Primary education
teaching professionals
Primary (and middle school deemed primary) and education teaching professionals plan, organise and provide instruction to children at all levels up to the age of entry into secondary education.
- Employees (UK)
- 400k
- Median annual pay
- £42,031
- Exposure score ?
- 0.7/10 Minimal 5.9/10 Moderate strict reading, with tools is 5.9/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.7/10
- Wage exposure
- £1.18bn £9.92bn
Higher exposure than 38% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A real share of the task list is within reach, especially drafting, summarising, research and analysis. People in this role who learn to direct AI well will pull ahead of those who do not.
If you are in this role
Treat AI like a capable junior you manage. Where you would hand a task to a junior with a clear brief, AI can do it now. Spend the time you get back on judgement and relationships.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
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Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
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Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
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Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
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Read books to entire classes or small groups.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education" (25-2021.00).
What AI can already do
2 of 38 tasks, unaided
Read books to entire classes or small groups.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
What still needs a person
36 of 38 tasks
Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, and storytelling.
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of elementary school programs.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine student strengths and needs.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
Organize and label materials and display students' work.
Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Involve parent volunteers and older students in children's activities to facilitate involvement in focused, complex play.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Tasks via O*NET "Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education" (25-2021.00).
What AI can already do
21 of 38 tasks, with tools
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Read books to entire classes or small groups.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of elementary school programs.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine student strengths and needs.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Organize and label materials and display students' work.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
What still needs a person
17 of 38 tasks
Instruct students individually and in groups, using teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students.
Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or with special academic interests.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Confer with parents or guardians, teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, and storytelling.
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Involve parent volunteers and older students in children's activities to facilitate involvement in focused, complex play.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons