Friends are all more successful than me. "Failed teacher"

[Flotraidroberts]

Hello;
I'm 28 and I class myself as a "failed" teacher.
I live in Chester and jobs are far too competitive. I've been trying to get a permanent teaching job for 3 years but can't. I've had long terms during this time but sometimes the school won't do the induction due to being too busy and if I don't get it done by the end of 2023, I become an ECT.

I don't mind supply, like Ive said, I have good feedback from schools, I've had long-term PPA covers but I just can't get the job. A school I was in a few weeks ago said they had over 90 applicants for a job!! And that seems the norm around here.

I'm currently on a long-term now doing PPA and have been in the school nearly half this academic year but the school haven't got the time to do the induction. It's stressing me out.

Anyway, my stress has increased tonight as my friend who finished her PGCE this year has just got a permanent teaching job and I feel happy for her but at the same time useless in myself.
Boyfriend is now questioning me about whether teaching jobs around here are actually hard to get or whether it's just me.

I feel just sad. I'm applying for a job tonight but I feel like motivation is going. I have had interviews and sometimes get to the final 2/3 but I just never get the job.

All my other friends have great careers and some are established teachers; It's got to the point where I am avoiding meeting up to save the questioning about how supply is going.
I can't move as I have a mortgage here in Chester;
I'm feeling absolutely lost at the moment. Surely at 28 I should be more established now?

Hi OP
I live in Chester too and often see people advertise for primary tuition.
I used to teach in further education if you want to consider that. Feel free to PM me.

I tell my DC it's only a joke of the person you're making it about thinks it's funny too. That's mean not funny.

Because it’s area dependent. The NW has Chester university, edge hill, Manchester, Manchester met and Salford plus the three Liverpool universities, as well as teachers from north wales who would commute to Chester. It’s a fairly cheap place to live (not Chester so much but within commuting distance is v reasonable) so there’s always been a surplus of teachers in the NW.

If you’re a maths teacher in Hampshire though it looks very different. I don’t think the OP is a bad teacher, or she wouldn’t have long term placements, but she has been unlucky and she does need to break this cycle somehow.

When I completed my pgce I applied for over 50 jobs before the one came up that took me on. I then moved areas cross country two years later and had to do a term of cover before getting a permanent job in a nearby (better) school.

You need to be prepared to do a long commute for a couple of years. Fwiw my (now dh) and I rented until we were 30 and settled in good jobs where we wanted to stay, precisely so we could be flexible. I don't understand why you couldn't for example change your mortgage to allow renting your house out, and then rent nearer a school.

There's nothing wrong with your teaching, but there's an issue with your flexibility and geographical zone you are prepared to travel within.

You don't have to move, you can commute. Ellesmere Port, Liverpool, Widnes, Runcorn... there's a massive area around you to find a job.

I think it's your boyfriend and friend thats the issue, not the job! Of course supply is a 'proper' job!

If 90 people are applying for one job, the chances of even great candidates getting it are low

I'm not a teacher OP but what I've witnessed at DS primary school is some outstanding, keen young teachers not getting offers of employment at our school after doing a year or so there and having to scrabble around and find a position elsewhere (eg neighbouring authorities). Part of it I believe is that the staff ratios are so tight they cannot just create posts, also there are people who are on long term sick or mat leave who have to be allocated classes even if they are not there, and a lot of it seems to come down to luck and timing.

However I would also say the SMT tend to employ teachers in the same vein as themselves - and I have noticed they don't like to employ people who seem to shake things up a bit or want to try new approaches or try something a bit different. I find it a bit depressing looking in - we've just lost someone brilliant who was there on secondment for a year as the person she was covering for is coming back.

I can't move because I have a mortgage here in Chester.

You can. You can rent your property out and rent where you're going. You can sell your flat (even if you make a loss).
I understand you might not want to - but then don't compare your success rate with people who are prepared to be more flexible. They have a choice of 100 jobs to apply for and you only have 10. You might want to consider if this lack of flexibility is worth the price you're paying.

Your state of mind needs addressing before anything else.

You've got yourself into a position where you're talking and thinking negatively about yourself, and comparing yourself to others. None of this is helpful.

Whenever I start thinking badly about myself, I stop and think - is this true? Is it helpful? Is this line of thinking going to get me where I want to be? And if it isn't, I bin the thought, reframe it into something positive, then move on with my day.

Who cares what your friends think? Attaching your self worth to what other people think of you is a recipe for disaster. Comparison is the thief of joy. Your self worth has to come from within you. You can't control the job market, so deciding you're a failure as a person because you haven't got a 'successful' career is also futile. Don't allow external forces you can't control to shape the way you feel about yourself.

