Becoming a primary school teacher

[ToysRus56]

Hiya, I'm considering becoming an early years/ primary school teacher. I have two children 6 and 8, so I'm conscious life is busy as it is. But I'm stuck in a corporate job I hate. Everyone seems to warn me off it.... What are people's views? Both good and bad welcome...

Being a Reception teacher was like that for me until we got a new Head and became an Academy then it all went to pot very quickly.

Don't do it. It's hell. I got out years ago and it's even worse now.
There's far too much bullying of staff by senior management.
There's one bullshit initiative after another which you have to be trained for and implement causing tons of extra work only for the initiative to be dumped after a couple of years because it turned out to be the bullshit you knew it was right from the beginning.
Pointless meetings and presenteeism.
Hours and hours of planning and assessment and proving you are doing this that and the other.
Then there's behaviour which has gone downhill and parental behaviour. Parents coming in and complaining about every single thing and often very aggressively. That's not to say parents shouldn't raise legitimate concerns but it seems the days of working cooperatively with the school to find a solution are long gone.

Nah, if you're not happy with your corporate job, look to find something else instead but not primary school teaching.

That’s such a shame to hear. Would you say becoming part of the academy meant Reception had to become less play based and more formal? Interested in your perspective as I’m an EYFS governor at a school which may end up academising…

There is zero flexibility - absolutely none. Local authority jobs within education offer more flexibility but with no education experience they’ll be tough for you to get.

Yes, I’ve witnessed the parental behaviour on the other side of the gate, and as an ex-teacher I am stunned at some of what people complain about, the ferocity of the complaints. Really shocked, and teachers have my full sympathy. Really tough.

I do, but I don't (and probably wouldn't) work in the UK (sorry, assuming that's where you are) I teach Year 2 at a private international school.

The new Head downplayed the play aspect and wanted me sitting at a table all day with groups of 10 new Reception children in ability groups as that was his idea of 'being a teacher'. Can you imagine trying to do a writing lesson with 10 lower ability 4 year olds at the sane time - it was complete nonsense and went against all my initial training in Early Years. He was planning to introduce a published planning scheme which would have destroyed all the creativity but still would have needed altering to suit individual needs. Most of my own planning involved the children themselves and their own ideas.

There were lots of other things and a campaign of harassment against all the older, experienced (expensive) teachers and several left. I was approaching 60 and retired. Apparently he stayed for two years after I left and got a promotion within the Academy.

Absolutely not. Too many with needs and not enough support staff. You will be hit have chairs etc thrown at you. Then their is the gentle parented kids who think they own the world and won't do a thing.
I was in education for over 23 years it's hell.
On the personal side holiday prices are extortionate during your leave time. Best thing I did was leave

I love my job. Been doing it for nearly 20 years. I'm about to move into secondary for a year for CPD reasons (and practicality, but I'm staying at my independent school...we are a through school), but I've already checked with other local (state) schools whether they'd be happy to have me back in primary after I've got my additional qualification and responses have been quite positive.

I'm going to have three classes in the same year group next year, which takes the pressure off planning a bit. Additionally, I'll be teaching an elective, which means I'll have a group with only about 10 kids in it. I will also have taught most of these kids in our primary section so they know me already.
HOWEVER, I don't teach in England. You couldn't pay me enough to come back and teach in England (been there, done that...nope...no thanks...)

Not for all the tea in China.

Worst job I ever did. Quit after a year. I tutor privately now.

That all sounds really full on.

Yes, writing with lower ability 4 year olds is really tough! Many start school unable to hear letter sounds or write them, there are often huge gaps in their speech and fine motor skills which need work before writing.

Planning and resourcing should incorporate their ideas and interests, absolutely.

Yes, I’ve noticed that too with teaching- the valuable experience of teachers who have given decades is not respected because they are expensive, it’s as simple and infuriating as that. Whereas in other professions, that experience would be highly respected. Why should all the experienced teachers move out of the classroom? We need that experience in the classroom. I thought how lovely it’s been for my DD this year having a job-share with 2 highly experienced teachers, their experience has shone through in our conversations.

