Are Primary School Teachers allowed piercings?! Q&A 

Thank you for your lovely message! It has really made me smile. I know plenty of people who started their training age 30+ and they all enjoyed their NQT years (crazy as they may be!) Best of luck with your journey and always message if I can ever help with anything :)

Thank you for the lovely feedback! I really appreciate you taking a minute to comment. Good luck with your teaching journey! X

Thank you! It's all starting to make sense now. Time flies! x

This is so informative - I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a detailed response to the question asked in the video. I know your comment will be extremely useful for anyone considering teaching or wondering if they might have to deal with this at some point as a result of their chosen career. I’m such a big believer in self expression so it can be tricky to balance this appropriately with being consisted ‘professional’ in the workplace. It’s hard to get the balance right! Were you specifically asked by the school to hide your tattoos/piercings or did you just abide by the dress code if you don’t mind me asking?

For Teachers I always check the uniform policy as soon as I find out where I’m placed. I’ve never had SLT or other member of staff mention tattoos of piercings to me when first being introduced to the school or during my placements though, so schools are possibly becoming more lenient regarding this. Hope this helps!

It really does. Thank you so much! Enjoy your 3rd year of teaching - that’s when I really started to find my groove and enjoy the job ;) x

Such a good point! I bet there will be a big change. I imagine classes will spend a long time focusing on mental wellbeing rather than formal lessons at the start. It's going to be a big shock for students when they go back. Thank you for commenting and for sharing your thoughts on this, I know it will be useful for others to read. I also appreciate you saying that you loved the video! I will make more soon :)

@@ForTeachersChannel Yay, because we missed you 😊 but yes student wellbeing will be of great importance, now more than ever. I also expect it'll take children a bit of time to get used to the structure, the early mornings and the social distancing too. It's a year that we definitely won't forget in academia!

At my school, the first week will focus on wellbeing (alongside some baseline assessments etc.) and normal timetable will resume the following week.

@@Cherface. That seems like a good way to ease them back into it. Will you do PSHE lessons with activities for the wellbeing side or will it be more like reading or English lessons focusing on books that are about emotional regulation etc so there's a link to some extent? Xx

Teaching in the UK is difficult because *most* state schools will expect you to teach all lessons - including PE, Art, Music etc. As an international student you might be used to seeing some of those subjects taught by specialist teachers? (Please do correct me if I’m wrong!) as a result of this, a LOT of energy goes into teaching a packed timetable each week. There is also quite a lot to adjust to, be that feedback expectations, lesson observations etc. I do genuinely believe that teaching is an amazing job despite all of these efforts though! I would also advise considering working supply to get to know different areas / schools perhaps before applying as different areas will have vastly different expectations/ routines in place. Always happy to help with further questions, just pop them in here! & good luck! X

@@ForTeachersChannel What is the difference between teaching in UK and teaching in Honk Kong

I have made lots of videos about this actually! If you check my page there is a playlist all about teaching abroad. Those videos will explain SO much more detail than I could possibly squeeze into these comments. To give a quick idea though: Hong Kong my wage is higher, my specialist subjects are taught by a different teacher. Children have Chinese lessons each day. Holidays can be slightly different dates. Unfortunately though, I’m so far from my family and miss them a lot! Where are you considering teaching? Hope I can help you out.

@@ForTeachersChannel Thank you very much for your help! I'm from Bulgaria and considering studying primary education with QTS at Sheffield Hallam University (my aunt lives nearby and I prefer to be close to my relatives abroad). My two dreams are to become a teacher( love children, teaching and helping them) and to live in England but I know almost nothing about teaching in UK, and always ask myself if it's the right decision. I have the bad feeling that I won't deal with it!

That’s the same course I did actually! SHU :) I hope you’re enjoying it. And yes it’ll be tricky but so worth it too. Teaching abroad is an amazing opportunity too - try to do this if you’re able. Always happy to answer questions, just post them on here!

English maths and science

I believe it is possible to be a happy teacher anywhere! & hope you can find a work life balance that allows for this.

@@ForTeachersChannel im about to start a pgce and all of the horror stories about teaching are making me think I am starting a life sentence of pure punishment. I taught in Thailand for a year last year. Lessons were preplanned so that will be new

Hi James. Thank you for your message. I have spent a lot of time working alongside children with autism, although not alongside any teachers with such a diagnosis. I have friends who have autism and I think it might be useful for me to speak with them about this topic and gather some information in order to make sure I address everything in a way that is useful to you. I would like to add that I believe you would still be able to achieve greatness as a teacher with autism, although I understand that there may be elements of the job that might be difficult to manage. If you ever want to have a discussion with me properly feel free to message me on Instagram @ForTeachers and I will happily answer any questions you have about teaching- maybe together we can think of some advice for others too! Thank you for your comment and best of luck with your teaching journey. I hope it will be a very positive one! :)

@@ForTeachersChannel Thank you I'd like that, as far as i can find there isn't a lot of advice around for autistic teacher so if we could come up with something i think it would be helpful for a lot f people.

Let’s make it our mission to help others then! & hopefully help you at the same time. I promise to do some research into this and hope we can chat at some point. Have you applied for your training yet or not this year?

Hi James, just wanted to weigh in here as I can relate to your situation. I am just about to start my NQT year and I have a mild form of autism. Whilst I am not certain as to your personal situation and how it affects you personally, what I would say is don’t be afraid to go for it! Also, (and this may not work for you!) but I found that once I told the relevant people on my placement about my condition, they were much more understanding. However, don’t share it if you aren’t comfortable. I also think if you are able to build relationships with the children you teach and can engage with the adults around you, that would be a big step in the right direction...only you know what is right for you! I wish you all the very best with your journey, and I won’t lie to you, it hasn’t been easy getting to where I am but I can tell you for damn sure it is worth the effort and the pain!!! Take care.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from your comment too! I’m saving it myself so I can continue to further my own knowledge. I hope James finds it useful too! Have a wonderful day.