training in gaining employment by the end of the course
Explicit training in professional values, behaviours and standards, so that you are able to establish yourself as a credible and professional teacher
Subject specific studies are an important element to our primary and secondary courses, enabling you to develop the specialist knowledge and skills for gaining rapid promotion
A focus on understanding your own wellbeing and resilience from the outset, so that you have the skills and aptitudes for a successful and rewarding career in teaching
A structured and phased introduction to classroom teaching: we won't overwhelm you at the start, but rather seek to develop your expertise as a teacher over time
The chance to be part of a community of like-minded professionals in a mature environment who are committed to teaching as a profession
Face to face teaching is at the core of our course, giving you the opportunity to network and build professional connections

Recommendations for new and recent graduates

If you left school only three or four years ago, you might be amazed at how much schools have changed in recent years.

Contrary to media reports, it's far from doom and gloom in schools, and many new teachers will testify to the sense of reward and enjoyment in working with children and young people.

Whether in primary, secondary or special school, teaching offers a structured career path, with reasonable financial rewards. Following your PGCE/ QTS year, you will become an Early Career Teacher for the next two years, during which you will benefit from additional mentoring and training, and a reduced timetable. In later years, there are numerous professional development opportunities, including National Professional Qualifications that let you specialise in different areas such as subject and/or school leadership, developing new teachers, leading schools, special educational needs and pastoral responsibilities. There are also numerous opportunities to take on additional responsibilities and develop your leadership potential, whether runniing a subject (or even a school!) or taking on pastoral leadership.

Crucially, it's not simply another job or career: this is work that makes a difference. There are opportunities to become fully involved in school life, including co-curricular activities such as sport, music and drama, visits at home and abroad, and a chance for you to share your interests with young people.

While admission to the course does not require school experience, we recommend you spend two or three days in school gaining experience of what it's like to be a teacher in a busy school. You'll find schools welcome enquiries from those considering teaching as a career, and at Astra we are also happy to help organise school based work placements.