To think that no one ever regrets leaving the teaching profession in England?

[Restlessness]

I have been noticing a lot of posts ex teachers mentioning how much happier they are now that they have left the profession, and it has got me wondering—does anyone ever miss it? Or regret their decision? Or maybe even decide against leaving in the end and choose to stay?
For context, before entering teaching, I worked in a mix of charity and not-for-profit roles. While those jobs paid less, they didn’t feel nearly as stressful in comparison. Of course, I’m not saying that’s the case for all jobs—there are certainly challenges in WFH roles or other careers—but teaching has its own unique pressures.
My circumstances have also changed since I first started teaching. I now have a toddler in my life and only just returned to work from mat leave. I’ve gone part-time, but I find it really difficult not to work on my days off. It doesn’t help that I’ve essentially been given a full timetable, with an unqualified cover supervisor taking my classes on the two days I’m off. This means the majority of the marking falls on me, along with all the parents’ evenings and the responsibility of overseeing their learning. Knowing that the cover supervisor isn’t equipped to handle the more challenging lessons, they’re left to supervise easier tasks like library sessions or assessments on my days off. As a result, I’m left trying to cram everything else into the days I’m in.
I know that leaving teaching might mean a pay cut, but I think I could manage it—I’m fairly sensible with money anyway, and I’m already on a part-time salary. My DS is still a baby/toddler, so having term-time holidays doesn’t make a huge difference right now, or maybe I’m just too new to parenthood to feel the full benefit of it yet.
So, is there anyone out there who left teaching and wished they hadn’t?
YANBU = Anyone who actually left is glad they did
YABU = Of course, some people regret it.

I'm not a teacher so feel free to ignore me, but I wonder if you need to change schools rather than careers. Surely there are better part-time teaching jobs out there?

Anyone ever left a teaching post before summer?

Well, my DD's teacher left at Christmas...

I have just returned full time after years of part time teaching and honestly I love it. I really don’t find the workload particularly unbearable; yes I work some evenings, but no more than my private sector husband (a lot less tbh!). I genuinely find being with the children a joy mostly!

I think the idea that the teacher plans unique lessons for their class is a burden and that the provision of lesson plans for all teachers would be better, and take off one burden. A cover supervisor could follow a pre-planned lesson, maybe. And as to marking, not everything needs to be marked and you are part-time. You cannot be expected to work on school work the two days for which you are not paid, that has to be part of directed time, which is pro-rata. Your school needs to hire another teacher to work-share with you and also start using pre-planed lessons so if a cover supervisor (who, these days may actually be a teacher, but one who has decided they don't want the hassle) had to take the lesson they can.
And that things do not work this way is why people who leave teaching are happier.

Over 2 decades ago I completed a PGCE, knew it probably wasn't for me during the process but agreed to supply work. After a term I knew I liked teaching but there wasn't enough support for children with behavioural issues. Never regretted changing early before having a contract.

I imagine my life would be a lot easier if there was shared planning instead of detailed schemes of work and resources but no ppt slides/actual lessons.

It would. And there is no reason each individual teacher needs to plan every lesson - total waste of everyone's time. Lesson plans can be bought in. Greg Ashman - Filling the Pail - on substack is good on this (and also on explicit teaching).

I think very few regret it. I moved schools a while ago, but it’s just as bad. I’d love to leave, but can’t afford to take a pay cut. I deeply wish I’d chosen a different path. The thought of doing this for another 20 years is soul destroying. I just feel like I’m wishing my life away waiting for retirement, but I’m only in my early 40’s so got a very long way to go yet.

I miss the kids, really really miss them.

But I don’t miss the rest - no regrets. Just sadness. It should be an amazing job and it isn’t anymore 😢

I'm an English teacher in a secondary school. I had ten years working in a large comprehensive and was regularly abused by students and accused of misdeeds by parents - as were we all. Never mind the fact that the results my classes achieved were significantly higher than predicted grades and the Progress 8 was consistently excellent.

Colleague supported each other, but I saw too many excellent teachers and thoroughly lovely people breakdown because of accusations my parents and pressures of managing the vast range of needs of thirty kids in a class.

I moved to an all-girls private school, and it was the best thing I ever did. It's saved my sanity.

It's still a tough job, but I'm trusted to get on with my work and an appreciated and valued.

I quit six years ago after 17 years of full time teaching and having my Dd. I knew there was no way in this world I could have Dc and continue teaching in a school full time (I now do part time, private tutoring)
Teaching was my whole life, there was barely any space left for anything else. When I was younger I lived and breathed it. I remember thinking that even if I won the lottery, i’d never give up teaching. When it was good, it really was the best job in the world, I adored the children and the little class we built up, being with the kids and the actual teaching part was joyous. It was all the rest that came with it, the workload, scrutiny, work politics…such a shame.
I miss the children and how it felt to teach whole classes, but I wouldn’t go back to it. It’s not just a job, it becomes your whole life and I want to dedicate my time and mind to Dd
Every other job I’ve had since has been very easy, no stress at all. Looking back, I honestly have no idea how I did it.

