Capita provides employment for nursery, primary, secondary and SEN teachers as well as teaching assistants, nursery nurses/childcare assistants and school support staff.
Firstly, it is important to understand that to attain a longer-term position (a term or more) you usually need to be interviewed by a principal/head teacher, so it is more difficult to be placed in longer-term work whilst still overseas.
You should also be aware that the right to work in the UK is limited to those with appropriate visas. Visa categories can be found in the section Requirements for working in the UK.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised about teaching in the UK. Our advice is to ignore the myths that surround supply teaching in the UK as it will be a great experience.
School Systems
Nursery Schools and Child Care Centres
Long-day childcare centres are known as day nurseries and are either privately owned or run by the local Borough. They may or may not be attached to a school.
The Children’s Act 1988 requires nurseries to be registered and at least half of the staff must have a two year full-time qualification. Therefore Associate Diploma of Social Science (Childcare) and Diploma of Children’s studies (0-5) graduates can work in these settings.
Pre-schools are also known as nurseries for 4 year olds after which the children enter the first year of formal learning in the reception class.
Sometimes nursery nurses are employed as teaching assistants in both the reception and Year 1 and indeed throughout the school.
Primary and Secondary Schools
The UK has both public and private schools within all sectors of the education system. Primary schools teach 5-11 year olds (Key Stage 1 & 2), while the secondary sector caters for 12-18 year olds (Key Stage 3), although in some cases there may be 16-18 year olds (Key Stage 4) being taught in ‘sixth form’ or ’tertiary colleges’.
Since 1988, schools in the UK conform to the teaching guidelines laid down by the National Curriculum. This is designed to raise teaching standards and give a consistent level of education across all schools. The core subject areas of the curriculum are English, Mathematics, Science, Design & Technology, Information Technology, History, Geography, Art, Music, Physical Education and Modern Foreign Languages. Schools will also offer a selection of other subjects to provide a complete curriculum. Examinations are taken at the age of 16 for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), and at 18 for the Advanced Level (A Level).
For more details regarding the National Curriculum and what is taught within the subject areas, you should visit the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) web site www.dcsf.gov.uk.
National Curriculum information is also available through major English bookstores (e.g. Dillons, W.H.Smith, Waterstones) and via the web site www.nc.uk.net.
SEN Schools (Special Educational Needs)
We know there is no such thing as an average child. However, some children have specific learning needs that are addressed within the education system separately. In addition to the SEN departments that are a feature of mainstream schools, there are SEN schools that provide an education for pupils of both the primary and secondary age groups. SEN schools tend to have much smaller classes and children will usually be supported by a teacher and a teaching assistant, as well as a nursery nurse in the primary schools. We are always looking for people to support children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD), and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD).
At Capita we are able to offer our teachers the opportunity to develop their experience of the SEN sector through teaching in these schools. Many of our mainstream teachers have enjoyed the opportunity to further develop their teaching skills by working in the area of Special Needs Education. Flexibility, empathy and patience, together with the ability to prepare and deliver individual and exciting teaching programmes, are key to working in the SEN sector.
