Newly qualified MFL teacher struggling to secure interviews after retraining

[Buttercuppachita]

Hello. Another desperate attempt please to seek help from kind strangers. Mumsnet helped me some years ago when I had reached another rock bottom. Here i am again. I have recently changed careers ( have been at home with the kids for the last 8 years) by retraining as an MFL (Spanish and French) teacher. I am nearly 50. I consider myself very competent in both languages. I have a very strange background: worked as a PT for a decade while studying for a BA and two MA s in art history, then a Dele C1 in Spanish and about to take a Dalf C1 in French. I did well in teacher training, worked like a maniac and now I have PGCE and Qts. However, after so much work (i had put everything i had into it) i find i am not even getting a interview and am at home restless and without direction, losing faith a little bit. I even applied for History of Art positions in colleges...for which i am far too qualified. Is there anybody out there who can have a look at my personal statement/ Cv and tell me what is it that i need to change? I am reaching out as I do not know what to do and I hope that someone somewhere would be able to throw me an idea... Thank you.

Have you thought about signing up with an agency. Sometimes they have long term cover requirements and it could be a way of getting your foot in the door. It will help by giving you some experience, allow you to think about what sort of school you might want to work in and you would be paid.
You could also sign up to do tutoring as a stop gap measure. Don’t give up. Have you thought about primary schools as they have to teach MFL or private primaries. Good luck.

It may be worth posting your question in The Staffroom too.

DM me? Where are you based? I'll need mat cover from after Easter

I'm a teacher of MFL tho I no longer work in school. As I understand it, your MFL quals are equivalent to a BA? How far off is completion on the French one? Doe you have another level of qual in French meanwhile? IME schools look for at least A level in the second MFL, though not necessarily degree level in two. Are you applying for Spanish roles or French and Spanish?

Happy to look at your PS if that helps. Were your applications last summer? There will be more jobs becoming vacant after half term but this is not the busiest time tbf.

Sign up for supply and be flexible on subject for now. Schools usually manage to get their staffing sorted for September but about now is the time when supply starts to get busy as the new term bugs start to hit (lots of people including me off with ‘haven’t tested but pretty sure it’s Covid’ bug at the moment).
Lots of secondary jobs come from people being on supply and becoming well known to the school.

Also look at primary. They often use language teachers as PPA cover.

Sixth form/FE colleges? You’re trained to teach in KS3-5 if you’re secondary qualified.

Are you flexible to move where the jobs turn out to be?

You wonderful people, thank you so much for getting back. Yes, Dele C1 in Spanish, and A level in French. Will take the Dalf C1 in French, so I can apply for both. At the moment I have gone for Spanish with French. I have applied for 5 jobs already, just this term. I have also signed up with three supply agencies but nothing so far. Feels like there is some sort of universal blockage...

Sign up with all the supply agencies and get your enhanced DBS so you are plug-and-play when the schools start needing more supply teachers later in the year. Also apply for the cover supervisor roles.

I believe you can now request an enhanced DBS independently rather than having to wait for the agency to do it.

Do some online or in-person GCSE tutoring in the meantime?

Bonne chance!

Thank you so very much! It is humbling when strangers rally up to help someone in need. That’s when you know all is not lost! Thank you ladies! I am with three different supply agencies in Surrey and yes I am on the update DBS service

You should be able to apply for both if you have an A level in French? I have absolutely worked with MFL colleagues who just taught the other language to KS3 with no qualification in it!

Also worked with a great teacher who is now a HOD, who only had an A level in the main subject she taught.

Certainly it’s not unusual to have a second language only to A level. I have worked with lots of ppl for whom that’s true.

I doubt if many schools would appoint someone with just A level to be a teacher of that MFL as their main one (so a teacher of just French with French no higher than A level). But once @Buttercuppachita gets the qual in French she can certs apply to French-only roles.

Is Waterlooville within reach? An MFL job has just been posted on the Hampshire teaching jobs site. 🤞

What struck out for me was your age.

I retrained to be a teacher when I was early 50s (2021-22) and couldn't get a job. Neither my uni tutor or my mentor could understand it as both said I was one of the strongest PGCEs they'd ever seen.

I went on supply, did really well at one school, job came up (outside of my specialism) in the sister school, head at supply school vouched for me. Spent a year outside of my specialism before the school transferred me to my specialism, rapidly promoted, HOD of 2 subjects within 4 years.

I then realised my initial problem securing a teaching job was because my face didn't fit. All the 30 something (often beardy males) didn't want me in their team. But it was my age that made me great at supply. I could literally teach anything because I've read so many books, listened to so many podcasts and watched so many documentaries. THIS is where your strength lies. Really talk up your knowledge base and confidence with supply agencies. Tell them how super organised you are because you've got a huge amount of life experience and can show you're reliable and able to effectively juggle a million different priorities at once and deliver on them all.

It can feel like a hard sell in your 50s but it really isn't, especially if you can also demonstrate that you're extremely technically capable (I build computers and programme in both unity and python). You have to use age as an advantage. That's my experience anyway. And I'm a damn good HOD.

What about MFL conversation roles at private schools? Or what about private schools or prep schools? Widen your search.