JobProfile1363 Skills for Life Teacher

							Skills for Life Teacher

    The Work
    Skills for Life teachers (also known as basic skills teachers) teach and support adults who
    want to improve their skills in reading, writing and spelling (literacy), maths (numeracy)
    and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages).

    As a Skills for Life teacher, your work would typically involve:

        carrying out skills assessments
        discussing individual goals with students
        designing learning programmes to suit the needs and abilities of students
        preparing teaching materials
        using a range of resources such as worksheets and computer packages
        delivering individual and group teaching sessions
        keeping records
        guiding and supporting learning support assistants and volunteers.


    You would usually specialise in literacy, numeracy or ESOL, although you could teach
    more than one of these areas.

    Entry Requirements
    To qualify as a Skills for Life teacher you will need both of the following:

        a full teaching qualification
        a qualification in teaching literacy, numeracy or ESOL.


    Some courses combine both qualifications. This is known as the 'initial' route. On this
    route you can choose either of the following:

        PGCE (if you have a degree) or Certificate in Education (if you do not have a degree)
         in literacy, numeracy or ESOL
        Level 5 Diploma in Teaching English (Literacy), English (ESOL) or Mathematics
         (Numeracy) in the Lifelong Learning Sector (often known as an 'integrated DTLLS')


    If you cannot find one of these combined qualifications in your area you may be able to
    take both qualifications on what is known as a 'concurrent' route. This involves taking a
    separate full teaching qualification and a literacy, numeracy or ESOL qualification, but
    completing both at the same time.

    You would complete one of the following full teaching qualifications:

        PGCE or Certificate in Education (Cert Ed)
        Level 5 Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS).
At the same time you would also complete a Level 5 Diploma in Teaching English
(Literacy) English (ESOL) or Mathematics (Numeracy).

The PGCE, Cert Ed and DTLLS are available full-time (one year) or part-time (two years).
The additional Diplomas are one-year, part-time courses. If you want to do a part-time
course and are not already teaching you will need to arrange some teaching hours,
possibly on a voluntary basis, so that you can comply with the course requirement for
teaching practice. On a full-time course the course provider will arrange teaching
placements.

To be accepted on any of the courses you will be expected to show your own competence
in English and/or Mathematics - this could be assessed by previous qualifications,
on-course assessments or national tests. You should contact course providers for details.
You can find full lists of endorsed courses at the Talent website.

    Talent


To find out if you are suited to this type of teaching, you could do some voluntary work,
and perhaps complete the Level 2 Certificate in Adult Learner Support before applying for
a teaching course, although this is not essential.

The Skills for Life teaching qualifications are part of the qualifications for further education
teaching which were introduced in September 2007. You should contact the LSIS
Information and Advice Service for details of the qualifications or advice on how
qualifications you already have will fit into the new framework.

    http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/320142


If you have skills and experience but are not qualified, LSIS Information and Advice will
also advise you on how to have your skills and experience recognised towards becoming
qualified.

Hours
You could work full-time or part-time. As a part-time teacher you may only have a
temporary contract. As a full-time teacher you are likely to work up to 37 hours a week,
with around 25 hours spent teaching. Evening work is common.

You could be based in a college but, as outreach and community-based classes are
increasing, you could also teach in community centres, schools, libraries or prisons.

Skills and Knowledge
    excellent communication and listening skills
    the ability to get on well with people of all ages and backgrounds and understand their
     needs
    patience and tact
    creativity to devise appropriate, interesting and meaningful learning activities
    enthusiasm and the ability to motivate and encourage students.


Training and Development
If you already have an adult teaching qualification and want to qualify to teach literacy,
ESOL or numeracy, or have a qualification in teaching literacy, ESOL or numeracy, and
want to qualify in an additional specialist area, you can do one of the following
qualifications:

    Level 5 Diploma in Teaching English (Literacy)
    Level 5 Diploma in Teaching English (ESOL)
    Level 5 Diploma in Teaching Mathematics (Numeracy)


Contact the LSIS Information and Advice Service for details.

    LSIS website
    http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/320142


As a newly-qualified teacher you would join the Institute for Learning (IfL) and apply for
Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status.



    www.ifl.ac.uk


Qualifying as a Skills for Life teacher does not give you qualified teacher status (QTS) to
teach in schools. See the Primary and Secondary School Teacher profiles for more
information.

More Information
LSIS Information and Advice: 0300 303 1877

Email: lluk.advice@lsis.org.uk

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/320142Opportunities

You could find work in colleges or adult education centres, or with private training
providers and work-based training organisations.
With experience, you could be promoted to head of department, or move into training
other teachers.

You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open
in new window):

Education Guardian

Times Educational Supplement

talent.ac.uk

www.fejobs.com

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Income


    Skills for Life teachers can earn from around £18,000 to £25,000 a year.
    With experience there may be opportunities to progress to more senior roles and
     higher pay scales.


Starting salary can depend on experience, qualifications, and whether the teacher is
employed in a further education college, a charity or a private training provider.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.



Related Profiles
Community Education Co-ordinator

EFL Teacher

Further Education Lecturer

NVQ Assessor

Prison Instructor

Training Manager

Training Officer