Any single mums done the 1yr pgce teaching course with a pre-school child?

[Sweatinglikeabitch]

I've put a few things on over the last few months about being unsafe at home and being trapped financially. I'm trying to sort myself out. I have always wanted to work in animal conservation, I did a degree but I met H and didn't do any of the experience things I should have. I left uni a few years ago with a degree but no experience. I don't think I've much chance of working in that field, especially as a single mum and it just feels too daunting and unreachable, like being an astronaut. But I feel like a primary school teacher would work? I'd be off in the school holidays so childcare wouldn't be an issue?

If anyone has done this:
What financial support did you get?
How doable is it with a young child? I know it's a lot of work, but is it doable? Or am I stuck until DS is in school?

Being a teacher isn't as family-friendly as you'd think, the PGCE year is pretty brutal, and teaching is really something you need to have a passionate desire to do, rather than just something you feel would work with your circumstances. Unencumbered, single people are finding the PGCE, and indeed teaching in general, too much. I imagine as a single mother to a pre-schooler it would be virtually impossible.

Yeah I thought that might be the case. Thank you for your honesty. I have no idea what to do for the best.
How do people with young children work or even not work?

I agree with Fair Isle, it’s not for the faint hearted! That said, I do think that if you’re remotely interested in teaching you should look into it in more detail. Start by doing a weeks work experience at a local primary.

I also believe there is financial support, for childcare etc, but contact your local Uni which offers a Primary PGCE. They’ll have a better idea as to what you might be entitled to.

Good luck OP.

I've just done it with a 6 and 4 year old and honestly without the help from my husband, mum and sister in law I wouldn't have managed it.

In your PGCE year you’d need to be available for your blocks of practise, usually about 4-6 weeks and often a few days each week. On those days you’d need to be in school by about 8 and look at leaving at around 4.30-5.30. In the evening you’d need to have your planning sorted, assessments completed and professional log/reflective diary up to date.
in college time you’d probably have a slightly shorter day, but need to complete assignments, some academic and some based on your practice in school. Your specialism usually needs a more in-depth assignment (mine was using pre-20th century literature in primary classroom, for example).
I have mentored a trainee teacher with a young child, but she had a very high level of support from her family. When the child was ill the family looked after her as the trainee couldn’t take time off practice due the time requirements.
while we need new teachers, please don’t go into teaching as you think it’s doable or because the holidays seem like a childcare solution. It’s not a job to do unless you absolutely want to.

Going into teaching because you feel you don't have the relevant experience in animal conservation sounds like a really bad idea. If you love animal conservation, follow your dream and go for that.
Teaching is not particularly family friendly, especially at the start when you're training and learning how to do the job as efficiently as possible.
There may be financial support if you earn below a certain amount, but I didn't receive any support when I did my scitt (school centred training). I also had to take out a student loan to cover the £8k fee cost. Some secondary subjects (maths, chemistry, physics) will pay you £24k in your training year, but there is nothing for Primary.
Also, depending on where you live, it can be hard to get a primary school job at the end of your training. You may have to be prepared to travel a distance to work, which then makes childcare harder.

I did teacher training when my children were in primary school and it was still a logistical nightmare. I could never drop my own children at school in the mornings and they had to either stay for after school club every evening or be picked up by someone else. It will be so much easier when they are in secondary school and get themselves to school and back.

Have I put you off yet?! Please call a few schools and ask to do some work experience before you commit to a pgce. (Personally I would look at scitt training rather than PGCE anyway - better experience as you are immediately in school 4 days a week)

Well, I wouldn't recommend training to do a job that you don't really want to do. That goes for any job, but especially one that can be tough while training and also afterwards. When you're interviewing for courses, what will you say when they ask why primary teaching?

I did my PGCE part-time over two years with no young children. It was still the most difficult thing I've ever done (I'm NOT saying it's the most difficult thing ever, for those who might want to jump on that). I had a Masters level module so did a written dissertation and a VIVA, as well as all the teaching and pedagogical stuff. Then I had a 4-week and 6-week full-time block in my final year. I was getting to school at 7:30am, doing the school day, getting the bus home or cycling home at 5:30pm, eating dinner, then lesson planning/cross referencing my folders/making resources until about midnight. I was close to failing my final placement.

It does get easier once qualified (although there are two years of observations etc. afterwards now not just one, so perhaps that's changed things), but it really does depend on your school, expectations of marking and displays, what your class is like, if you work in an academy and they don't actually give you much PPA time because they don't have to...

My DC were 6 and 8 when I completed my PGCE an a single mum.

