Took 16k paycut &I’m happier but struggling financially? Return to teaching ?

[Pinkpantsplesse]

I left teaching after covid. I was totally worn down by it and hated the system . After 9 years and 3 very different schools I was so stressed i left . I was a senior leader and maths lead and in todays money that’s £45k.

I left because -

Planning and marking took all evenings and weekends

Behavior was awful in my last school and it was exhausting .

We lived in fear of constant observation/ book looks by the Head and the academy as Ofsted were forever looming.

I spent every day feeling like I was about to be found out that I was rubbish . I was so stressed.

ironically I was always told I was a very good teacher .

Anyway- I now work in a role which I love , no real stress in comparison to teaching ! No constant anxiety and fear of Monday/ going to work. No work out of hours. It’s just I earn 29k working for my local council in Manchester in an Education Department . But there is no real progression in my current role and many wanting it .

I now have twins and we need money . I can’t help but wonder if I should go back to teaching ??? Do I put my big girl pants on and just try again and try and be less stressed and refuse to take on all the extras which they demand ?! Could I grind it out . It’s a good pension and it would be great for when my kids are off when they go to school.

I have taken a 16k paycut which is about 700
pounds a month I think . Thats so much. . . I am also late 30s. I feel I have failed as I now earn so much less . But I am so much happier. But now I have chicken and I need
money.

The thought of walking back into a school
fills me with dread but then maybe it could be different ? I need more money . Could this be the solution ?

I was going to suggest tutoring, but I see that I was beaten to it by several previous posters.

My DS2 made a decent hourly rate tutoring physics and maths while studying for his undergraduate degree, so I'm sure someone who's actually qualified to teach would be in high demand!

dont do it- no

suppliment with private tuition.

As a secondary maths specialist you can easily find tutoring work. The average fee will be about £50/hour and if you've kept all your resources from teaching, it should be fairly easy to plan. If you took on 3-4 students/ week (and if A level, that could be later in the evening), you could near match your previous earnings. I know of people giving up teaching all together and only tutoring but the pension would not be great so I think sticking to your job an working your way up in the council is a good bet. Think of all the extra hours and stress if you returned to teaching compared to the fewer hours you would need to tutor (and no stress). Good luck!

I would have agreed with this pre-Covid but even in private schools behaviour has noticeably worsened since lockdown. And the demands got much worse in terms of workload. The one I teach in has gorgeous grounds, much better pay than 45k for what you describe - I earn 50 as a teacher four years in /no other responsibility- and we are still in the TPS (many now aren’t) have longer holidays and free breakfast and lunch, and have only 20 out of 30 contact periods per week and smaller class sizes.
So sounds jammy.
But several teachers are leaving this year with no job to go to because of the stress piled on by an ever-increasing SMT who are imposing more and more onerous tasks, numerous parents evenings (and they are evenings), open days etc - they are fearful of VAT being put on and reducing numbers so to pre-empty we are massively increasing intake from September.
Because of the problems getting SEN support in state schools there are a disproportionate number of pupils with ADHD and parents who want every detail of what happens in every lesson, to try to jump on evidence that their little darling is being ‘picked on’ for his disability.
My school is stopping TPS for new entrants so making it less atttraxtuve to new staff, and retaining those who are worn out but trapped by the pension. (The ones leaving are mostly younger with no pension build/op to
consider and are intending to leave teaching entirely anyway. )
So going into private on balance won’t help your situation. The are more jobs out there than teaching and ‘the council’!

Surely it's not a case of teaching or being poor - those are only two options.

There must be a path to get a higher salary which isn't teaching.

Sure, it might take a bit longer or involve a bit of training/ CPD - but how desperate are you right now?

Do you have some savings you can fall back on for a little while and give yourself a year to work on progressing on a different path?

I think going back to teaching would be a bad move if you know that it made you miserable, especially as you are now a parent which is an extra pressure.

Depending where you are in MCR, could you look into tutoring for 11+ Trafford? It's a racket and my tutor (who is excellent BTW) is charging £32ph.

I'm not a teacher but no way I'd be heading back to a stressful job like that with twins!

Just read that your were a maths lead too, our tutor does a combination of GCSE maths and 11+.

How much time do you have spare with your current job and having young twins? I imagine you wouldn’t have much/any spare time to add in tutoring? Otherwise, maths tutoring could be an option?

Go to a private school?

Seriously, I mean this kindly, if you found it stressful and overwhelming without kids then young children and teaching is an absolute no.

