Both parents are teachers + 3 small kids

[stressedteachersos]

Currently working PT on only 2 days. Eldest in school, middle starting in sept and baby in childcare.

If I go back to work full time, I will get about £1k more a month. The wraparound fees for the 3 of them is over £1k a month so I would be losing money.

If you have 3 DC and both of you are teachers, how do you manage this? It’s absolutely crazy! Neither of us have any flexibility for school runs if working full time and no family help.

Ideas appreciated! Thanks

We are both teachers with two children and I do 2 days. Once they are both at school I might take on another day or do more private tutoring.

i have 3 children; DH and I both teachers when they were small small (he left teaching when DS3 started school).

we both work full time.

for about 2 years we used one salary for childcare and one for everything else. Literally all I (we) got out of it was my pension.

it was worth it long term and will definitely be worth it when I retire.

We are both teachers with 3 children. I work 2.5 days, husband is full time. We have a reliable childminder who takes the older two for the school run and after, and looks after the baby in the day.

@ByDreamyMintNewtwhat do you think you’ll do when your youngest starts school?

I have 3 children. I teach 2 days a week. Our childcare is currently falling through and we are pretty stuck! Other than having the holidays off, teaching feels like the most inflexible job in the world when you have kids!!

@treetop122I feel exactly the same. Sick of missing sports days etc

Where are you based roughly OP? There are various tutoring companies around that really want qualified teachers. Some of it is working with children currently out of formal education, some of it working in AP etc. You could do this a few days a week for a couple of hours a day whilst working in school 2 days a week.

I haven’t been to a single sports day, music performance, as annoyingly every time it falls on one of my 2 working days! I never try to ask for it off, i just have to miss it! very sad, i just wish there was more flexibility somehow..

@justanothercuppa East Midlands. I’m really interested in tutoring but scared to take the leap and also worried about not having holidays off with them.

Honestly this. I don't know any two teacher couples where both stayed in education when the kids got older. I think it's just not logistically or financially possible unfortunately.

The childminder will take all three to school and back to hers after.

@SpiesI am beginning to think I need to find something new but not sure what. What did your acquaintances do instead?

Some went into tutoring or supply but the majority just left the profession entirely. Unfortunately it's simply not as family friendly as it once was and they were very reasonably concerned about spending more of their children's childhood with other people's children.

I'm not a teacher but my husband is and he works Wed/Thurs/Fri. I work 3 nights each week in care over the weekend and early part of the week so one of us I available for our kids every day of the week.

If you work 2 days teaching could your partner apply to go part time (cite caring reasons) and work the other 3 days? Then both of you could do tutoring/TA work or anything else on your days off or evening/weekend work to top up your income.

Also to add the good thing about both going part time is due to the tax free allowance etc halving your hours does not half your income so two of you teaching 5 days (on the same salary) would earn more than one of you teaching 5 days.

I work at a private boarding school (I’m not a teacher) and there are actually a lot of teaching couples - lots who met at the school actually. There is a homework club that is ‘free’ - ie you don’t have to pay extra but of course you are paying fees! - the teaching staff pay around 15% tuition fees and many live on site meaning they have subsidised rent. Yes they pay the fees but the subsidised housing and higher wages mean they have more overall.

edit to add! Yes, it is a senior school but there is an attached day primary school (they are the ones with the homework club that runs until 6… senior school they do prep in their houses until 730, both day and boarders) that the discount also applies to that starts at reception.

Local authority specialist teaching posts

The Facebook group "get out of teaching, exit the classroom and thrive" would be a good place to look OP for ideas outside of teaching.

I was also sick of missing out on my own children's childhoods in order to be with other people's. I left 2 years ago and it was the best decision I could have made. More money, more flexibility and so much less stress now in the civil service.