You're not a failure. You've successfully qualified as a teacher. You have an MA degree. You have worked in numerous schools, successfully, as a supply teacher - which is far harder, in many ways, than a teacher in a permanent position. With several years' supply experience, you've got more experience than a teacher who's been in the same school all that time. You have experienced lots of different schools, lots of different kids, seen how a variety of schools teach and plan and organise themselves - all of this is incredibly valid and valuable experience. Don't lose sight of this. Are you framing it this way in your job applications? Are you discussing your supply experiences as a deliberate choice to enable you to get plenty of experience rather than talking about it as something you've been forced into? Someone who is framing their experiences positively and can talk about the benefits of them rather than someone who is clear that they hate supply and are desperate for a full time job instead is much more likely to get a permanent job.

I was secondary and never had an issue getting a job because I'm in London and no one wants to teach kids down here! But in some parts of the country it is just harder than others due to supply and demand, and there have always been more primary teachers than secondary. As such I agree with the others who have said that you need to be a bit more flexible on location if securing a permanent post where you live is hard due to supply and demand. You might have to accept a longer commute than you'd like for a while just to get your foot in the door somewhere and get the NQT finished.

Good luck.

Not sure how it works there, but would you be qualified/willing to teach secondary? Or could you do a conversion? I'd imagine you'd be snapped up then as there are crazy shortages.

Otherwise m, yes, I'd do everything to look further afield for a primary job. Assuming you don't have DC yet then you have much more flexibility. Consider

• renting out your house for a year and relocating with BF
• committing to a long daily commute

BF needs to get on board with being supportive and flexible so that you can meet your goals.

Tbh I think the main barriers to your career are that you are tied into a location and mortgage at only 28. If you could move around a bit you’d have yourself a job in no time. I think you need to figure out a way to overcome this.

How far are you willing to commute?

Your friends who seem to have established their career in teaching - where do they live? Where do they teach? Have they moved around to get the job they wanted?

My friends who have gone up the teaching and medical career ladder quickly and early on are the ones who have been able to move from area to area to get the next level up e.g. Bristol to Essex for a deputy head job; London to Manchester for a SHO or consultant role.

Always remember that comparison in the thief of joy.

You need to break things down into smaller steps.

1. Push hard to get your induction done even if you have to split over more than one school (eg within the same academy chain). Have you done any induction terms?


2. Finish your Masters.


3. Once you have sorted your induction you have more options.

You may have to be a bit more flexible on location for the induction just to get it done. Once you have it then you can be more selective.

Try Facebook, searching on your local 'pages' for 'primary tutor' or similar. It's quite popular in areas where people can afford to pay. There are loads of primary age children who have been 'left behind' or are struggling with the basics due to or made worse by the lockdowns. The school's have not been given the option to or the funding to help them help children who need it catch up, and so tutoring and maybe marketing yourself as a primary tutor that can help with 'catch up'. Some of the comments from your friends are mean. Best of luck to you, I hold my hat off to teachers!

Any further reflections @Flotraidroberts

Just wanted to echo PP, stop calling yourself a failed teacher, you're anything but! And I think you're showing great resilience pursuing your teaching career, all the more so as it's not been a straightforward route. My god, and in supply- I've only done a bit of supply but I found it so stressful and scary- I'm so impressed by your confidence about teaching and going into different schools!
This sounds like partly a mind set issue- you need to work on self esteem and stop comparing yourself to your friends. It would be great if you could find somewhere to finish your EQT, but at same time, if you'd be happy on a day to day basis doing supply for another year, why is that not an option? As a PP said, supply can be its own career route/way of being a teacher and is nothing to feel ashamed of. My god if you find a way of actually enjoying teaching, I think you're winning. I'm on a teachers group where many people who struggle at their schools turn to supply for the comparative freedom/different set up.

I know how you are feeling OP. It has taken me TEN years to get my permanent post in teaching. It’s absolutely dire here in Scotland. You are not a failed teacher. You will find that many people do not understand the hideous competition there is in the job market and there will always be those who simply seem to walk straight into a job. But keep your chin up and as others have said, keep thinking positively, the job will come.

”if my NQT was done I'd be happy on supply; especially since partner is on a good wage so it's not like we have financial stress in that sense“

You’re 28, no kids and as a couple financially sound. So now is the time to cast your net wider.

If you moved to London for a year or even a few months you would definitely get a job. Probably impractical but if it’s become really time critical then could be worth considering.