To want to give up teaching for more holidays?

[Nonotthisone]

I know that’s contradictory but we have preschool children and while I’ve been on maternity leave it’s been so nice to have holidays in term time.

Is it insane to think of giving up? I know it is really …

If you are in Scotland you can take a career break for up to 5 years and keep your job open (eg still be a primary teacher after but maybe not in the same school)

I gave up teaching - and in response to those talking about how teachers don't know how lucky they are with their holidays I will say this.

I now get 25 days holidays
5 days bank holidays
16 days off because I work and bank flexi

So in total 46 days off. In teaching I got 60 days off plus one or two of the bank holidays that didn't fall in the holiday weeks.

However. I worked a lot of those holidays - at least half of them - it would be impossible to keep on top of the work load otherwise. I also put in 45 hours per week on school premises. I was restricted to very expensive holiday slots.

Now if I work anything beyond 37 hours per week it is banked as flexi. In addition to the full days of flexi I can take I can also take a couple of hours here and there with very little notice if I fancy an early finish or have an appointment somewhere - totally out of the question when teaching.

The myth that teachers holidays are unmatched elsewhere is what kept me in teaching for longer that I should have stayed there.

@Spendonsend - I am secondary but it is a good point because while I’m fairly confident I could get another job, getting another job that’s a reasonable commute and that is part time and so on is another matter. I am aware of this. Just feeling a bit sad!

Fist step talk to your school. Ask if there is any possibility at all for an unpaid career break.

This

God help me. Feeling a bit sad because you can only take five holidays instead of six. Tone deaf.

You do understand loads of non rs get 4 to 5 weeks off a year. How would you get more holidays?

Why are so many people getting less than 5.6 weeks paid annual leave. Are you all not including bank holidays as days off.

What’s a non rs? Is it a typo for teachers? (I’m not being difficult, I’m genuinely not understanding what you’re trying to say.)

I am not sure why people are acting as if I am proposing going into a different role with less holiday time. That’s not what I’ve suggested. I’m suggesting a career break from teaching!

Your op said, shall I give up teaching?

That's what people are responding to.

If you'd asked shall I take a career break?

Then people would have responded to that

I see your point, but teaching assistants get the same holidays as teachers without need of a degree.

Your original post very much made it sound as if you were suggesting giving up teaching for a different career.

I think many women would bite your hand off to get a term time job, to have school holidays off with your children and not have to shuffle childcare during holidays makes life so much easier.

When your children are in school you'll no longer be able to go away in term time.

You could step back (have a sabbatical?) for this one last year.

Mine have now left compulsory education and I left my term-time school job at the same time because I want to be able to go away at different times. September is the best place to visit many places.

Well...you can take holidays in term time...I'm fine with getting fined.

If you can afford to, then just have a career break. Time and family life is precious, once they are back at school again you can get back into teaching.

Holidays cost more but childcare may be cheaper as once your children are at school you will be off with them at holiday times.

Don't underestimate the difficulty of covering care during the summer holidays when you are working and they are off for 6 weeks!

One idea that a teaching friend of mine does....

They house swap and go to France much more cheaply in the summer for 4 weeks. I dont know if they swap with other teachers ot not.

Their children are fab at French!

There's no way we could get 4 weeks off in the summer. Work colleagues fight over school holidays and we were limited to using 2 weeks in the period Easter to October so everyone had some chance of getting time off during school holidays

They are acting as if you are proposing going into a different role with less holiday time because you asked:
AIBU to give up teaching for more holidays?

You should have been clearer in your OP.
AIBU to take a break from teaching for a couple of years until my children go to school so that we can go on holiday outside of term time?

You can do whatever you like as long as the finances work out.
You shouldn't have a problem getting back into teaching once the children start school.

This was what I was thinking. I probably won’t but nice to dream

Given the teacher shortage I don't think it'd be hard to take a few years off

You could all do a gap year together if your dp can work remotely

Frig sake op, so you've wasted everyone's time by completely changing course.

Obviously YANBU if you want to take a career break, why would you even ask? Tho again doing so to be able to take a cheaper holiday, and losing a whole years salary to do so, is just weird. But if you simply want to be a SAHM then obviously you just do it, no need to post.

Totally bizarre!
It started out as 'should I give up a career with 13 weeks holiday a year to take more holidays ' and is now 'should I have a career break for a year'. How many holidays can you fit into a year?
You only work part time anyway and get 13 weeks off with your children and you feel sad?
For reference I (and many other posters on here) get 20 days holiday a year and 8 bank holidays so I can't decide if this is a goady post to get people frothing about how many holidays teachers get or if you are just in cloud cuckoo land.

The funny thing is, a lovely poster has created a thread asking exactly what this op should have actually said - and has received wonderful responses. Because she wants to spend time with her DC rather than moan about holidays!