AIBU to leave my teaching career to earn minimum wage in a nursery?

[Purplepinkred]

I hate teaching. I can’t cope with constant challenging behaviour . Our school has cut TAs to a minimum and we can’t provide real support for children who desperately need it . We are papering over cracks and ignoring the real issues. COVID has magnified the attainment gap but we ignore it. Head teacher demands to know why Billu can’t do multiplication yet the truth is he can’t even count !
And we all know the truth but the teacher is held accountable .

Some children in Ks2 can’t read !!! But HT just cares about manipulating data. ‘ Put Mason in the corner he is never going to make it - focus on the good ones !’ It’s awful!

I arrive at 7.30am and leave at 5pm . Then go home and lesson planning take at least 3 hours of my eve and at least a whole Saturday if I’m lucky - sat and Sunday if I’m not lucky!

Anyway , I am. Senior leader . I warn £37k which after student loan, pension and tax is £1.900 a month . ( £475 a week)

I’m on maternity and I don’t want to go back to teaching as it is soul destroying . Once I have paid £300 nursery - I would have an income of £125 a week for working an extremely stressful job and not seeing my son .

I have had an interview at a local nursery . The salary is £22k a year - £1,500 a month - £375 a week .
However with discount - the nursery fees would only be £160 a week for baby . Meaning I’d be making £215 a week. So more than as a teacher when I’d only have (£125 a week left)

I realise pension is much better as a teacher and of course you get holidays but I’m thinking that If I worked in a nursery I would be less stressed and have more money and get to know my baby was safe as he would be at the same nursery . I would have no evening or weekend work to do either ! I would be much happier I believe.

Am I crazy to leave my career to work in a nursery ?

I absolutely hate teaching and don’t believe I can cope doing it with a baby !

Once DS is at school and we have no nursery fees, so I can look at other jobs - or I may work my way up at the nursery and love it and become a manager .

Will I be bored in a nursery ?

AIBU to walk away from a ‘career ‘ to basically a minimum wage job !?

Depending where in the UK you are, some indie TA jobs pay 30k+, long holidays, no work to take home.

If you're expecting significantly less admin/taking work home you might get a rude awakening.

@Purplepinkred

I am not lazy . I always work hard . I don’t mind 7.30-5.00! I can do that . am told several times a month to ‘f off’ by parents . Parents ring daily to demand why their child has been told off. The children’s behaviour is so challenging but I can put Up with the planning and marking which take a minimum of 3 hours a night and a whole day ( 8-8 Saturday and often into Sunday )

I would happily do an hour a night or 90
Mins but I can no longer work all evenings as I’d never see my DS.

In the build up to the last Ofsted we spent the previous 6 months working in school sometimes as late as 9pm.
To go home and then do our planning .

I don’t think a job in a nursery would be easy but I think I would enjoy it more and it would be more enjoyable and I would have more time with my family .

I love children and education so feel I wokld really enjoying making a difference .

I would childmind but our house isn’t big enough .

I would consider nannying if I could take baby but I am not sure how consistent hours are .

My dream of course would be to not work until DS gets to school or gets to 3 and we get free hours !
Or I wish I could work PT just isn’t viable .

Sounds to me like you've made your decision 😊. Good luck with your application

Sounds like a no brainer to me. In a simplistic view of things, when someone doesn't enjoy a job anymore it seems logical to give something else a go. In reality, that isn't always viable. Sounds perfectly viable in your scenario. I wouldn't want to work the hours teachers do!

I am senior leader . I have 2
Subjects which I lead ( phonics and English ) and a class of 30. I am KS1 lead ( 120 children ) I am
a safeguarding lead . As a teacher of 7 years I am
Expected to have this responsibility. I finish teaching at 3pm and I sit and do paperwork until about 5pm. When I have my club to run or staff meeting I stay an hour later . Then
I go home and work for 3 hours . Then all
Weekend.

I have so much paperwork I get in at 7.30
And do as much as I can until we start at 8.45.

I never have a lunch break . I am the first point fo contact for all 120 ks1 parents . I don’t usually sleep as I am so worried and anxious of my paper work and planning and jobs.

@TheKeatingFive
Do you really think I’m in for a rude awakening by taking a job in a nursery??? I am
Not being rude but I was working almost 70 hours a week and at least 20 in school holidays .

Ozanj my DD’s friend at primary had a nanny who brought her own younger child. Suited both sides and my DD’s friend (who was an only child) very well. Obviously pay would reflect fact.
I’ve read on here people doing it too - it’s only like a nanny share but with nanny’s child not 2 families.

OP do look into private schools. My local state primary has miserable teachers, but the prep teachers always seem so relaxed and happy, and they are definitely not overworked at the prep because there is money for enough staff. Plus better kid behaviour because the consistently difficult kids get booted out 😬

Or if you prefer nursery, do nursery. It’s your life… You don’t need permission.

Maybe also be aware that qualified teachers earn £30-70 per hour for online maths/English primary tutoring with £40/hr as standard. That’s online, so doesn’t matter where you are based… DD’s tutor does back to back online sessions 8am - 2pm on a Saturday at £40/hr and has a day off in the week.

Hi, good luck in your adventure what ever you do. I left childminding last year due to the long hours, all paperwork, courses done in your own time for very little reward, but I did save on childcare fees of course. It is not something I would ever return too including nursery work. Have you thought of something in our local childrens services with LA? With your background loads of departments would want you, E.g CME, admissions, attendance, LADO, home education teams.