It was hell on earth. I missed a year of my DCs life because I was either driving to my placement/in school/cooking dinner/bedtime/planning (lots of) and sleep.

I passed and was a shadow of my former self. My hair was falling out in clumps and I lost far too much weight.

I finished the course and have only walked in a classroom that belonged to my DC.

Following my PGCE I worked FT shift work - this gave me far more time than I would ever have had if I was teaching.

OP, you need to have unlimited enthusiasm and passion to do a PGCE and even with that it is still completely horrific (well, it was in my case).

I did a pgce pregnant with my youngest and then final placement when she was 6 months old. It was awful and I walked out just before the end.
I am now in a corporate job which is much more family friendly. I do almost every school drop off and pick up. Obviously not so important with a preschooler, but you will find it gets more difficult when they are actually at school, and schools are the most inflexible employers I have ever known.

Agree with poster above my previous post. I also had a 7/8yr old and I never saw her.
People were worried I was on the verge of a breakdown my final school was so bad.

Teaching is not a family friendly job. It is completely inflexible with very long hours and an incredibly high workload.

I left after 14 years and would never go back. The holidays aren't worth it.

Op this is why many people try and find work in a college and school as support staff,even dinner ladies etc.

Can you look into that sort of thing?

You might be off in the holidays but you can't take a day off for your own children's nativity or dentist appointments. It's a very inflexible job.

I’m not trying to gatekeep the profession- we need teachers, but you are going to crash and burn if you are planning to enter teaching because you think it fits your circumstances. It’s a pastorally and academically demanding job the way the curriculum is going now- that’s not saying you couldn’t do it, but you would have to want to be there.

I have worked with mothers who have retrained for this sole reason (entry requirements have gone right down in the past three years so teacher training is much easier to access without passion or a lot of experience) and it hasn’t gone well when they have fully realised that they can’t leave at 4pm each day in the early years of the job and need to spend chunks of the holidays working.

My childless, twenty two year old, passionate colleagues who have always wanted to be teachers struggle. If you are in it for the holidays, you’d find it even harder.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone go into teaching unless they really want to teach.

Thinking working with children is ‘fun’ isn’t enough.

‘Loving’ your subject isn’t enough.

Thinking it’s handy because you won’t need childcare in August isn’t enough.

My PGCE was hard and I was 21 with no kids and a boyfriend that did all the cooking and cleaning! I was in at 7.45, home at 6, planned all evening and wrote essays all weekend. I also caught every bug going which knocked me for six. The NQT was probably even harder as I had responsibility for my own class and then year after was harder as I lost all the non contact time, and got given subjects to coordinate (small school) with no extra pay! Then it got nice for quite a few years, until things got really awful. Round about 2010…

My hours now are similar to my training hours really even at 25 years in, though I get in at 7.20 as it’s quiet at the printer!

I don’t think I could have done it with small children without DH who could work flexibly or my parents who live round the corner and were retired.

On top of covering those basic hours, have a think about what you will do if…
Your child is unwell. We get time at my school if our child is seriously unwell (eg in hospital) but for anything routine like chickenpox, it’s unpaid. DH did all illness childcare when ours were young.

Assemblies/sports day/plays/medical appointments. My parents or DH did all of these. I didn’t ever attend one on a day that I worked (I was part time so attended some).

Snow days/inset days-my DC nearly always closed when mine stayed open. DH did all of these.

Expectations at your own school-evening concerts, parents evenings, open days. All of these were 4-7/8 at my school. Again, DH covered them all.

Breakfast club at their school was no good as it didn’t start till 7.45 and my school was too far away to get to. They have no after school clubs either.

Think carefully why you want to teach and how you will juggle the childcare. Then if you think that’s all doable, get a week or two shadowing in a school.

Slightly different circumstances as I am non UK but I just finished a 2 year teacher training scheme last autumn.

Everything was planned, my parents would fly over and do childcare whilst I was away, so I could study and not worry. I was away for 13 weeks a year, for two years plus two months in placements. I was also working in the school full time while I trained.

Then COVID hit and my parents could not get here.
I don't know how we survived, it was sheer hell on earth but we did it. And now I am qualified!

My 4DC kids are a little bit older, and I have promised them that I will never do anything like that again, but it's done now and I love my job. They are all proud of me, as I am of them.

I am also lucky enough to have my kids in the school where I work (I know some mumsnetter disapprove but it works marvelously for me, logistically and I get to be a part of their school life).

And now, I hope to have a career that will sustain me (and them).