Agree with others- just don’t do it. I found the frustration of knowing that so many of the “initiatives” that required so much paperwork had absolutely NO benefit for the pupils, in addition to which, all this worthless paperwork takes you away from the actual job of teaching. ( Oh and if you have been in teaching long enough, lots of “new” ideas are the ones you were doing 30 years ago- and they didn’t work then either! 😂)

Retired teacher, I really, really wouldn't recommend it, I was working from 730 to 6.30 with meetings most nights, running an after school club which all teachers must do, getting home cooking cleaning then starting again at around 7ish to 11ish with marking and planning as well as prepping activities. This is every night, you have to keep on top of marking as weekly book scrutinies takes place, drop ins were also weekly they were suppose to be 5 minutes but often lasted a lot longer! You also have formal lesson observation too.
There is no room for creativity, as you have to make sure children are reaching their targets for key subjects, once a term, in my setting you would meet with SLT who would check to make sure children were reaching targets and if not what was you doing to make sure they did, I had one child who I saw 3 days for the whole of one term, was asked why he was falling so far behind, I said what do you want me to do when he's never in, they said make the most of when he is in, would not accept poor attendance as a reason! When I asked what they were doing about his attendance was told to mind my own business and do my own job.
Schools now are target driven and very very corporate especially if its an academy. Others have suggested being a TA, poor pay and you have to deal with a lot of very bad behaviour and yes TAs have targets to meet too.
Teachers are leaving in droves because of the stress of working long hours, meeting ridiculous targets, and no support.
Please, please think of something else

I forgot to mention paperwork, mountains of it, reports about children, SEN reports, you name it write a report!

This made me laugh! Did a course on a new initiative, was told by the trainer that I was going to excel based on my answers etc, said oh yes did the same course 15 years ago and then explained what the downfalls of it, that didn't go down well lol

Wait until your children are older. The job demands that you put other people’s children before your own.

You get paid for 40 hours a week. You will work 60. You don’t have to be in school in the holidays, but you will still be working. The job includes a lot of compulsory volunteering!

Hour for hour the people who clean the school are paid more.

OP, sadly it is a thankless task - the children are always a joy, but between paperwork, SMT, Ofsted and endless targets, to say nothing of the amount of prep the job requires, I’d say don’t do it. I did TT as an older entrant, and all of us older ones ended up doing something else, as the amount of time you were required to put in versus pitiful pay as an NQT simply wasn’t worth it. My Dd teaches in primary, but abroad, in an international school. She complains that some of her pupils suffer from “affluent neglect”, but says no way would she teach in the UK because of the large class sizes, endless paperwork and ridiculous initiatives….

This is just so incredibly sad. I'm so sorry for all of your experiences. I'm incredibly grateful to the teachers of my children and feel even more so. It does sound like the ideal doesn't quite match the reality. I think I'd love the ideal but not the latter. I hoped early years might mean less overtime but obviously not. It seems so dependent on the school that you end up in, but even then as some have said it can change. Ugh how depressing

Teaching is not family friendly. Yes you get the holidays but you will work during those holidays or be so exhausted during half term
that you don’t have energy.

what are your childcare options? There is no flexibility in most places.

my kid had orthodontist and was having 4 teeth extracted under sedation. It was horrible getting him there and he was sobbing as the dentist staff were trying to sedate him (the staff were amazing)

i was being called by my line manager as they had no cover for after lunch and did I know how long I would be. I had to take my kid home and leave him. His dad was WFH luckily. I cried all the way to school and no idea what I taught. Can’t have been great.

I missed out on nativities, sports days etc and regret my choices.

Being a TA can mean that you are left with SEND children and you are given no training or support to know what to do. Or you can end up covering whole class while teachers are off sick for TA money.

You could look at tutoring. That has flexibility, but it would probably be older children.

About 10 years ago, when dd3 was about 7 or 8 two of her friends' mothers decided to retrain as teachers- one primary, the other secondary. The secondary one bowed out first but neither are still in teaching!
On the other side of the fence I can't wait for next year when I'll never have to deal with a school again, after 30 years!

If so many teachers are so unhappy in their work why don't they leave?

I worked as a teacher in primary secondary and special for many years - I loved it. not every minute of course.

Erm- they are- hence the recruitment crisis… also would ask when you retired because things are VASTLY different to what they were even a few short years ago!

I taught in primary for 6 years until I fell pregnant with my first as I knew first-hand how un-family friendly the job is. I’d never have been able to do school drops offs or pick ups or attend events during the school day. I was also getting to work at 7.30 and not leaving until at least 5 each day and also then working evenings as well as all day on Sundays to catch up. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to give my all to both teaching and being a parent so I made a choice. Hardly anyone from my uni course is actually a teacher anymore - we’ve all left in droves!