How to become a PE teacher

Are you passionate about physical education, sport, and fitness? Do you play for a club, coach, or referee? If you're ready to inspire the next generation, a rewarding career as a PE teacher might be for you. Here at BCU, we can help you get there. You will be working to achieve QTS (Qualified Teacher Status), the professional qualification required to teach in state schools in England and Wales.

Supporting the growth and development of pupils and young people in a physical education setting can be very rewarding and knowing that you are helping them to develop their learning in a number of ways, whilst also nurturing their wellbeing is something of which you can be proud. Here are a few things you should know about entering the world of teaching physical education.

What does a PE teacher do?

Physical education can mean different things to different people, especially over different generations. Here at BCU,  we embrace the National Curriculum for physical education, developing your understanding of what and how to teach effectively, but also why. The role of a physical education teacher involves planning lessons in order for you teach across a variety of activity areas, using a variety of different facilities. Not only will you specialise in being able to teach within a classroom, but also within a sports hall or gym, a school field, hard court areas outside, and astro turf - the list could go on.

Your lessons will improve the physical learning of pupils in your pathway age range – at either primary (5-11) or secondary (11-16) level – but also pupils’ social, cognitive, and psychological learning. You will share your passion for physical education, inspiring and motivating the younger generation to aspire to succeed and enjoy being physically active, whilst providing them with the tools to continue their growth and development, long after leaving school, something we call ‘physical literacy.’ In addition to teaching, another element to your day involves pastoral care for pupils, grading/assessment, and crucial admin tasks like attending department meetings and logging student progress.

As well as teaching physical education lessons, teachers will also engage in numerous other activities to support the school and its pupils. You might run extra-curricular activities, such as an after-school club in basketball, or lunch club involving yoga. You might run an after-school sports club, taking the team to play fixtures against other schools (very common for the secondary school teachers). Being used to working inside and outside with pupils, you will also be involved in school trips or residentials, such as mountaineering and camping away days to a rural area such as the Peak District, or maybe even abroad, for a school ski trip.

Key skills and traits required to be an effective physical education teacher:

• Great organisation skills – remember, you aren’t always in a classroom, so you need to organise yourself, your pupils, your equipment, and the facility that you are using!
• Good ability to explain concepts and pick out misunderstandings or misconceptions – can you explain something to somebody to learn, and see or hear of they are making any mistakes?
• Good leadership and communication skills – you will lead from the front, with pupils following your instructions.
• Strong ability to motivate and inspire – Sometimes, not everyone enjoys an activity you are completing, or the weather may make the lesson more challenging. How can you motivate and inspire your pupils?
• Good knowledge of different physical activities and sports – you will be timetabled to teach pupils in different activities and/or sports, so you must know these, in order to teach them.
• Good initiative, and problem-solving skills – for example, if you are teaching a new activity, but you have no experience of it, how will you develop your knowledge of this confidentially in order to teach it?
• Ability to remain calm and show empathy – to support and reassure pupils, especially when learning is difficult or frustrating.  
• Ability to think on your feet and adapt to changing situations – physical education teachers need to ‘think on their feet’ quite often. What will you do if the area of the field you planned to use is waterlogged, or a piece of equipment is damaged and can no longer be used?

A day in the life of a PE teacher

There isn’t always a typical day for a physical education teacher, especially if you are working in a secondary school. Typically, teachers arrive to their school by 8am. At which point, they would normally make their way to their base – this is often their classroom or PE office in most cases. You will be teaching a variety of lessons across the day – some may be inside; some may be outside (on a field or hard-court surface). You should have your plans ready for each of these lessons – and remember, these will all be different to suit each class and the activity they are on.

Teaching your lessons across the day involves a lot of internal logistics and thinking, for example: what do I need to wear from one activity to another (do I need to change my footwear, do I need a coat?)? Is the space safe to use? What equipment do I need and is it all in good working order? Do my pupils have the correct kit for the lesson? You will teach your lessons against the appropriate curriculum for those pupils. Here at BCU, we believe the foundation to a good lesson involves all pupils being included and all pupils learning, with all pupils engaged and enjoying the lesson.

How to become PE teacher

To become a teacher, you do need to obtain a teaching qualification, either at:

•        Undergraduate (a degree and QTS within three years)

Here at BCU, you could study our BA (Hons) Secondary Physical Education with QTS degree, or focus on primary education in general with our BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS.

•        Postgraduate (one year PGCE to gain QTS – you must already hold a relevant degree).  

For physical education as a speciality area, you could choose to study a sports related degree first (such as our BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching and Physical Education degree) and then continue on to a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate of Education) – either at primary or secondary level.