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.

I did a SCITT, the training days were at the lead school that was fairly near, and the PGCE element was at the partner uni in London which was 20 mins or so on the train for most people on this particular SCITT, and only half a dozen times throughout the year. I would look at all your nearby schools as they might have different SCITT providers so you can find an arrangement that works.

Wig regards to alternative placements, whilst in theory they could send you further afield in reality they took personal circumstances into account (eg not sending trainees who couldn’t drive to schools inaccessible by public transport, not sending trainees with young families further afield etc). Again, it’s a conversation to have with the provider prior to applying, they won’t promise anything but at least you can get a feel for them.

Right- look at private schools. Many enploy teachers without QTS and then sometimes will put you through the PGCE etc if you take to it (which can mostly be done in that school) and pay for that. You'd get a reasonable salary. Science teachers are in high demand.

As for flexibility etc, that depends massively on the school and your Head of Department. Some schools have it right, but many have it very very wrong! I'm a Head of Department and I'm trying really hard to protect my staff from excessive and unnecessary workload.

Also, the second placement was only six weeks, with the odd day at SEN, AP, and a primary (to see phonics taught as that’s a standard even for secondary).

I did a SCITT- got a PGCE but no university time at all, school from Sept til July, with 8 weeks at another school. Did it with young children and divorced during but it was okay. Love my job.

I did a 4 year BEd (Hons) starting in 1981 when I had a one year old child. My university was nearby but I had to travel to school placements - 3 long ones and several shorter ones. It was hard but teaching is hard - even harder now than it was in the 80s. I am retired now but used to get into school at 7.30 to prepare for my day and leave at 4.30 to 5.30.

I think if I spoke to her she would say “don’t do it”.

Along with most teachers, I should think. It's not for no reason that teachers are scrambling to leave the profession. Lots only stay because once they've been a teacher for a while the pay is pretty decent.

Teacher training is difficult, it’s full on and pretty time consuming. Teaching really is a labour of love. I love teaching but honestly it’s stressful and can be overwhelming.
Ive been teaching for years but recently had a baby and have no idea how I will manage the two when I return soon.
As much as the schools are crying out for teachers, there’s still loads of very qualified teachers who do not have permanent jobs.

Have you heard of NowTeach? It is for career changers, even permits part time teaching/ training and involves learning on the job.

I’m nearly 40 and I’m in my teacher training year, I’ve got a physics bursary but in reality I am teaching all 3 sciences. I’ve got primary aged kids and my school is around the corner.
I didn’t go into this blind i was a technician first and knew the curriculum and did a lot of prep before I started. But yes it’s long hours and some, but comparable to my previous city job. Pay is not the same but the holidays are longer.
My lectures are all online and my other placement school was also local.
Once qualified after my ECT years I am likely to look for part-time work, I’ve seen a few teachers do this once established and who also have a family.

Can you find earlier child care? I’m a teacher and I have meetings which start at 8am, so I need to get to school by 7.15 in order to set up for the day and have everything ready before 8am.

Currently I am an unqualified teacher, in September I am starting my training PGTA it's apprentice teacher, on the job and in house. I have to do both key stages but in the same school.

Schools don’t have to take on trainees to mentor. I mentor students, but there are other departments that aren’t interested. Mentors don’t get extra money and the department gets a token amount from the provider. So the reason for the ‘mystery school’ for your second placement is that it probably hasn’t been booked and confirmed yet.

Also, remote lectures are OK, but you’ll also be placed with other trainees that will be teaching your subject and so you have the opportunity to share experiences as you reflect. Reflection is a massive part of teaching. We had subject specialists coming in as well as subject knowledge days and seminars with different subject trainees. This makes for a supportive environment at a time with student teachers feel pressured.

When I trained, my kids were in secondary and it was much easier than if they had been younger. For a start, my placement schools expected me to be part of wider school activities such as parents’ evenings etc… these sorts of things are part of the Teacher Standards.

The system is shit and you’re right to be frustrated with the government, but even if it was easier to access teacher training, you’ll get just as frustrated with the system when you’re working in it!

The training isn’t family friendly and neither is teaching. Forget it. Last time I started in a new school there was a woman sitting next to me on the induction day. She was doing teach first and had left her managerial job to do it. She had three young kids. I bit my tongue. She lasted ONE whole week.

Your posts read as though you would be doing schools a favour by training to teach. Apologies if I’ve got that wrong, but you’re saying what you won’t do. You don’t want to travel, you don’t want to work all hours and you do want a bigger salary.

There re many reasons why there is a shortage of teachers. It doesn’t mean that trainees can just slot in without much effort.

Being a bit fed up with the job you have isn’t really enough reason to go into teaching. Especially as you seem to have decided what you’ll accept and what is a step too far.

Teacher training isnt designed to make it flexible for mums with kids.

Its focus is on making you an optimal highly skilled teacher.

Also from the governments perspective, any funded course gets a better rate of return training younger people who may serve a 40 year career.

Your posts read as though you would be doing schools a favour by training to teach.

I think this from bluevelvetsofa has hit on why I felt a bit irritated by the op, as an experienced teacher myself.

Many non teachers, especially parents, have on the one hand extremely high expectations of teachers and low thresholds for complaints. But simultaneously on the other hand see it as an extremely easy, cushy job with short "family-friendly" hours. They expect us to be there before the kids arrive and stay well after they leave, but then think we have 9-3 jobs. They also are often incensed when they find out their own child's teacher is a trainee or newly qualified.

