Science Teacher: Job Profile and Role

What kind of student were you in your time at school? The one who did not always need to have a rational answer to every question or the one who was actively searching for rational explanations? If you were the latter, we hazard the guess that you were probably into science at school. After all, every science subject deals with equations, formulae, and other scientific methods that leave hardly any room for fanciful speculation.

These facts are also familiar to every science teacher in the world. In the following blog, we will have a look at the job of a UK science teacher. We will explore the expected salaries and possible employers, the skills and qualifications needed to become a science teacher in the UK, and the typical working hours. You will also get a first glimpse into a day in the life of a science teacher before we conclude this blog by giving you three tips for thriving as a science teacher.

Short Summary

• As a science teacher, you are responsible for the physical well-being of your students. This is especially important when you work as a biology, chemistry, or physics teacher where lab experiments are a regular teaching method.
• As a science teacher, you are asked to plan, prepare, and conduct science lessons in an interesting, fun, and approachable way. This increases the likelihood that your students will have a better understanding and grasp of MINT subjects.
• As a science teacher, you are tasked with curriculum planning and development. This implies that you are familiar with the National Curriculum which may differ for each of the four countries in the UK.

Job description

It is the job of a science teacher to encourage analytical, scientific, rational, and critical thinking in the students. To achieve this ambitious goal and task, a science teacher should find engaging and interesting ways in which he or she can ensure that the students hang on their teacher’s every word, thus, getting a better grasp and understanding of what science involves. It is also the job of a science teacher to ensure the students’ well-being at any given time during lessons, especially, when practical experiments are on the day’s teaching schedule. Furthermore, a science teacher is tasked with assessing and grading the students’ performance and reporting the findings to the headteachers and parents alike.

Responsibilities

• Encouraging Scientific Thinking
• Homework and Assignments
• Nurturing Student Curiosity
• Assessments and Grading
• Creating Science Displays
• Developing Lesson Plans
• Classroom Instruction
• Curriculum Planning 
• Educational Support
• Laboratory Work

Different types of Science Teachers

• Biology Teacher
• Physics Teacher
• Chemistry Teacher
• Outreach Science Educator
• Environmental Science Teacher

Salary

Full-time science teachers in the UK can earn between ￡35,000 and ￡46,000 per year, whereas you can expect lower annual salaries if you work as a part-time science teacher. Besides your working hours, your annual wages will be affected by your employer and the location. To date, science teachers can expect slightly better annual salaries in Scotland where full-time and work-experienced science teachers can receive up to ￡50,000 per year. Currently, the lowest annual salaries are being paid in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Working hours

If your future job as a science teacher is at a primary or secondary school, your weekly working hours will come in at around 37 hours which you work from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Not included in these working hours are the time spent on lesson preparation, curriculum planning, assessing, and grading. Depending on your workload, these factors can increase your weekly workload by 10 hours or more. Note that you typically get through these tasks in the evenings and at the weekends which will affect your personal life and can put a strain on your home life. 

Employers

Science teachers in the UK are commonly employed by schools, ranging from elementary to primary and secondary schools. These schools can be both state schools and private schools. Note that working at a private school will not require a QTS. Besides schools, science teachers may find employment in LEAs (local education authorities), pharmaceutical companies, and universities. 

Being a Science Teacher is MINT!

No, we have not digressed to youth and hipster speak. We are actually talking about the so-called MINT subjects at school which include natural science and technology. MINT subjects have gained a lot of attention in recent years and are said to be some of the most important subjects students should master for future careers in IT, for example. 

Qualifications

The qualifications needed to become a science teacher typically require between four and five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C). Two of the mandatory subjects are science, English and Maths. These GCSEs qualify you to enter a university course or start an apprenticeship. Universities also accept the equivalent A-Levels, which can include science, physics, biology, maths, and English.

If you want to teach science at a UK state school, you will also need your QTS (qualified teacher status) and/or your PGCE (postgraduate certification in education). Further qualifications in IT do not tend to be a requirement for UK science teachers but might still benefit you in the classroom.

Skills

It is par for the course for any teacher to have above-average communication and interpersonal skills – even for a science teacher who tends to deal with unshakable facts. After all, a science teacher is not only required to teach equations and formulae. A curious mindset is another strength a science teacher should have. 

To give you a better idea if the science teacher job is a good fit for you, we will explore three more essential skills you should have or develop.

Creativity

If you work as a biology, physics, or chemistry teacher, you know that lab experiments are a vital part of your job as a science teacher. They are an interesting and sometimes even fun way to show your students how certain chemical, physical, and biological processes work. Even though your hands may be a bit tied when it comes to creative approaches, creativity is still a skill you should master when you want to work as a science teacher. Maybe do not necessarily extend your creativity to practical lab work but come up with creative ways to make theoretical knowledge more interesting and approachable. 

