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 !?

@Ozanj no that's not true, I know a few people who take their babies to their nanny job. I even know someone who works as both a cleaner and a nanny for the same family and her little one comes with her. When he was very little, she'd strap him to her in a carrier.

Do you think maybe you might be happier in a different school? I worked in a school where behaviour was appalling but it got taken over by an academy chain after a bad ofsted and they brought in new behaviour management and expectations (that included managing out the extremely disruptive children) and the difference was unbelievable. It taught me that good behaviour management comes from the top.

I do think education, in general, is very stressful atm though. I know lots of people leaving (I have left already). The expectations, stress, lack of being valued, massive workloads etc. just make it hard. YADNBU to think about leaving.

Do you actually have an appropriate qualification?
You will not get school holidays
Dismissal rates are very high- you need different skills to teaching
You will be doing constant personal care

You will certainly be much less desirable as an employee. It will impact on career options.

I left teaching to work in a nursery and have had no regrets. I have time to do all my paperwork during the day so never need to work late/take anything home. My DS is at the same nursery so I get a staff discount on fees. I've always said that I intend on returning to teaching one day but waiting for the right school/position.

Leave teaching by all means but I don’t think you’ll like it in a nursery. I love babies and little children and I’m qualified in early years but I found nursery work soul destroying.

There is still masses of pointless paperwork which I would bring home and do in evenings or weekends for no extra money. My qualification earned me no rises and I remained on minimum wage.

It was impossible to treat the children how I would want mine to be treated.

There is no time to give much individual attention as much time is spent preparing meals,clearing away, nappy changing and clearing up.

Some of my colleagues were lovely but the majority were uninterested, lazy, and some were definitely coldhearted and seriously unintelligent.

Some would go to great lengths to avoid doing their share of the work.

quiet babies and children were often ignored for long stretches of time while we were firefighting with the more active ones.

The management were counted in the staffing numbers but were not even in the same building. This meant that we were technically properly staffed but in actual fact never were.

All of these Are common issues in other nurseries from what I’ve heard.

Another issue was an unqualified colleague who was extremely lazy and constantly breaking the rules.
For example she would lick the spoon she was using to feed babies which horrified me as she had cold sores. She also simply refused to do any job she didn’t like, which was nearly everything.

Whenever anyone complained about her she would claim that she was being bullied. She was so aggressive and determined that management when calling her into a meeting would end up crying themselves.

There was no one capable of dealing with her and her unpleasant ways.

I was told to train her myself as I was the one in the same room with her, but although I did try she was impossibly unpleasant and aggressive.

Other colleagues were more pleasant but showed tremendous favouritism towards some children.
There was a strong preference for the girls and for children in designer clothing. I found this very shallow and unkind but it was very hard to address.

Two room managers would talk continually about their own children instead of talking to the ones they were looking after. They were constantly describing their own children’s clothes, new bedroom decor, ballet classes etc. in great detail. It is almost unbelievable, but neither of them actually had a child! Both of those children were made up ones but you would not have guessed it. I heard so much about these imaginary children that I almost believed in them myself.

I don’t know how common this is, but there were two of them in one place I worked, both with an imaginary Evie May.

All of our equipment was secondhand or from jumble sales or donated by parents. There was never anything new or nice in spite of the enormous fees charged.

At £37, 000 after 7 years you identify as a senior elder but are not being paid as one. Thats less than M6 ?

For me I find it's way easier to manage the behavior issues in primary. I worked in a preschool before being a ks1 ta, and I hated working with preschool age...

OP There's a brilliant Facebook group called 'Life After Teaching' that I can't recommend highly enough. It's full of ideas about new careers and advice and lots of support from people who understand.

Do supply teaching instead part time? No, I wouldn’t personally become an assistant after becoming a teacher. With your experience you’ll probably be exploited same for a smaller wage.

You have a plan, go for it because you won't know until you try!
It might turn out to be your dream job or it might not but since you're so unhappy in your current job you have little to lose.
Not all schools are like your current school so you'll have the option to try again in a different school once dc are in school if you want to do that.

@AngelinaFibres I said having children in for those hours, which is the case. Education work without the children there is a different kettle of fish! Currently I have to be ‘on’ for 8 hrs straight with no thinking time

If you're going to pick a minimum wage job you can do far better than wiping toddler arses all day. Do upmarket retail. Barista. Make displays in Waterstones.

I think the way we look at early childhood years costs is not that logical.

We don't bat an eye at taking out a mortgage and paying it off over 25/30/35 years, taking out car loans for 5 years, student loans over our working life. Yet when it comes to having a DC we put this expectation upon ourselves to be back to full earning capacity only a few months later.

If you had your dream scenario of taking a 5 year break, nurturing your child and possibly having a second child. What would it need financially to make this feasible?