Oops pressed send too soon

So have a good think, but remember your DC won't be small forever.

There is a lot of work, but we leave school, do our thing and I finish prep on a night. Sunday afternoons is chill out time so I get to prep for the week too.

It's been life changing for me. An awful lot of hard work, but I really love it.

Well that's a big fat no then isn't it! 🤣
Thank you all for your help

I did secondary with 3 in primary, youngest was just 3, as a single parent. It is tough, but not impossible. You really need solid childcare and someone to pick up.the slack I'd your child is ill - the job is utterly relentless during term time. I found the uni supportive in that they gave me first pick of placements and I was lucky enough to get a job close.enough to home that I could drop off and get to work on time in the mornings. I had taught abroad in my 20s in secondary and I also had years of youth work.experience behind me so knew what I was getting in to. But I admit, as a single parent, holidays were a massive e motivation.

I am still teaching a decade later but in an independent school which was/is more forgiving of my personal circumstances.

I had plenty of money but had a huge bursary as was a shortage subject and was on tax credits which didn't count the bursary as income. I received an additional bursary related to my subject, full student loan, a grant from the student loan people and also 80% of childcare costs. I have no idea how it works with Universal credit

I did mine 8 years ago with no children and it was very, very difficult. I've just left teaching for a private sector job with flexible hours and WFH. My children are 5 and 3 and I can't do it anymore - I worked part time, not even full time. It's a vocation not a job and you really have to want to do it. You have to put a lot more hours in than you think, plus marking/planning after school and weekends, directed time where you have to stay late etc. I'm hoping to go back to teaching when my children are older.

I’m sorry for what you’re going through. That’s fantastic you’re trying to leave and getting things in order.
I did my PGCE part time but I struggled with placements as they were full time and just a horrible experience. I also had a supportive partner to do the house work and childcare but my schools were horrible everyone on a power trip but kept my head down and got on with it. I really don’t like the culture of presenteism in schools especially for PGCE students and nuts. Having both worked as a Ta and then a teacher, I think a TA would be better if you are single, of course the pay isn’t like a teacher’s but it’s literally 8 or 9 to 3 in many cases and you won’t need to worry about extra work at home or working late but you need to make sure you’re clear on workload as some schools do exploit ta’s but my experience was great. Remember as a single mother you will be entitled to benefits as well to top up your income so please look on entitledto website to see what you’d be entitled to. I think you should work as a ta and then get onto an animal conservation course as I bet that would be more family friendly than teaching esp if that’s where your passion lies so don’t sell yourself short but I can imagine your confidence is shot right now. Other roles so you can look at is childminder or nanny, some won’t mind you bringing your own child along if nannying or child minder will be at your own place.

I agree with you Fairislefandango
I have no family commitments and I am finding the PGCE incredibly time consuming. I was used to the long hours from nursery but teacher tired is a whole new level.
However with the right childcare ( full time childcare + wraparound if necessary ) you might be able to pull it off. I am currently doing a PGCE at Oxford Uni. There is only one parent on the course, she has primary school aged children and they do breakfast club plus after school clubs Mon to Fri. I asked her when she does her work and its every eve after 7 when they go to bed - she has also booked them in Saturday activities ( she is a single parent) so she can catch up on work and chores.
This does not get better in your ECT years- I don't want to discourage you but I can wholeheartedly say that teaching is not family friendly at all. Holidays are good but during term time you will see your children at the weekends like everyone else- teaching is not family friendly
I really wish you all the best

You might be better looking into a masters or another post graduate route into a profession eg Law.

If your first degree is not classified as STEM then you can do a second STEM degree part time and get student finance.

Years ago my DM trained to be a teacher doing a teaching degree, she had to get 2 A levels first. She was a single mum and my DB was in nursery and I was in first year of primary school. Got a grant then.

For her, yes it was good because it was in the days when school finished at home time, so no or very little work after then, and the work wasn’t that demanding. She also partly wanted it for school holidays for us but liked art and drama so that’s mostly what she taught, though she was a primary school form teacher. She also had the option to do a job share which she did for a few years and finally became a SENCO. You do have to want to be a teacher though. One of her best friends did the teaching degree, went into a school for her placement and realised very soon after that, that she wasn’t cut out to be a teacher!

I wouldn't be too disheartened OP, the people who take the time to give their advice are likely to be those who have strong feelings about it.

Ive just graduated (PG) and there were several hundred PGCE graduates in my ceremony alone. Mainly v young but lots of older ones too and there were lots of kids there cheering (presumably) their parents on.

Lots of people manage it OP.