44 and training to be a teacher?!

[AmIinsane2023]

Name changed for this, as a bit different to my normal posts.

I'm 44, currently unemployed, and - after health problems and being a SAHM - I want to get my life back in track and start contributing again.

I've been looking at PGCEs (Secondary English) or Primary 7-11.

A few people said I'm insane to be considering it a) because of my age and b) the way things are in schools these days.

AIBU to be considering this?!

Would love to hear people's experiences/opinions, both positive and negative.

I asked the ECT (newly qualified teacher) co-ordinator at my huge secondary about this, for an older friend. He said she would definitely be employable. She will be 67 when qualified. There is no ageism when recruiting teachers...they are inhorrifically short supply!!

I agree with this. Age 45 l had no problems with my health. Age 55 l had lots of pain issues and it was getting harder and harder to deal with. Teaching is hard physically demanding work. And much harder in your 50’s.

I was just a normal sized normal weight teacher. l ended up with back and neck pain from bending over, horrible Achilles problems despite wearing proper shoes, knee problems just from wear and tear. Running up and down stairs became more and more difficult. Health issues need a lot of thought.

@Shinyandnew1

Just to answer you as someone who has worked in England / NI. A lot is different in NI - I think it ultimately comes down to culture of how schools have traditionally been in trusting staff and also many schools have a very strong union presence.

Currently we are on work to rule - people follow this on a spectrum of levels but in theory each Head has to give every staff member a breakdown of their 1265 hours contracted and if a task if not on the breakdown then the staff member is instructed not to do the task and supported by the union. So if you have been allocated 20 hours of marking for the year and you have completed this then you refuse to mark anymore unless you are covered to do so. Same for report writing etc. These are the union action instructions Action Short of Strike Action Instructions 2022 (Northern Ireland) - from 3 April 2023 (nasuwt.org.uk)

Because of union action there are no inspections (schools refuse to cooperate), no monitoring, no books scoops / learning walks / lesson observations of any description unless you are EPD or not yet on UPS3. There is one afterschool meetings a term and staff can take their directed time at a place of their choosing - so if you have PPA first thing or last you can take this at home. There is no results analysis shared, students are sent home early and parents evenings are during the school day.

Whilst this is extreme at the minute even before action short of strike instructions I found teachers were trusted more and micro managed less than in England and had more ownership in their classrooms. There was much less frequent monitoring / observations / paperwork. Staff are paid extra for things like offering lunch time or afterschool clubs. Most schools seem to have very active union reps who are proactive with management in workload discussions.

Because teaching is very hard on you physically and quite honestly, I couldn't manage it health wise anymore post 50.

Every teacher I’ve known has gone before 59 as they are just too physically and mentally wrecked to go any longer. Most have gone earlier. You get desperate. It’s beyond mentally and physically exhausting.

I’d discourage any of my kids from teaching. Join the civil service, good pension, good progression and very family friendly.

I started the PGCE when I was 38. It wasn't the teaching I couldn't hack but the actual course. Within two weeks, I was solo teaching classes with no supervision, prepping all the lessons and marking all the work - basically a teacher from day three with zero guidance. Then for every lesson I had to write a several page plan and evaluation for uni, plus two essays each half term. This was after being in school at 8 for a morning meeting, then staying til 6 twice a week for meetings and several parents evenings until 9. As a single parent of two, I drowned before Christmas.

As others have said, get some experience first. I’ve been an English teacher for 18 years and the last four years have been the worst. I teach in a hugely underfunded comp, kids’ behaviour is appalling, parents’ behaviour is appalling, SLT aren’t in any way supportive and workload is ridiculous. We were saying in the office the other day that we now consider it a good day if no one told us to f**k off. It’s not for the faint hearted. You need to be mentally tough and willing to devote your life to it. That said, when I’m with classes I have a relationship with (not doing endless cover in my frees), I love it. I have the loveliest colleagues and lots of the kids and parents are great. It’s just your time tends to be dominated by the not great kids and parents. English has got one of the heaviest marking workloads too. I find a lot of my older ECTs recently have trained so they have a family friendly job. Ha! It is utterly not family friendly during term time & by the holidays, you’re a) broken and b) still have work to do.

