To feel at times you are worthless in what you do

[Mrsnothingthanks]

I'm an EOTAS Tutor. I teach children (nearly always in their homes) who are currently unable to access mainstream education for many different reasons. My role is only temporary - a stop gap if you like - until they can return to mainstream or, more often than not, are allocated a place in an appropriate specialist setting.
I absolutely love working with the children I have the privilege of supporting, but often feel that I'm not making a difference as it is very much just a temporary thing (and of course they often don't want to/are unable to engage). Once they no longer need tutoring provision I don't hear from them again but I of course hope they are all doing well.
It's also an incredibly lonely role as you can imagine in just a staff team of one.
Do others feel like this at times about their careers?

I feel for you, I have a friend who does this and it is indeed very challenging and isolating not having a team around you. I'm in secondary teaching but previously worked in pastoral roles in school, and the support of colleagues is essential ime. Could you get a job within a school or specialist provision?

@SugarMiceInTheRain Thank you. It is indeed very isolating, especially on challenging days.
I don't really want to go back to schools or PRUs as I appreciate the flexibility of tutoring that I now have with a young child of my own. I absolutely could never return to class teaching, even though of course I only literally now get paid the hours I work (tough in school holidays for sure).

Yep regularly. And I find it incredibly upsetting.

I’m 49, struggling with ADHD (diagnosed but can’t take medication) and horrendous perimenopause symptoms and 2 x SEN children.

I cannot seem to get any further in my career. All my friends have done really well, senior level, good salaries and I just seem to do averagely. She it makes me so sad.

@MabelMoo23 I'm also peri at 45 - my kids are 5, 15, 18 (eldest at uni). I am earning so much less than I was teaching, but never want to go back. It is the isolation of the job I struggle with at times.

100%

I'm disabled and work part time in retail. All of my siblings have careers and lives and I just feel like the failure and the odd one out.

Can I just say @Mrsnothingthanks - thank you for what you do. Online tutoring whilst waiting for an EHCNA to be completed has been a total lifeline for our family and I don't know where we would be without it. I can tell you from my experience that you might not get to see the good you do, but from my perspective it is such an incredibly important and valuable role.

@smileattherain Ah.that means a lot - thank you ❤️ It really is a privilege to get to work with the young people I tutor, and their families, but it just feels at times like I'm not really making much of a difference in the general scheme of things.
Working with teenagers in care homes who have significant mental health is of course particularly challenging, especially when you are there to attempt to teach and often they're not in a place to access it, and I do often doubt myself in terms of "getting it right" for them. I would do anything to have just one colleague who understands (I work alone). Eating my lunch every day in a cold car as I travel between homes is pretty miserable!
I also now volunteer every other weekend to support a little boy in care which of course in itself has highs and lows, but I am determined to be a continued presence in his life - I won't give up on him - no matter how many times I'm told to "go away" (but less politely). It's nearly been a year now. If we owned our own home (we can only afford to rent) and had a spare room I absolutely would be planning to take him home with me!

Have you looked at other roles whilst still tutoring DC with EOTAS/EOTIS?

Not all tutors work on their own. Some work alongside a HLTA/TA/LSA/PA/mentor. Sometimes more than one. Good packages will have tutors working as part of a wider team even if the tutor sessions themselves are 1:1.

Not all work at the child’s home/placement. Some roles are different.

If your pay is much worse than compared to school wages, there are better paid EOTAS/EOTIS roles.

Some DC with EOTAS/EOTIS have packages covering part or all of the school holidays.

Some have EOTAS/EOTIS for years and years.

@2x4greenbrick Thank you - I'll look into this. The difficulty comes with the fact that I need to work a very minimum of 20 hrs per week in term time in order for the role to be financially viable for the family. Can absolutely do some more, but no less.

For a good EOTAS/EOTIS tutor, there will always be enough work. Not being able to have enough hours will never be a problem for good tutors.

@2x4greenbrick I've certainly never had a problem in getting new referrals when another moves on - I imagine I'm one of the more experienced tutors with 22 years' of teaching experience and many of those in APs/PRUs. As long as it's financially viable I'll hopefully stick at it - just struggle a lot in the long school holidays and of course paid less than I would be if I was still teaching.

If you are being paid less than when you were working in a school, there is better paid work.

Some DC with EOTAS/EOTIS/C have provision outside of traditional term times, so if you wanted work in the holidays, it is possible.

@2x4greenbrick I'm not sure there is - it's comparable to teacher main scale.

There is. For good tutors, there is work available tutoring DC with EOTAS/EOTIS with higher pay (including some roles that are much higher pay) than they would typically receive if working in schools.

@2x4greenbrick Where can I find such roles?

Lots find staff via word of mouth, so it is worth getting to know the EOTAS/EOTIS community. DS1&DS3 have EOTAS/EOTIS and none of their staff are via agencies/organisations/APs.

There are some agencies and other companies/organisations/APs who some people work through. For example, SENsational tutors or Kite TLS. Even after accounting for the cut the organisation takes, some of the roles via these organisations pay more than school teachers receive.

Yes, was a children’s therapist for several years, completing 6-10 session contracts for a charity.

There was rarely enough time to build a meaningful relationship with the kids, endless referrals so if felt like Groundhog Day, visiting schools to do the work so there was always a conflict as schools are not therapeutic settings so constant door knocking etc.

Endless safeguarding disclosures that never changed anything meaningfully for the child once reported.

I work in a therapy adjacent office job now and feel so lucky every day that I don’t have to do that anymore.

God yes I work In hospitality (management level) I’m over worked, underpaid. Fortunately though I love my regular customers who appreciate everything I do. The companies however not so much