I do now have a fairly cushy job but I also have ten years' experience and so I know what I'm doing and have found time saving strategies and so on. Training was really hard. And one of the things that made it hard was the relentlessly high expectations, including from parents - don't get me wrong, kids deserve good teachers - but therefore I'm amazed that any parent can think it's an easy job and that they can just rock up and save some poor understaffed school.

I'm a teacher and I drop my children at child care around 8 and 8:05 (two different schools). I get to work around 8:30. I make sure everything is ready before I leave the night before. So it's possible. We are not contracted to be there until 8:40 anyway.

If it helps, I did a PGCE as a single parent with kids in primary with wraparound from 8am - 6pm. The uni was about an hour’s drive, sometimes a bit more. I volunteered in a local school one day a week to get a feel for it and then at interview, essentially said what I would/wouldn’t be able to manage commute-wise. It was never an issue - both my placements were in my town. I got a job at my second placement and stayed a further 5 years.

I would say it took me those 5 years to get myself in a place where I had lots of resources to fall back on and could teach most lessons by opening something I’d previously prepared rather than having to start from scratch. But each lesson is planned in it’s own right, every year if that makes sense. The goalposts change continually, new fads come and go, you shift and adapt to suit it and the needs of your classes. No two years are the same, that’s for sure, Due to family issues, I took a few years out on supply and then got a long term supply role and 5 years later am still there. I am lucky - I teach in both primary and secondary and have a superb HOD who is supportive and who has my back (and that of the rest of the department). I don’t know how much longer I have in me as I’m past 50 now but I’m OK for now.

it is not a job for the faint-hearted and I strongly suggest getting some school experience before you go any further.

Plenty of teachers commute 45 minutes. I think you need to realise that when you get a job it won’t necessarily be on you doorstep.

An hour to get to uni is standard. I did my training through the GTP programme and drove 1 hour to uni once a week. I did this whilst parenting 2 primary aged children. I was grateful to be given the opportunity to train and be paid to do so.

I get the impression that you think teaching is going to be easy... That you won't be willing to work late into the night, and that a school would be lucky to have you. With that attitude you'll be in senior leadership in no time. You'll not gain many allies though.

Jolly good luck 👍

If you do SCITT university days are few and far between. I was in maybe one day a term. Your second placement is about 6 weeks long so again not a big deal if it’s a long commute - it flies by. The school you’re employed in is where you’ll be 90% of the time. I was a mature (though no kids) trainee and the SCITT route (was called the GTP then) worked well for me as I was paid and I could choose where I worked.

My training year was the hardest year of my life. To this day I don’t know how I got through it. I lasted 9 years in the classroom, 6 as Head of Department. I loved it for about 6 of those years before gradually the endless shit started to erode my passion. I loved the kids but the relentlessness of it just got too much.

I quit last year and I would never go back. Honestly I wouldn’t recommend it as a profession to anyone. It sucks the life out of you. I’m a different person now. Everyone keeps telling me how amazing I look. Makes me realise how haggard I must have looked for the past decade!!

i do disagree with previous posts. I don’t think I would be doing the schools a favour.

I’ve not gone into my research blind either. A relative that is a teacher. Lots of research and volunteering with young people in my free time.

I think people need to be realistic that MOST people don’t just have a job because they love it. Money is a factor. As is hours, stress, location, convenience.

the posts on this thread are interesting and range from “don’t do it” to “you are not worthy, you wouldn’t last a second”

in any profession, including my own, I wouldn’t feel comfortable working 7:30am-11pm (unpaid) in a high responsibility role that is stressful. Burning out every holiday etc. even if I LOVED my work… that’s a total piss take.

It can be done. But at a cost. I was a career changer and went into primary.

I had a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old. I have no idea what I was thinking!!

The big thing was a support network. I basically sacrificed all the 'mum' stuff a lot of the time and DH picked up the slack. I still dropped off at the childminders and did everything when I got home but once the kids were in bed, I worked. I remember crying with tiredness at 1am as I wrote a lesson plan.

It was horrendous. But if you have the support, it's just about do-able. I'm a rare breed - I don't regret doing it and I'm now very happy with my chosen career.
but man alive, it was hard

Why are these hours for trainees acceptable? Just because it happened in the past doesn't make it ok now. It reminds me of the hours junior doctors work.

The thing is, OP, you do really have to want to do it because it is all consuming. Every heard the phrase ‘Poundland pedagogy’?! That’s where when we’re doing the weekly shop we are looking at everything on offer with a ‘hmmm….how could I use that?’ head on. It never leaves you. Even if you’re not actually sat at a desk working, you’re running through up coming lessons in your head, remembering how it went last time you taught it and wondering what you can change to make it better, or whether bottom set year 9 will get it without you having to literally model the bloody thing with plasticine, lolly sticks and some hair clips…. It is not a 9-3 job. Never has been. You can do lots to ease the work burden but you work constantly because it’s the nature of the beast. I use Facebook and Twitter primarily for CPD purposes, not for my own leisure or interests.

You may find working in a huge MAT works for you where there are subject advisors and lessons are the same in every school. There are lots of cons to that but it makes for an easier first couple of years, I guess.