State pension and Teachers Pension age will be 67 if not 68!

I did a primary pgce 7 years ago as a career change and have worked in infants and juniors. I am now a secondary school teacher and ECT mentor and I absolutely love it.

Definitely get some experience in some schools before applying. This is often a prerequisite of being able to apply for a pgce anyway and it will give you a feel for it and help you decide whether it is a job for you. It is worth talking to teachers about the role they do outside of the classroom too as this takes up an awful lot of your time.

I personally prefer secondary. The marking load is more manageable, the free periods being split across the week breaks up the working day (as opposed to a morning or afternoon once a week in primary) and I feel there is more flexibility in my teaching. The biggest challenge is behaviour but compared to a class you have for every lesson, every day, the shorter periods means that you see the pupils for an hour at a time. I also prefer teaching my specialist subject more than all subjects but that is just personal preference.

There are benefits to both and it ultimately comes down to what you prefer and the school you choose to work in.

It is a tough career and you have to be prepared to put in the work and keep up to date with pedagogy so that you are constantly reflecting and adapting but is also very rewarding.

It was one of the best decisions I made and I love it! Good luck with what you decide to do.

You have a good 20years to be a teacher before retiring so why not

I’m a secondary teacher of 12 years. I absolutely love my job; it is totally exhausting but never, ever boring !

We have a lot of trainees come to us after starting their careers elsewhere or after being out of work for a few years. They are usually in 30s or 40s but also 50s and sometimes 60s. Generally they never look back!

I would say, however, that you’ve got to want to do it. I would contact some local schools to ask if you can spend some time observing lessons. Most schools will be delighted to let you come and see what you think! I’d particularly try independent schools as they often have a bit more time (and inclination) to spend with prospective new teachers.

It's definitely not to old to retrain. I'm your age and have been teaching for 18 years, there are loads of teachers older than me at different stages of their career.
I'm a secondary teacher and SENCO and still absolutely love it. There are loads of opportunities to progress if that's what you want to do, you'll work with amazing colleagues and you'll make a difference to kids lives.
Yes it's hard work but I'm never bored, everyday is different and I love the students, for me it's the best job in the world.

This is a tricky one. I did a PGCE at 40 myself and then worked in a secondary school for 18 years. I really really enjoyed it for many years, however it is an extremely demanding job and by the time I retired I was very exhausted.
Advice from PPs to go and observe in schools is spot on. Think through whether you are most suited to primary school - a broader more creative job which also can be more often done part time - or secondary school with emphasis on specific subject and exam focus and the joys of teenagers. Or would you enjoy being a TA? Less work to take home.
A school is a little community but there is a large hassle factor. How are you with hassle and firefighting type environment? Can be fulfilling but not if you would be better based in a comfortable office dealing with people one to one. There are usually 28-30 children in a class and you are dealing with them all at the same time.
Only choose teaching if you really feel there’s nothing else you would prefer.

I did it for 15 years. Left when I was 37 with no job to go to. I would never encourage anyone to go into teaching. It’s a ridiculously difficult job and absolutely not family friendly

Teachers are under incredible stress. Middle-aged female teachers struggle more than most I think. That's from my experience of many many many years of teaching. Honestly, I really would not recommend it for you at your age.

Nothing unreasonable about having an ambition!

My DH has just got his assessors cert and will be doing his Cert Ed next year. Teaching college age 16+. It's been a learning curve but he's loving it.

57 here - still going strong, full time and also Deputy Head of Dept. No plans to slow down yet. It depends so much on the school and your own personality.

I trained as a secondary English teacher in my mid 20s, 12 years ago now. I have taken the last 2 years out to do other things as I hit a wall after covid, but I’m going back in September.