You have so many skills you could apply to another role. And as many have said tutoring is an option.

But things aren’t getting better in schools they are worse. The pressures are greater, behaviour is worse and schools are strapped for money, add in two young children at home then it’s a definite no. You’d be setting yourself up to struggle again.

Tutor. You’ll earn loads extra

Yes I think I'd be able to work out who you are if I knew you

I'd look at consulting roles. Some of the big companies are laying people off but some smaller ones need people with education experience and the ability to plan, organise and be brilliant presenters/ communicators.

You'll have loads of transferable skills.

Start looking on glass door and LinkedIn.

The consultancy I work for has several ex teachers and they are brilliant. Not recruiting just now though or I'd send you a link.

Consider teaching in a private school or could you do some private tutoring to make money?

We had a friend who did supply teaching when they were broke. They used to say to cover the big bills, council tax, running car, water rates, house insurance and heating bills in April was four weeks a year supply teaching, which apparently is going into a classroom setting the hours work, and then giving the stern look - no talking - and then doing their online eBay work, which they enjoyed.

Options:

1. back to teaching, but look at private schools, usually slightly higher wage, less kids, and you should get slightly better behaved children. Longer holidays and possibly free places for your dcs additional benefits.

2. tutoring - GCSE, 11+, there’s a lot of tutoring available, would you be happy losing 2 or 3 nights a week to tutoring? If you can get 4 or 5 regular students, that could bring you in £600 a month. But that needs planning, and often they don’t want sessions over the holidays. Tax implications.

3. look for promotion at work, possibly side ways moves to be able to move up- accept any role with more responsibilities will have more stress. Low stress roles are often low paid.

4. this assumes you have a degree in maths - look at a complete retrain. Accountancy maybe? As you work for the council, it might be worth seeing if they would consider day release to college for a retrain, with possible department change.

Agree with others that tutoring is the obvious answer. Maths is so sought after at all ages not least because retention of maths teachers if very poor so most kids have gaps.

I wouldn't go to a private school either. It's getting worse there too. They can't find cover teachers so staff are having to do loads of cover. Teachers leaving left right and centre but not necessarily being replaced. Lots of teaching outside of the specialism to plug the gaps in the timetable. A third of every class has SEND. Numbers are falling so take anyone. But parent expectations and pressure to get top results is even higher.
Do tutoring instead - you will be snapped up for maths.

The problem with tutoring is that pupils need it after school or in the holidays - when you want to be at home with your own children. Do you have childcare for you to be able to tutor in the evenings? When I was single I used to make good money through tuition but it did not fit around family life.

I would try teaching again, even if it was short term or part-time or a maternity leave or something as a way back in. The kind of school you are in and even your timetable makes a massive difference to your experience and you could strike lucky. Just think of the money.

I was ready to leave teaching at one stage as I was finding it hard when I became a single parent but I managed to do two and a half extra years. Then the school closed and I had to leave anyway but I look back and I am glad I squeezed out a bit more time in the job. Couldn’t have done it any longer mind!

I won’t suggest supply as that is horrendous although it does suit some people if you get in the right school and it’s longer term not day to day. However you are not paid for holidays.

Do you have a partner op? You would need someone at home with your children if you did private tuition.

You could do online tutoring or teach in one of the many online schools that now exist. A friend of mine does this and it’s very well paid. Exam marking is another add on that could fit around your current job. You could also look at the independent sector. Generally, these days, better working conditions. I’m 30 years in but work in a very supportive department in an independent school.

Very much depends on the school. Not mine or my husband’s experience. Both our schools are fully staffed and we do very little cover. Smaller class sizes, more independence and no pointless scrutiny in the form of observation ps, book looks etc.

A senior leader on £45k? Main grade teachers at top of spine are on £48.5k Scotland and 6.5% rise negotiations for this year. Where are you working?

I’ve worked for many years, in different roles, and came to the realisation that being happy and not stressed/pressured in your job is so much more important than money (providing of course you’re coping financially). I work in a job I love, and where the people are great. I could progress and earn more money in a different role, but I’ve worked in jobs I hate and which stress me, and just not prepared to risk it.

Are you full time over five days in your council job?

Just wondered if there are any flexible working policies you could take advantage of to condense your hours? If you could do four longer days or a nine day fortnight (splitting it to an afternoon a week off) you could perhaps save on childcare.

Go through every outgoing and phone everywhere you are at the end of a contract. It's surprising how much you can get things like Sky, broadband, AA renewal down when you ask to leave.