Q I am a qualified secondary science teacher studying for a qualification in child development with a view to offering it in my school instead of or as well as biology. Now I’m interested in nursery education and would like to know what qualifications I need to work with under-fives in schools.

A You need an appropriate teaching qualification for the age group. It is difficult for secondary teachers to transfer directly to work with under-fives without retraining as there is a world of difference between specialist subject teaching with adolescents and working with under-fives. As retraining to teach this age group is not seen as a priority, you would have to bear the cost yourself. But be warned:with fewer pupils in the three-to-five age group than in recent years, jobs may be less easy to come by than they have been in the past.

Q My primary school is thinking of advertising for an assistant headteacher. What are the advantages of this post?

A It offers a useful first step on the leadership ladder. Small primary schools that can’t afford a deputy head may find that an assistant head offers an alternative way to recruit someone for the head to share the leadership with. For larger schools, it offers a route to develop new leadership structures that can be flexible since assistant heads can be expected to progress to deputy head after a few years.

Q What is the difference between the M and U salaries for teachers quoted in some documents?

A The M grade salaries refer to the new basic grade in use from September 2002, and U grades to those on the upper pay spine who have passed the threshold. There are six M grades and five U grades. M grades start at pound;17,595 and end at pound;25,713; U grades run from pound;27,861 to pound;32,317. Other allowances and responsibility payments are additional to these amounts.

John Howson is visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University and managing director of Education Data Surveys. Do you have a career question for him? Email: susan.young@newsint.co.uk