Its investing in your mental health and creating a stable foundation for your DC.

If your a home owner are you in an area where house prices have improved? Could you increase your mortgage? Could you go interest only for a couple of years and extend your term to soften the low income early baby years?

Its just throwing something else into the melting pot of trying to fathom it all through.

@Purplepinkred could you try another school? I’m UPS1 (assuming you are too judging by salary comment) but definitely not a senior leader, just a year lead and do 7-4ish most days. I don’t take anything home either

You've said you hate teaching so this comment is by the by now but supply work can be very reliable if you want it to be.

The agency can give you a contact guaranteeing you a set number of days (five of you want full time). You can say if there are schools you want to avoid or stipulate an age range. It worked well for me to guarantee my money and since Covid the wage has gone up considerably.

Also couples can still claim top up money if you are living on one wage. I was shocked to be honest

I work in a preschool "I can’t cope with constant challenging behaviour" Our management has cut down on stagf plus a shortage nationwide so "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"

Want to go from a salary to less than that to deal with 24 children with 3 staff to include 4 year olds in nappies, 3 year ds with behavioural issues that throw furniture, children at the beginning of their SEN journey so no support in place or those with funded EHCPs not having the staff to give them their 1on1 so it's 1to8 including other children with sen. Today I had 14 children : 2 with asd, 1 with global delay and possible asd, 1 with cognitive difficulties,3 with behavioural issues and then I had to try and connect with the neurotypical grey children because they get lost in the madness.

I can't imagine a private nursery would be a great employer.

You're comparing your salary but what about your total benefits package?

How many holidays will you get? I'd imagine you would get the minimum 20 days plus 8 days bank holiday at the nursery.

What about pension? As a teacher, you will have one of the best pensions out there. Again the nursery will probably be the minimum of 5% you and 3% employer contributions.

I'm not advocating you stay in teaching but working in a nursery is a minimum wage poor conditions type job. (I don't mean to offend anyone who works in a nursery!) I wonder if you are exchanging one set of problems for another.

Don’t.

I know this an old thread but I’m so interested to know did you do it OP?

@Sletty
I ended up getting a job as the qualified teacher in a private nursery. I was paid as a teacher , had all the holidays but it was only a fraction of the planning and no marking . There was no observation stress or worry which I had working in a school and I was less stressed.

It opened my eyes though as working in a nursery showed me how the nursery staff who aren’t teachers struggled on minimum wage -
working 40/45 hours a week, very little holiday which the girls had to use for bank holidays and Christmas . I was so lucky as the teacher to get teacher holidays and pay .

I would much rather earn minimum wage in a supermarket or in retail than looking after tiny , loud , crazy humans and dealing with their parents! Anyway !!! I did if for a year but realised I wanted out from teaching all together . I become pregnant whilst working there and had a second child!!

I decided not to return to the nursery and got a new job working for my local council . I work with children who have been in the criminal justice system. I have a case of children and I seem once a week or every other week. It is a lot of driving but I manage my own diary .i Am not micro managed and only have to go into the office once a week.

It’s flexible and I feel like an adult as I have time for a coffee and a wee when I need. I get my stuff done but I’m not constantly exhausted and running around.
It’s amazing not having lots of little people to manage all day . No marking or planning. I only earn 30k but I have a happy life now and feel I’m making a difference but also I enjoy my own life as I’m longer stressed by work!

I will need to work up as I need a higher income but I actually enjoy work for the first time as an adult ! Having worked as a teacher - I honestly don’t think that there are many jobs harder . It’s relentless. I now would never work in the evenings or at weekends. I am no longer working 7- 5.30 in the classroom. I work 8-4 . Occasionally until 5.
During the day as a teacher the crowd control and behavior management is exhausting. The amount of admin and planning and marking and then the parents. The observations. The constant micro managing and living in fear. It was horrendous and I wouldn’t go back ever .

Have you looked at tutoring and after school nannying?

The deputy headmistress from the local infants school tutors my year 1 DC to read twice a week after school. £45 for 45 mins.

I need to find an after school nanny 4 times a week (3:30-6:30pm) for £20 an hour. Potential for some mornings too and longer hours in the holidays.

My SIL is looking for a “mother’s help” for a few hours a day for £17 an hour.

If you can find a few jobs like that, presumably it will be less stressful with no after hours work.

Keep in mind challenging children have usually always been challenging, even from small.

We are seeing a lot of more difficult behaviours and SEN in recent years just as teachers are finding older children more challenging recently. It isn’t a relaxing job! Finding time to fit in paperwork, EHCPs, etc isn’t any more easy in a nursery. I think the nicest thing - for you - would probably be the ratio meaning you have more staff working along side compared to a classroom.

You work very hard for little financial reward and many still see us as babysitters rather than professionals despite the high level of training we have which can be disheartening.