Teacher training

[Princesselsa1]

Considering a career change. I have fallen out of love with my well paid but DULL job. I’m nearly 40 and still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up 😂I enjoy working with young people having volunteered with a youth group in recent years. I currently sit in my bedroom on a computer and work pretty much alone. It’s driving me crazy.

I was looking at teaching. I’m a biochemistry graduate so could teach science. I’d be interested in other subjects too. Not just the ones that pay a bursary.

i thought they were crying out for teachers. Why make the training so bloody complicated? I can’t travel an hour to my closest university! I have 3 kids of my own. Plus the training when you could be at a school of your choice for first term then after spring you get shipped off to a mystery school. The earliest I can drop my kids off is 8am.

plus lots of subjects YOU need to pay ridiculous fees. And the starting salary is awful!

Am I missing something here?

The way I would do it would be fully on the job plus remote “lectures”. And in one school, with short bursts at other LOCAL schools. I literally can’t see that this is a job that you’d want to train for as a mum with kids.

it’s such a shame because I think I’d be quite good and can see That it would be enjoyable.

Teacher training was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Not just the actual training bit, but also the first year as a newly qualified teacher.

I have NO idea how anyone could do it when they are also responsible for young children. The hours are long, the learning curve is steep and the expectations are very high. You're right, it's not a job that would be appealing for mums with kids- but I'm not really sure what your point is. Who has said that teaching is a job for mums with kids?

If you want to be a teacher, maybe wait until your three children are old enough to get themselves to and from school.

Well first of all, don't do it. It is hard enough with your own family as an experienced teacher but must be nearly impossible when training.

However, if insanity prevails and you still do want to do it have you looked into SCITT in your area? These are usually school-based.

The way I would do it would be fully on the job plus remote “lectures”. And in one school, with short bursts at other LOCAL schools.

But you can do this, it's called SCITT, school centred initial teacher training. Sorry but yabvu because you're going on a rant without having done even basic research

(Cross posted with a pp who said the same thing!)

www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/learning-and-skills-teacher-v1-1

You could study through an apprenticeship? I teach an apprenticeship and I'm also studying on one to become a qualified teacher. No study fees to pay.

Yes I have heard of SCITT. I’ve looked up my local school of course. It’s the one I went to actually and a lovely school.

however:

• the university is an hour away - nowhere does it mention remote lectures


• the second school you have to go to could be 45 min drive away and is Unknown at the start

lots of teacher training advertising is positioned to “career changers” and one Would assume that might include a few parents what with being older. Which is why I asked the question.

There are training programmes that are more “on the job” But you are right, the training is not especially family-friendly. Yes, you get the holidays, but the hours are long and you have to have a bit of flexibility in terms of placement schools. As you say, starting salary is not spectacular either, although it ramps up fairly well if your school is fair with pay progression and even more so if you progress into leadership roles, which there’s plenty of scope for in secondary.
The additional placements for schools direct type schemes are usually fairly local, but a bit of a commute may be unavoidable as schools are usually swapping trainees and you need to find another school with a trainee in the same subject, which may be a bit of a journey away.

I did the SCITT route at age 38, with a then young DD. DH works away so I did it mostly alone. I worked in a local school, did regional based training on a Friday afternoon, then had 10 sessions at university with 2 assignments to write. It was hard work but I loved it. Feel free to PM me if you want any information.

Contact Now Teach. They focus on career changers, they find the best fit for you including taking into account family/childcare and you train four days per week. They negotiate this with schools, you don't have to.

Lots of ECTs stick at four day weeks when they qualify. I found my training position through them, and they are incredibly talented at getting career changers into teaching and keeping them there.

45 minute drive for a placement sounds dreamy...my first placement during my PGCE was an 1.5 hours away 😭

I think teaching lectures need to be done face to face. Lots of them (from when I trained) involved using different teaching resources and working collaboratively which isn't done as easily or effectively through a screen.

Definitely advise doing a SCITT! Seemed much more parent friendly than the PGCE.

Teacher training is very fragmented and variable. You wouldn't think that would be the case, but it is what you get with endless govt meddling. If you persist, you will find a route you can take.

