To think about secondary school teacher training?

Oh and I love it. The training year was tough but it has gotten easier each year. I’ve blue been teaching for 8 years and part of the furniture for the kids and behaviour management has become so much easier.

I can't think of any secondary school where the teachers spend most of their time sitting.

Private schools take ECTs as well. Don’t rule them out. I have a lower teaching load but a much higher co-curricular load and would never return to the state sector. I want to teach not behaviour manage.

My favourite lessons were with an excellent German language teacher. She could engage the most badly behaved students, she made lessons fun, different. Always brought in treat foods, has us standing on desks singing German language songs

Teacher of mfl in a state school for 30 years. I would say no. Teachers are leaving for a reason. Friend teaches in an independent school. Languages are valued by pupils- lots of different nationalities there. . Fewer discipline issues but the hours are even longer than in state schools. Usually longer days and some Saturday work.

I trained to teach at 49. I was planning on it being my final career until I retired. I didn’t go into it blind, as I’d worked as a TA for two years. However, nothing prepares you for teaching. I was working 70 hour weeks, even more when marking exams. To be honest, it wasn’t just the workload, although that was never ending, it was the constant micromanagement and scrutiny. Then on the other side, the behaviour on the students and even sometimes the parents. Barely a day went by that I wasn’t swore at, about once a week I’d have something thrown at me. All schools place stress on teachers, if it isn’t behaviour, it’s demanding parents or even more demanding SLT. I was also juggling my kids as well and the guilt of not being able to get time off to see their assemblies and plays.
I left after 3 years and I’ve never been happier. A lot of teachers move to the civil service, local government, a role allied to teaching, or the charity sector. I went to local government, and moved up a grade band a year later. So your starting salary is not permanent.

As a former secondary teacher I'd say you're mad! I'd stick to tutoring and some translation.

The training is intense though- I kind of loved it and hated it at the same time. I don't regret doing it even though I'm not teaching now.

I retrained as a languages teacher when I was 48. I'm not still teaching but I would say go for it. I got a bursary to do my PGCE as languages were a shortage subject. The course I did was excellent. I then taught for 3 years but decided to go back to my former pre-kids career in the end. I did enjoy it though even though it was stressful at times.

Not necessarily. Grammar schools and many independent schools are on tight budgets too. They don't only hire experienced teachers, because experienced = expensive.

I've been an MFL teacher for 30 years. The job has changed almost beyond recognition in that time (particularly in terms of workload). I've taught in schools with difficult behaviour and, frankly, I hate it and am no longer prepared to do it. I now teach in a lovely girls' grammar school. I enjoy the teaching, but the workload is pretty brutal.

Feel free to ask any questions about the realities of being an MFL teacher!

That's not how it works. New teachers are cheap and just as sought after in grammars and indies. They also tend to have lots of enthusiasm and are keen try new things. You don't have to "serve your time" in a sink school first. Be proactive, apply for any job that's viable.

I’m doing this. Starting a PGCE in September, in my mid-50s. It would make even more sense to do so in your situation since you’d teach a shortage subject that has a large bursary.

Now Teach (nowteach.org.uk) is good for the support and the sense of being part of a cohort of career changers.

My Dh retrained as a teacher at a similar age. He loves it. Yes the first couple of years are really intense, I had to basically take over everything at home so he could work. But now we're in year 4 and things are on a much more even keel. He does work a little bit most evenings and a bit at weekends.

I think if you're a people person it's a really rewarding job. He certainly finds it much more satisfying even if the pay is not as good as his old career. He would recommend the SCITT route, you're in a classroom from day 1, based in a single school so you get to know the kids and staff really well.

Why not try, have a look at bursaries, work the numbers and see if it's viable.

Lots of teachers start in grammars or independents.

You may get a training placement at a grammar or an independent. Please don't think that independent automatically = no behaviour management!

Don't forget that you don't need a PGCE to teach outside of state.

Teaching is horribly physically demanding. Lugging stuff round, bending over all the time, on your feet all the time.

My knees and feet were wrecked by it. Constantly running up and down stairs.

OP don’t do it. Teaching is just horrible now. I started in the 90’s and it was great. I escaped in 2021. It’s just not worth the stress and hassle.

Watching this thread as I half think about leaving corporate life to do the same. Have a read of Lucy Kellaway’s book Reeducated, an ex Ft journalist turned secondary teacher. Fantastic read.

Given your particular work circumstances, I don’t think you have too much to lose. There are MFL bursaries to train in that subject, would cover PGCE costs and give you some income while you train. If the absolute worst comes to it, get QTS then move into language tutoring or something else in the education space. It’s all about adding another string to your bow.

Lots of people will try to put you off!

I’m not a teacher, but one of my daughters is. She is in her third year of teaching (trained straight after university) and absolutely loves it. Her school (secondary) seems to be a very happy place, both for students and staff. From what I see and hear, it is extremely well run, and she has found the SLT very supportive. She already has some management responsibilities, so earns more than the basic teacher salary.

On the other hand, a good friend is also a teacher and is much less enthusiastic. She has been teaching for years and this is her first year at her current school. Pupil behaviour and absenteeism are appalling, parents don’t care, many of the teachers seem unhappy, and the leadership team is weak. A new head will be starting in September, so she’s hoping for better things then.

There seems to be a huge amount of luck involved, so if you decide to take up the challenge, I hope you find a good school!

Independent schools are often happy to take on newly qualified teachers, particularly if they have relevant experience and skills which you very much do.

Also you might be able to bypass doing a pgce altogether and get a job directly in an independent school (you can then often do one later, part time whilst working)

This isn't necessarily true. Independent schools in particular often value related work experience prior to teaching.

150 applications? What kind of jobs have you been going for?

Yeah but you won’t get to sit in it

I’m not a teacher, but just thinking that if your own children are already in secondary school then it’s not that much longer until you’ll have a lot more flexibility in terms of holidays/annual leave if you don’t go into teaching.

I was 43 when I retrained as a secondary school teacher. I absolutely love it, and find that it works well with family life, but do think that the key to sanity in this profession is to work part-time if you can afford it as it is so all-encompassing.

I’d say go for it, but be prepared for your training year to be disproportionately difficult - it gets progressively easier from there. I’d also advise that it’s so important to find the right school - if you’re not happy, remember it might be the style, size or culture of the school that’s not working, not the job itself.

I wouldn’t. (Ex secondary teacher who left despite being passionate about my subject and really liking young people). People are leaving the profession in droves for a reason. It’s just an impossible job now with the levels of pupil disengagement. And the battering your well-being and work/life balance takes is just not worth it.