I am 28 years into the job, in a senior role and thinking of leaving for a number of reasons. But mostly feel utterly burnt out.
If you don't mind sharing, what jobs have those that have left gone on to do? I am not sure where to start looking.

My cousin left teaching (state secondary), and worked in a completely different field for a few years. She did regret leaving though, and she went back a few years ago. She is very happy now and intends to stay in teaching for good now. However, in her case, she finds it a lot less stressful than the job that she did during the interim years when she had left teaching.

So I guess it depends on what you end up doing instead?

with an unqualified cover supervisor taking my classes on the two days I’m off. This means the majority of the marking falls on me, along with all the parents’ evenings and the responsibility of overseeing their learning. Knowing that the cover supervisor isn’t equipped to handle the more challenging lessons, they’re left to supervise easier tasks like library sessions or assessments on my days off. As a result, I’m left trying to cram everything else into the days I’m in

Dire. If they agreed on flexible working they should have advertised a part-time position or given you a part timetable.Not fair on you, who's really full-time at half-pay, the kids - who should have a specialist - but most of all, unfair to the poor bloody cover supervisor.
They are unlikely to be paying anything other than support staff rates and cover supervisors are not meant to be covering long-term absence, let alone job-sharing.
I am QTS, have two degrees, do cover due to caring responsibilities and am aware that schools will take. Good will is squandered when people feel exploited. I helped cover three subjects over two years as a favour, despite my PGCE being a different subject entirely. I was paid an ECT rate as it wasn't my specialism but I shouldn't have been asked to do it at all. Never again. It's completely taking the piss and shame on your management for doing it.

What job did she do?

I left last year after 13 years. I have never regretted it…even though I took a huge pay cut.

I do regret staying in the profession for 2-3 years longer than I should have with the vein hope that things would get better when in fact they just got much much worse. I do regret working 60 hour weeks for 32.5 hours pay and ignoring my own children in the process. I do regret being in a situation where my unborn baby was put in harms way. And, more than anything, I feel desperately sorry the children, parents and teachers who are currently in the system.

However, I am lucky because although I became unhappy teaching in mainstream teaching (after many years of enjoying it) - I now run my own business teaching the subject I love. So I get all the bits that I absolutely loved about teaching (making a difference to children, helping them achieve something new) but without all the other bits that made it unbearable.

I know several people who left teaching then went back. Turns out the grass wasn't greener. Teaching is hard work but at least you get long holidays, many of us have similar workloads but only 5 weeks leave and a rubbish pension as well

I worked in a different industry for 14 years, then did a PGCE and went into teaching - I love it and have no plans (currently) to leave. I know that’s not what you asked, it’s a kind of reverse.

Something in the media. I don't want to share too much detail as it isn't my information to share.

I left 18 months ago and haven’t regretted it for a second. I intended to just have a few months break before going back. My uncle was a headteacher (who had also recently left education) and I said to him it’s just a short break and I’ll be back. He laughed and said nobody leaves teaching and goes back, you realise how much easier it is to earn money in every other profession. He was right! I’ve been in the civil service for the last 18 months and I love it. I wfh, have flexible working and I have a ridiculously manageable workload - none of which I had when in education.

I worried before leaving that things weren’t ‘bad enough’. I didn’t hate my job, loved the school but hated the sheer amount of work I had to do and how much harder it was getting in the classroom. My advice to anyone who is in a similar position is to make the leap. Life is short, I’m so much more chilled out now and feel my children are getting a much better version of me than when I was teaching!

I did, but my experience is from decades ago and in secondary.

I stopped teaching to have my children, and retrained as something else. Then, for family and practical reasons, I went back to teaching but this time in an independent school. If it hadn’t been such a comfortable, pleasant, supportive place to work I would have left when the family reasons no longer applied, but I didn’t.

You have been placed in a dire situation. Did your school even try enthusiastically to get another teacher for two days a week? Is this likely to carry on next year if you are still there?

In your position I would both look both for another school and for an alternative career. If you leave teaching you can always come back if you want to. If you finish this year out, though, you will get more 9 week’s paid holiday, and during the last six weeks you won’t be planning the next term’s lessons.

Of the two people I know who left teaching, one became a Slimming World consultant and the other - the really young one - now works as an air hostess for Emirates

I left teaching and no regrets, but I do miss the actual classroom part. I feel proud of the work I did, but the level of exploitation made me angry.

I've had various jobs in other sectors and I have never been treated as badly as I was in further education. I've never been expected to so so much unpaid overtime, it was crazy.

What do you do? What is your business?

I had 33 wonderful years in a classroom, found teaching a real buzz, loved the success of GCSE and A-level students, parents evenings, results day, the autonomy.
I hated the pressure of Ofsted, resented that work took up every weekday evening (effectively I was earning less then NMW) and started to encroach on school holidays.
Luckily retirement was in sight.
My advice now to anyone who thinks of teaching? Absolutely not as it’s injurious to mental and physical health and poorly paid for what’s expected.
Get out OP and have a life. You’re being exploited.

Taught a written subject in secondary for 15 years. Left five years ago. What a great decision that was! Amazing! I absolutely do not regret leaving.