At the age of 54, I decided to become a teacher.

Well, that’s not quite true. I already had a 30-year-plus career in English language teaching, both in the UK and overseas, as a teacher, trainer, manager, examiner and writer of course books.

I’d also worked in international and independent schools, language schools and universities. I had a master’s degree and PhD, both in education, specifically teaching English, as well as the DELTA (Diploma in English language teaching to adults).

Yet my desire to work in the state sector, in part, to give back to the system that I always felt had helped me so much during my education, meant I set about becoming a teacher with qualified teacher status (QTS). 

A lack of options

With three degrees already, I was not attracted to doing a postgraduate certificate in education. Meanwhile, the so-called “assessment only” route, which would have suited me best, was only available to those already employed by a school - and I could not find any willing to accept an “unqualified” teacher.

Of the remaining options, it made sense to follow a route that allowed me to teach from day one, given that I was already a confident classroom practitioner.

I applied to a school-centred initial teacher training programme run by a local academy trust, only to discover I was not considered qualified to train to teach English because trainees need a first degree in the subject they wish to teach, or in certain shortage subjects such as English, at least an A level.

Although my A levels were in French, Spanish and sociology, I had already taught GCSE English language and literature at an independent school and academic English to master’s level students at several universities. As well as having higher degrees in teaching English, I am also a published writer of English teaching materials.

Meanwhile, my modern languages degree was almost completely literature based. Having written complex analyses of Cervantes, why was it assumed I could not apply these skills to Shakespeare?

Switching courses

Having discussed the possibility of training to teach English with several different providers, I gave up and applied to teach Spanish, for which I was readily accepted, even though my degree in Spanish was over 30 years old. This didn’t matter, though, and I was offered a £10,000 bursary to train to teach Spanish at a local secondary school.

Great, I thought. I was eager to learn and the trainers and mentors we had were great: very supportive and welcoming. Of them, I can make no criticism. But it was a tough experience. 

For example, having spent years teaching students that are engaged in languages, it was an eye-opening experience to work with pupils who had no interest in learning languages and, sometimes, quite severe behavioural problems.

I observed some teachers who were experts in handling difficult situations, but the majority struggled with the pupils’ challenging behaviour, just as I did. Focusing more on this aspect would have made more sense than spending most of my time writing lesson plans and designing PowerPoint presentations - skills I already had from years of teaching.

Other issues arose, too. For example, as a trainee, I was not allowed to be alone with students. Like all teachers, I had an enhanced DBS and it should not have been an issue of child protection, but I never got to the bottom of why this rule was in place.

I’ve been a school principal in a small international school and have worked with children of all ages. This rule hurt and humiliated me. The apparent reason for this was insurance related.

The school - who didn’t employ us - would not have been covered in case of allegations against us. However, surely the trust could have insured us via our fees if this were genuinely the reason.

The final straw

Then towards the end of the year, I asked to teach some English lessons, as I was planning to apply for English teaching jobs once I had my QTS. I was given this opportunity and the lessons went well. Then a job came up in the department so I applied and was interviewed.

The interview went well but sadly I missed out to a 23-year-old graduate. Good luck to them, but it’s hard not to wonder if my age played a part, not least that I would have had line managers with less experience in teaching than I already had. Another school told me I was “too academic”.

I was finally offered a one-term contract, which I was going to accept until I realised I was going to have to spend the next two years on an early career teacher (ECT) programme.

This was the last straw. The thought of having to prove I could teach all over again was too much. So, the summer after qualifying, rather than becoming a state teacher, I found myself teaching on a pre-sessional course at the local university, which has since become a permanent role.

So rather than guiding the next generation of state school pupils, I am teaching overseas students.

The worst time to lose talent

My situation may be unique in its specifics but I would wager I won’t have been the only older person with good experience and strong qualifications to have tried to enter teaching and found its rules and process counterproductive and unwelcoming.

If nothing else, the government should consider making the “assessment only” route available to all teachers with relevant experience, and increasing flexibility in the acceptance of qualifications and experience needed for specific subjects.

What’s more, forcing everyone through the ECT programme should be considered, too, for the occasions when it does not fit. For young trainees, it no doubt works well, but it cannot be seen as a one-size-fits-all option.

All in all, given the well-documented teacher shortage, the system needs to do a far better job of valuing and enticing the contribution mature people with good experience could bring to the profession - not putting up barriers.

Dr Claire Wijayatilake is a lecturer in international English at the University of Chichester