PGCE with a 1 year old?!

[danielle13]

I jut wondered if anyone has any experience of this, or any advice? I've applied to do a PGCE starting in Sept, when my little girl will be 11 months. I'm so torn as to whether to do it this year or put it off until next year when she will be 2 and I'll feel more comfortable with her being in childcare almost full time. I have no idea how long I would be spending in placements etc.... Any advice?

You need to account for being out all day, depending where your placement schools are. You will have a meeting at least once a week after school, finishing at about 4.30pm. Nobody would expect a mother with a young child to stay beyond that or get there early, but you need to be prepared for a lot of work in the evenings, when your daughter is asleep.
Good luck with it- it's a great job, whatever you decide.

I'm in the same boat as you and feeling pretty nervous - it's completely achievable but only you know if you can cope xx

I did mine when ds was 13 months. My (much older) cousin who is a head science pointed out that if you do it when they are tiny they don't remember and then it is done.

I found it hard, but found that I was much more efficient than my free and single colleagues who spent 24 hours a day doing pgce stuff. When you have a kid you cannot work while you are looking after them end of. They whinge and then climb on your head, scribble on your important documents and stress you out.

I was lucky that I had family to support me through it and provide childcare (which I could not have afforded while training). I now spend all my wages on nursery!

On placement I dropped ds at MIL at 6:50 and scarpered when school ended, picked him out, did his evening routine then stayed up till 1:00am doing my school work.

It is knackering but I love teaching. I am now doing my NQT year and next year going down to 4 days (ds's 15 hours free nursery will kick in so I can keep him nursery when its my "day off" to get the work done and have the weekend with him)

I did this, and then regretted it. It took so much time outside of the school,m2 or 3 hours every night and a lot of the weekend, every week.

My marriage broke up straight after I finished, and I think that was partly the cause. It was so much added stress

My pgce and NQT year have made DH miserable. This is the reason I am going part time next year.

I had MIL looking after DS, he started childcare this year after going to the nursery during pgce 5 hours a week "for fun". He loved the nursery and it is a wonderful nursery that he was already used to.