21 years of teaching and I'm done

[everychildmatters]

The title says it all really. I'm 44 and totally exhausted, and that's with only teaching directly part-time in primary (currently Y6).
The job is nothing like the one I started out doing.
I'm now considering SEN tutoring (EHCP primary) as SEN is my absolute passion. It will be in homes, with children currently unable to access mainstream settings.
My biggest worry is it's not going to work financially? I need at least two students, a minimum of 20 hours pw. Below this and we're going to struggle to pay the rent, CT, food bills etc.
And of course holiday pay and pension affected too as through agency and not a permanent contract.
Any words of wisdom?

Most people who work 9-5 get an hour for lunch so it's a 7 hour day. Same as 8.30-3.30.

Can't say I know a single person who actually works 9-5. Those in trades start at 7- 4:30. Office work usually starts 8:30 or 9 finishing anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30 often with half hour lunches. There is no comparison.

My pay (fairly standard office job) is for a 9-5 day with one hour for lunch i.e. 7 hours a day.
Obviously (much like teachers) I work beyond that day (do you know any teachers? do you know any that arrive at 8.30 and leave at 3.30 every single day?), and as I have the facility to WFH I can catch up on emails or other things in the evening.
I'm willing to be that a lot of people like me, who aren't paid for their one hour lunch break, still work it. That doesn't make my job less comparable to teachers or more hard working. I just work on my own time in the office, as well as on my own time at home - teachers also do both, with staying after school and working at home in the evenings/weekends, and coming in during the holidays.

Lucky you, you're one of few. You're certainly not getting 13 weeks holiday a year though.

My son had a tutor provided by the LA just as you wish to do. She found getting the LA to pay her challenging. We lost her to another student as the LA seem to pay the first invoice and then you have to fight to get subsequent invoices paid. She was sad to leave us and said it's frustrating as she can never stay long with a child due to having to pay her bills.

We then moved on to another tutor who refused to be paid directly via the LA as avais-je said they never pay on time. She insisted on parents getting the personal budget and parents paying the tutor. All good in theory but can I get the LA to pay the personal budget thu legally have to provide as its in the EHCP? No. So we don't use the second tutor either.

I have 13 weeks per year when I don't have to work in the office, and some of that is holiday (7-8 weeks, including BHs).

No teacher working today could avoid working entirely for all of that 13 weeks and if you think that you're living in cloud cuckoo land.

I'd say I probably do work from home for the equivalent of about 5 weeks per year, what's your working pattern? Are you resentful because teachers can WFH for some of their working hours? Because they can never take holiday in term time? Because they can decide which days to work in the school holidays (but pretty much have to work at the weekends to catch up for the week ahead)? Or what?

I think if you go in knowing getting paid is a challenge and shape your contract with the LA to include late fees that will cover your expenses of missing bills then you at least know you can take them to court for your money. Parents know you have to take the LA to court for everything and they usually fold just before the court date, at least small claims court does not have the year wait the education tribunal has.

Alternatively there are a lot of online tuition services or schools SEN parents utilise. Also many tutors for home educated children with SEN as home Ed is the only option if you can't face the fight for EOTIS at education tribunal.

Another consideration is while a child misfit be awarded 15 hours tutoring that doesn't mean the child will take that much. We had months building up to the 15 hours for my son as he couldn't handle it. This whole time the tutor is o ly paid what she was working but had to be available for the 15 hours as that's what he had in the EHCP. Another reason I was furious we lost her. She took so long building that bind and just when we hit 15 hours we lost her.

I do know we now can't get an LA funded tutor because there are so few. We know multiple families with this situation. So it's likely getting the work won't be hard a all. But I suspect the reason there are so few is because getting your money is so challenging. Clever tactic for the LA really as thy can't be held to account for not providing if there is no provision.

Additionally I was stuck by our tutors response to my begging forgiveness after my child was throwing stuff at her. She shrugged it off as an expected part of the job. I myself can attest to the bruises and sprains sustained caring for one type of SEN kid who cannot access school. I only put up with it because he's my child, I would walk from any job where I was physically hurt like this routinely.

Obviously I'm saying a lot of negative but if you have passion you should do it!! Our kids need people who care, and a good tutor who has the knack can get a child doing more hours and can evoke less violence that the crappy tutors. My kid can't go back to school while he is so triggered by reading and writing, eventually I want him in school so need a tutor to get the basics in place and show him not all adults are evil. A good tutor leading to school attendance will not just change my sons life it will allow me back to work and get my family with 3 children out of poverty. The impact SEN home tutors have is huge and as a parent I will say we all think you are saints and will be eternally grateful

it will allow me back to work and get my family with 3 children out of poverty.

In case you aren’t aware, many aren’t, the LA can’t force, and should not be relying upon, you to deliver, facilitate or organise the EOTAS provision. That includes if a second adult is needed for safeguarding. The LA is responsible. They can’t force you to accept direct payments either. If the LA isn’t providing provision, have you looked at pursuing JR.

@Armeani is a ten hour day not that long? That's what I do as a teacher.

If teaching was that cushy the government would be beating applicants away. People from private industries would be falling over themselves to be a teacher and enjoy short days and long holidays.
About 12% have left after 1 year. By year 3 it's a quarter. By year 5 it's a third. And after a decade it's about 40%. Maybe it's just too many holidays.

@Thisiswhathings This. The poster who believes we are home as soon as school finishes and that we don't work weekends is absolutely deluded.
It's my day "off" tomorrow and I will spend at least 6 unpaid hours working.
I am looking forward to my new role with much excitement ❤️

It’s strange how people always say they find their own children hard work but never imagine that it might possibly be tiring looking after 30 😂 Teaching is completely different from working in an office simply because you are ‘on’ for most of your working day, full on, full concentrating. When I was class teaching I aimed to get it at 7:15am and I was never the first in. I would try and leave by 5. The work was never, ever done. You couldn’t possibly compare schools to 40 years ago, when a child with SEN in a mainstream school would be rare. Now with the move to universal send the children we are asked to teach are completely different.

Yes and I can't find a solicitor with capacity to do JR locally. Apparently you need to use a local one. Also legal aid doesn't cover JR and when you can't work it's a lot of money. There are families on my local support group who have done JR and the LA still just ignore it. When you have a child that requires such an expensive package and there isn't enough money for SEND then LAs start accepting the cost of loosing JR and paying compensation etc because that's still cheeper than the cost of providing the package.

@TheyDidntBurnWitchesTheyBurntWomen legal aid can cover JR proceedings. For breach of section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the case is brought in the child’s name. Therefore, DC can be eligible for legal aid in their own name. This does not cover the pre-action letter. That is in the parent’s name. Therefore, legal aid is only available if the parent meets the financial criteria. However, SOSSEN can help with a pre-action letter for free. Although there is a wait, it isn’t years. You don’t need to use a local firm but, yes, persevere is required.

LAs absolutely cannot ignore JR. They can try to ignore pre-action letters but will soon find JR proceedings themselves resolve the matter even if they try to ignore proceedings.

I know exactly what LAs are like with expensive packages. I have 2 DC with extensive packages costing significant sums of money and support parents of DC to secure and enforce EHCPs. Sadly, enforcement action is too often necessary.