Episode 052: Have specialised qualifications for Infant teachers

If you’re a regular listener to this podcast, you’ll know that I did my teaching qualification in the UK and qualified with a PGCE. However, my PGCE was different from some of my colleagues that got the same qualification at the end of it. My qualification was with a specialisation in upper primary and theirs was with a specialisation on early years. This means that I did all my Teaching Practice with the equivalent of 2nd class upwards and many of my colleagues did the equivalent of 1st class downwards. While all of us came back to Ireland qualified to teach in any primary school classroom, it actually made huge sense to have two separate specialities for upper and lower primary years. The difference between teaching a 4 year old and a 12 year old is vast. In this episode, I’ll be arguing that if I were the Minister for Education, I’d have specialised qualifications for Infant teachers.