Carefulness

We have just mentioned that working as a science teacher can involve the odd experiment. As you well know, all chemicals show some kind of reaction when mixed. Sometimes, it is no more than a little puff, sometimes it can easily turn into a proper kaboom. As a science teacher, you therefore have to be extra careful and safety-aware. Make sure that your students – and you – are properly protected when working in a lab and make sure that you know your way around a first aid kit.

Teamwork Skills

Teamwork skills are another important competency a science teacher should have. Teaching experiments almost always involves working in teams. However, your students may not always grasp the concept of teamwork. This is where your skills come in. You cannot only teach your students about certain experiments but also about the importance of teamwork and how it can be achieved.

Career Path

Your career path as a science teacher in the UK begins with your education. This involves attending university or doing an apprenticeship. After that, you complete your ITT (initial teacher training) and earn your QTS. Typically, you will then start as an NQT (newly qualified teacher), a position you hold for a school year. After that, you work as a proper science teacher. With further experience, you can think about progressing to different positions in your school, such as head of the science department or head of the school.

Educational Background

Typically, science teachers prepare for their future careers by earning an academic degree, for example, a Bachelor of Education (BEd) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc). These degrees usually qualify you to gain your QTS which is a mandatory requirement if you want to work at UK state schools. If you approach your job as a science teacher through an apprenticeship, you can look into doing a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

Teacher Training

After you have finished your educational background, you need to look into teacher training. Even though gaining your first practical teaching experience is part of most educational approaches, further qualifications may be needed.

Most future science teachers earn their QTS or look into earning the PGCE. Another option to get practical knowledge is to complete a SCITT (school-centred initial teacher training) program. You can also apply for teacher training by using the UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) Teacher Training.

Continuous Learning

Learning is a sure way to improve on both a personal and a professional level. As a science teacher, you should always invest some time in improving your soft skills and hard skills. This can involve reflecting on your teaching techniques which enables you to find out what works and what does not.

As a science teacher, you should also spend time on keeping your first aid competencies up-to-date. Lastly, it will work to your advantage when you know the latest legal requirements when it comes to teaching science and curriculum development.

A Day in the Life of a Science Teacher

A day in the life of a science teacher always starts very early. This might be a universally acknowledged fact but it does not hurt to tell you again. Make sure that it is no problem for you to get up at 6 a.m. After you have arrived at your workplace, there are a multitude of tasks that await your attention, three of which we will take a closer look at in this section.

Setting up the Classroom

Let’s say your day as a science teacher is all about experiments. This means that you need to set up the classroom or the lab before the start of the lesson. This involves getting the test tubes out of the cupboard, setting up the various chemicals, study objects, and tools, and making sure that each student has a lab coat, safety goggles, and other protective gear at hand.

Conducting Science Experiments

This set-up then sets you up for conducting science experiments. This can be showing your students how specific chemicals react, how laws of physics work in real life, and even the very close examination of a cow’s eye. If the latter should be an experiment you plan on conducting as part of a biology lesson, please make sure that all your students are okay to do this experiment. Here, you need to check possible sensitivities beforehand to avoid your students going green around the gills. 

Grading Schoolwork

After you have finished your last lesson of the day, it can be required that you grade schoolwork. This can be the assessment of practical experiments, the grading of homework, and the grading of term papers. This particular task will not be a daily occurrence but will nevertheless play a role on various days in your life as a science teacher.

Tips for Thriving as a Science Teacher

Further qualifications and certifications will help you thrive as a science teacher. Therefore, the relevant advancements should be something you always look into. And in this section, we will naturally tell you which qualifications will be useful to you as a UK science teacher. Besides, we will give you a few more tips that help you thrive in this profession:

• H & S training
• Further education
• Join associations

H & S Training

As a science teacher, passing your H & S (health and safety) training can be a requirement before you are allowed to work in this job. Here, you learn how to work with various chemicals and which safety measures need to be applied to ensure that neither you nor your students come to any harm during scientific experiments. This involves knowing your way around protective gear, such as safety goggles, appropriate laboratory clothing, and protective gloves. It also extends to first aid knowledge that helps you deal with accidents and emergencies efficiently. 

Further Education

Depending on your ambition as a science teacher, you may want to progress after having worked in this job for a certain time. Maybe you would like to change into the corporate world or you are interested in a university job that involves both teaching and scientific research? In this case, it can benefit you to do a higher academic degree, such as a Master’s or a PhD. The latter tends to be a requirement if you want to work as a university lecturer in the UK. And it is a degree corporate employers will definitely not sniff at.

Join Associations

Being a member of a scientific association will help you thrive as a science teacher. Possible options for you as a science teacher are the National Education Union (NEU) and the Association of Science Education (ASE). Here, you can both network and improve your knowledge of (science) teaching techniques.

Frequently Asked Questions