I found it was quicker to find teachers doing the sort of job I'd want to do and ask them how they trained. You can also find a school (independent maybe) to take you on and figure out a training route with them, if you like it.

Teacher training isn't family friendly in the slightest, however you choose to do it.

The hours are very long (I was regularly lesson planning into the early hours, especially when training), and like someone else said, the learning curve is like climbing Everest and expectations are incredibly high.

If the earliest you can drop your kids off is 8am then forget the training! Teaching won't suit your life until your children are older and travel to school alone.

This is what I was going to say. It doesn't sound like the job is going to be suitable as the requirements on time are far greater in the first year of teaching than even the training year. Especially for a core subject like science which sometimes has 3x the workload for the separate sciences.

You are all pretty much saying it’s super hard… why the bloody hell is it so hard? I wouldn’t work in my job til early hours and I get paid very well. I just wouldn’t stand for that.

I don’t understand… I thought there was a shortage of teachers? Why would you make it so hard, so horrible, so expensive and so badly paid?!

hate the government… that is all! Assume it wasn’t always this way.

Nevermind teacher training, TEACHING isn't family friendly.

Coventry Uni have set up this institute for teacher training - a lot of it is online so might be worth a look www.coventry.ac.uk/nite/courses/initial-teacher-training/

Teacher training and teaching can be very hard when kids are young. There is a perception that it is family friendly but it generally isn't. You need childcare after school and unless you work v close to your workplace, you need it in the morning. As an ECT or trainee, you will also need to be in earlier to set up etc.
Most schools have a morning meeting and various after school meetings or the expectation especially in primary that you stay to mark and prepare.

the starting salary is awful if you think it's awful as a starting salary, do think about how you'll feel 10 years in and it's not much better. The starting salary is comparatively higher than it used to be, with the other points on the scale much closer to it. As an experienced teacher you are expected to do an awful lot more than one who is newly qualified for not a lot more pay.

My sibling is actually a teacher… primary. She works 4 days a week and has been doing it since university so is very well established and on leadership team. I guess she did it a better way as her training was pre kids. Good money but she is quite stressed. I think if I spoke to her she would say “don’t do it”.

I agree with the others that training is difficult. I had to move for two months because my pgce first placement was 2.5 hour each way. Nqt year was also tough and then changing school was all new systems curriculum etc and was another tough year. I don't know how people train with children! I've seen it done but it requires a lot of support and dedication.

The thing about teaching is not only training and qualifying, staying in teaching for atleast 5 years is also challenging. It is a complete lifestyle change you have to make and you have to plan personal life so much to fit in housework, socialising etc.

Although the pay does increase the longer you stay, they need something else to keep retention. There should be incentives.

Good luck!

Taught for 15 years- I love it but agree it’s not family friendly. I had a long commute to placement and university . Be a hard year with assignments, teaching and other stuff. Teaching is not 9-3 it’s long hours, yes the holidays are there but again work and marking. You will start at 21k and climb . Teaching is wonderful but it’s very stressful and takes it out of you. It’s not something you do for the money . Worth going to have a look at a teaching event

It's not that hard, no harder than training for a lot of jobs. It's a shame your nearest uni is an hour away, but also not unusual. I'd suggest that most training involves a degree of commitment and sacrifice (financial and otherwise) and that can be a juggle with kids.

It’s not family friendly, there are many times that our families come out a very poor second best to the job. The drop out rate in the first five years in teaching is huge- and these are people who have spent years getting to the point of qualification.

Actually, I think some things are better for ECTs than when I qualified: I had no PPA and defying additional time out of class, nor a mentor. However the demands of the job are stupid for all staff- including our amazing TAs.

The problem is, if it was ‘just’ teaching it would be okay. But it’s not. I’d say only around 50% of teaching is actually teaching. The rest is admin, planning, OFSTED prep, meetings, paperwork, more paperwork, more meetings. I did my PGCE through the SCITT route when my two were young, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My mental health was absolutely shot by the end of it, and I’m normally a very resilient person. Teacher recruitment is at crisis point. It’s not a family friendly job, either. Sure, there are the holidays, but absolutely no flexibility otherwise. I don’t teach in the classroom now, and I don’t think I’d ever go back to be honest.