Gaining school work experience

The best way to decide if teaching is right for you and demonstrate that you’re committed to the job is by gaining experience in a variety of schools

Completing voluntary placements in schools will work to your advantage - particularly when applying for school-led positions. If you're already working in a school, you could be at the top of the list if any training opportunities arise.

What are the benefits of classroom work experience?

It may not be a mandatory requirement, but by gaining some school experience, you'll develop a valuable insight into teaching. Having this work experience will also strengthen your application and prepare you for potential interviews. Volunteering at a school will provide:

• the opportunity to observe and learn from experienced teachers
• knowledge of the national curriculum/education system of the region you're applying to work in
• evidence of your commitment
• practical classroom-based examples that you can use at interview, such as small group leading and lesson planning
• a realistic view of the teaching profession, including the workload, challenges, and rewards. Take a look at what it's really like to be a primary or secondary school teacher.

Find out how volunteering can help your career.

Where can I find school work experience?

You should look for experience in a range of settings to gain a much broader perspective on education. For example, if you went to a village school, do your research into what it's like to work at an inner city school before throwing yourself in at the deep end.

It may take time to find classroom work experience, so start early in your degree. To begin your search:

• Try contacting schools, nurseries and colleges directly and ask if you can visit, shadow or observe the teachers. Visit GOV.UK's Get information about schools for contact details.
• Check with family and friends as you may find someone has good links with schools.
• Many university courses include a period of work experience as part of the course. If you have to complete a dissertation, you may choose to base that around work in a school. Visit the volunteering department at your university and ask about school placements.
• Some universities run student-tutoring programmes where you tutor other students or go into schools to help with classes. Check with your university careers service or students' union for more details.
• If you're thinking of teaching in England, Get Into Teaching can help you find a local school. Look out for taster courses, school visits and open days to give you an insight into teaching and teacher training.
• Most local authorities and teaching agencies advertise vacancies on their websites including learning mentor, teaching assistant and laboratory technician or cover supervisor.
• Charities or local authorities in your area may run schemes for voluntary mentors to work with pupils, often on a one-to-one basis.

Search for work experience opportunities in the teaching and education sector.

What does work experience in a school involve?

Before you start your school experience, you will be asked to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. You may also need to go into the school beforehand and speak to the headteacher or your potential mentor about their expectations and your goals to ensure that they’re aligned.

The tasks you do will vary depending on the school and the age of the children but you could be:

• reading with small groups of children or one-on-one
• supervising children during breaktimes
• shadowing different teachers and attending staff meetings
• helping to plan activities and in some cases delivering them
• photocopying and preparing classroom materials.

How else can I gain work experience with children?

The work experience you do doesn't have to be classroom based, as any work experience with children shows commitment, dedication and reliability. You could get involved in:

• afterschool clubs
• coaching a sports team
• mentoring
• Scouts/Guides
• summer camps
• youth clubs.

While these will equip you with useful additional knowledge, they should not replace classroom experience. 

For more ideas of what you could do, see volunteering with children or search volunteering opportunities.

How do I get the most out of my work experience with children?

• Behave in a professional manner, as you may be approaching this school for a job in the future.
• Use your time in school wisely. Offer to help wherever you can, take responsibility, consider running a club or find something that you can contribute to the school.
• Talk to the teachers about how they got into teaching, as this may open up other routes you hadn't thought of.
• Actively observe different teaching styles, thinking about which you prefer and why.
• Keep a log of your work experiences, both positive and negative. Reflect on them and think about how you might do it differently.
• Aim to become a regular volunteer. This way, both you and the school will benefit more from the experience.