The PGCE and ECT years are truly horrific. You will have no life outside of work and it is completely exhausting, both mentally and physically. The emotional demands of teaching are something I just could not have prepared for - it is so hard to be ‘on’ all day, to be fully present for every student, to never voice the frustration you’re feeling (until you get back to the staffroom of course!), and to deal with the constant requirement to reflect and improve - you spend two years basically beating yourself up at the end of the day, analysing everything you did wrong in order to improve your teaching, and if you don’t have good colleagues around you, it can be really hard to realise all the good work you’re doing. If someone had told me before I trained what the reality of training would be, I wouldn’t have done it. But then I would have missed out on the most rewarding career you could ask for. The highs of it are worth every low.

The relationships you build with your students are just magic. Seeing them grow and change, improving and achieving things they might never have thought they would, getting to be a part of their lives and to shepherd them on their way to adulthood, is such a privilege. I also love building good relationships with parents and helping to support them when things are going wrong. And teachers are - by and large - a fab bunch of people who are brilliant to work with. You’re in the trenches together every day and you really do build the most amazing bonds that get you through the days when every lesson has gone terribly and you feel like you’re wasting your time. Plus you get to talk about your subject all day every day. I love Literature and language so much and getting to teach what I’m passionate about is such a joy.

It’s never too late to become a teacher and I would say the more mature and experienced you are when you train, the better, as you’ll have more resilience. Just go in with your eyes open, know that the training years are incredibly hard but they do pass and then life gets much easier, and that choosing the right school makes all the difference. As an English teacher, marking is the biggest stressor as it’s so time consuming compared to other subjects. So for me what makes it manageable is teaching in independent schools. I left state after 3 years and have never looked back - marking for classes of 15 compared to 33 means I have my evenings and weekends back.

I hope you go for it. Despite everything, I really wouldn’t do anything else. The buzz I get from being in the classroom, creating magic with my kids, is incomparable.

I've worked with many amazing teachers who qualified later in life, to be honest the main disadvantage when it comes to getting a job in primary is that you're more experienced if you've been doing it for a while! Teaching is hard, it's all consuming and definitely takes a while to get a balance, I think sadly a lot of jobs are like this now though- understaffed, over worked and under paid. I wouldn't want to do anything else although I am doing what I can to help improve conditions as they are shocking. Its a big financial and time commitment to do the PGCE so not advising to do it lightly, but it is a useful qualification in and of itself if you decide its not for you. I would say try and get some experience or work as a TA etc first, but I'd also be tempted to go for it this September.

Good luck whatever you decide, not sugarcoating it can be soul destroying but its also a brilliant career (its just the other crap that goes with it that sucks).

Meant to say more expensive and unaffordable if more experienced!

You need to be extremely resilient, knowledgeable in your subject area, kind, patient, healthy and energetic. Teaching is physically and mentally demanding. Behaviour ranges from perfect to threats of and actual assault. You need to be very good at keeping your temper and not getting rattled. There is nowhere to hide and you are completely on show in every class. Admin and marking demands are daunting on top of this. Managers are not always helpful and understanding. If you can manage this, then crack on. Plenty can! I've been a teacher a very long time and I don't think I could do anything else. I'm as tough as old boots though.

I don't know any teachers in my school over 60, they all escape when they can - though pension now at 68.
But perhaps if you've had years at home you will have the energy to manage 20 years now!

Not at all unreasonable based on age, but if you have health probs it's an incredibly inflexible job. Physically demanding as well as mentally. The pace of work is frantic.

I left 2 years ago for a related role with much greater flexibility and it has gad a massive impact on my wellbeing (for the better!) And that of my kids.

What is it that attracts you to teaching? I now work for a local authority and there are many roles working with children, young people and families that are much more flexible, mich better for being able to manage health issues alongside.

What sort of experience do you have?

I trained at 35. All of the 'mature students' on the course flew through it.

Having age and life experience on your side is a bonus in teaching.

It's a slog but if you are well supported and focused I'm sure you'll be fine.