Secondary education
teaching professionals
Secondary (and middle school deemed secondary), and sixth form education teaching professionals plan, organise and provide instruction in one or more subjects, including physical education and diversionary activities, within a prescribed curriculum.
- Employees (UK)
- 466k
- Median annual pay
- £44,246
- Exposure score ?
- 0.3/10 Minimal 6.3/10 High strict reading, with tools is 6.3/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.3/10
- Wage exposure
- £619m £12.99bn
Higher exposure than 17% 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.
Most of the routine work in this role can already be done by a capable model. The role does not disappear, but its shape changes, and one person can credibly cover the work of several.
If you are in this role
Stop spending time on what a model can do well. Your value is judgement, relationships and the parts of the work that need you in the room. Redesign the workflow around that before someone else does it for you.
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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Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
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Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
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Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
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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Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
-
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
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Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
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 "Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education" (25-2031.00).
What AI can already do
1 of 32 tasks, unaided
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
What still needs a person
31 of 32 tasks
Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Instruct and monitor students in the use of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
Tasks via O*NET "Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education" (25-2031.00).
What AI can already do
20 of 32 tasks, with tools
Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of secondary school programs.
Prepare for assigned classes, and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Administer standardized ability and achievement tests, and interpret results to determine students' strengths and needs.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
What still needs a person
12 of 32 tasks
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Guide and counsel students with adjustments, academic problems, or special academic interests.
Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities such as restrooms.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
Instruct and monitor students in the use of equipment and materials to prevent injuries and damage.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Sponsor extracurricular activities, such as clubs, student organizations, and academic contests.
Perform administrative duties, such as school library assistance, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
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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.
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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