I think you are being overwhelmed with lots of issues here. Can you unpick it and look at one at a time?

Is it this particular job you don't like?
How about dropping SL role?
Could you go part time?
Are you worried you won't want to leave your child?
Extended career break? Our LA gives up to 5 years off.
How about going as supply?

Just different things for you to think about.

Do you really think I’m in for a rude awakening by taking a job in a nursery???

Honestly, I don't know. However anyone I know working in that sector also does huge amount of work at home, for much less pay than teaching. I'm just saying go carefully, the grass isn't always greener.

There also seems to be significant variation in the expectations of different schools, so I'd be thinking about changing jobs to see if that made a difference.

If you really want to stay off why not look very carefully at your finances and see if you can live frugally? Do you have savings? Can you claim universal credit? You might be surprised that you can live on one wage with other cut backs.

That's what we are doing right now do I can stay off from teaching.

Apologies if I missed this but are you a single parent? If not why is all childcare cost being put against your salary?

I’d be worried about job stability with the nursery. You could give up your teaching career, start working at a nursery and find you’re let go a few months later if the numbers drop.

After school nanny/tutor set up might be option too plus if you were flexible to offer school holiday care.
Pick up from school, homework/tutoring), make tea, ferry to activities. You’d get bulk of day with baby. For a busy working parent in a highly paid job they would pay well for this type of care (I knew a Dr single parent using this type of care - it was a very easy job imo the child was extremely well behaved and a lot of time nanny was just sat at activities)
Tutoring pays well too. Are you in or near an 11 plus area?
There’s a lot of kudos to being a qualified teacher. My mum retired and then ran a preschool and it’s numbers really grew as parents were delighted there was a qualified teacher.

It seems like it could really work for you, at least until your child gets free hours or starts school.

Another option to consider, as mentioned above, is setting up a tutoring business.

I know a local teacher who set one up and is doing very well (£100/hour!)

On a different note, how are you going to feel knowing that your baby is in the same nursery, but not looked after by you, for many hours a day. If your child is unwell or gets hurt, you won't be able to intervene so will that bother you? A nursery is long hours and hard work so perhaps now is the time to think of something else that could involve your baby or much shorter hours.

YANBU to want to leave teaching but be careful re working at a nursery.

The nurseries around here didn't pay their staff if they were off isolating due to Covid rules. If a nursery room was closed, the nursery still charge the parents but didn't pay the staff!

It's not a certain income.

I'd look at tutoring instead or a nanny sort of role with the added value of your teaching background. You'd be paid far better than in a nursery.

I don't think you'd be doing anywhere near the amount of work at home. The observations from our nursery are pretty poor - nothing like the standard expected in a school. The pp whose staff work long hours to keep the nursery Ofsted rating is on shaky ground if that takes them under min wage, and is lucky even if it doesn't that her staff are willing to do that.

Your school sounds ridiculous though. Have you looked at other schools? I'm on UPS2 and don't do anything like that amount of work, nor would I be willing to. Also, are your numbers correct? I'm on 0.8 and my take home is about £1900 on I think a £40k salary. When I was on UPS1 my part time salary was £30k a year and that was around £1800 after deductions.

@pompomseverywhere
Is it this particular job you don't like?
How about dropping SL role?
Could you go part time?
Are you worried you won't want to leave your child?
Extended career break? Our LA gives up to 5 years off.
How about going as supply?

I hate my job but I hate doing teaching from
The moment I started. I feel guilty to stop as I realise it is a career so I have kept plugging on but I can’t bare it and my MH has been suffering .
Now I have DS I know I can’t cope teaching .

My school don’t do part time and I think it can be hard in my area to get PT unless your employer agrees to this after working their several years . I am seeing no PT advertised .

I desperately don’t want to leave DS . My dream would be to have another one and
To spend the next 5 years nurturing. Then get back to work!

I am not a single parent so we aren’t entitled to any help . Only working it against my wage as a comparison of earnings ( DH and my money all goes in a pot !) but to understand the worth of my wage I have used my salary .

I do think I’ll look at other jobs as
People have said LADO , child services etc just when I looked a lot of these
Paid around £25k and once nursery came off it meant I would be earning very little for FT! That’s why I thought working in a nursery with a discount on feee could solve problems.

Supply Is too unreliable .

We have so many outgoings -
I really need to be bringing in at least £800
After nursery has been paid !

Thanks for your advice xx

I wouldn't advise it. Nursery work is very hard indeed for long hours and very poor pay. Look into other options before considering nursery work.

Apologies for my manny grammar and spelling typos!!! Rushing on my phone !

What are you going to do if the nursery decide to cut the exceptionally generous staff discount? There’s multiple threads on here of that happening. By all means don’t teach (maybe try a different school) but your numbers only work if nursery fees don’t massively increase or they keep a strong discount.

If you love small children you might find it rewarding. Sadly the pressures of teaching roles aren't compatible with parenting for most people these days.
You could go into nursery management or work for one of the nursery chains?

If you don't go back you'll have to pay back your maternity pay.

If I were you, I would try another school before I walked away completely. I doubt there is such a thing as a stress-free school but there are schools with better leadership and a better culture that fits you. My school is quite striving and progressive which suits me. Other schools are more laid back and 'don't fix what ain't broke', and might suit someone else.

In the build up to the last Ofsted we spent the previous 6 months working in school sometimes as late as 9pm.

How much of this did Ofsted actually look at in any detail? This is a leadership issue.

Parents who swear at you should be banned from the school site. A letter and email should go out making this clear. Again, this is a leadership issue.