Adding Secondary (Subject) Education registration to Primary Education registration: case studies
Sarah Khan
Full Registration in Primary Education (2022), added Full Registration in Secondary (Mathematics) Education (2025)
Sarah first qualified as a primary teacher but liked the idea of using her specialised knowledge from her degree in economics and her previous job in Pakistan as a university lecturer in economics and finance. She got a role as a transition teacher in a high school working within Broad General Education (BGE), teaching numeracy and supporting primary schools to make connections between primary 7s and S1 and S2. Sarah then started exploring possible next steps to become a secondary mathematics teacher.
Following advice and support from colleagues in the mathematics department, she topped up credits from her previous studies with a one-year Open University module in Mathematical Methods, Models and Modelling and was awarded Provisional Registration in secondary mathematics in February 2025. Sarah completed the required teaching hours and observed lessons, achieving the required recommendation to gain Full Registration in Secondary (Mathematics) Education in April 2025.
Sarah certainly appreciated the help and support from her colleagues in the mathematics department. Two colleagues had already gained additional registration moving from RE to mathematics and from mechanical engineering to mathematics. This shared experienced meant she felt really nurtured, helping her to remain motivated and consistent.
Natalie McQueen
Full Registration in Primary Education (2021), added Full Registration in Secondary (Home Economics) Education 2025
Natalie developed an interest in home economics (HE) while working in additional support needs (ASN) and really liked the idea of subject specialism. She went to the local high school HE department to explore possible ways of being able to teach this.
Firstly, Natalie set up some experience in her non-class contact time working with the HE department and began looking at how to add this to her registration and where she could study to gain the required credits.
Natalie needed to meet the academic subject requirements for HE.
The headteacher in her secondary school supported her to meet the Standard for Provisional Registration (SPR), completing an agreed professional learning plan (Toolkit - primary to secondary). She worked to meet the academic requirements by distance learning with Abertay University. Natalie was awarded Provisional (Conditional) Registration in Secondary (Home Economics) Education in August 2024.
The school helped set up partnerships with other local high school HE departments to support her professional learning. Her headteacher was incredibly supportive of the time needed to study and to successfully complete her assignments. Doing her qualifications and working fulltime was intense but very rewarding and she really appreciated the support from her headteacher, the senior management team, colleagues and from other HE departments in nearby schools. Natalie was recommended for Full Registration in Secondary (HE) Education by her headteacher in April 2025.