OU - Primary Education - Reassurance needed.

[ZZGirl]

Hello
I've worked in a primary school for just over four years, I love it there. I cover classes quite a lot and I've had a lot of encouragement to finally get my degree and actually become a teacher so I can get paid for what it is I do so much.

My employers have agreed to pay for two thirds of the degree while the other third comes out of my salary. I plan to do the degree full time while still working but take one afternoon a week out as study release time.

Am I insane? I'm only 30. I know it's going to be a lot of work working and doing the studying but I'm fine with working in the evenings and on weekends.

It's a big step.

A full time OU course is 35 hours of studying a week, it's hard work and I wouldn't have been able to do my full time course just at weekends, evenings and one afternoon a week. When will you have any free time?

I was working 4 days a week and still had to drop to part-time studying.

I have no responsibilities other than a husband and cat. But maybe you're right. However I don't think work will support me as much if I do it part time, that's six years and I have to stay where I am for a certain amount of time after otherwise I have to pay them back.

I'm currently on this course, I'm in my fourth year (studying KE206, having previously done E103, E109 and E209).

I also work as a TA 30 hours a week, and I'm a single parent with three children. There's not a chance I would have been able to study full-time and dedicate the time needed. I've been getting good marks for my TMAs but this would not have happened had I chosen full-time. The modules are completely different from each other, and I know I'd have struggled dipping from one to the other.

You'd also have to consider when the assignments are due, often modules are due closely together and the EMA would be the same. They're worth such a big chunk of the overall module score that it would be difficult to do them justice if you're doing two at the same time.

Level 1 you could do two at a time especially if you have a good level of literacy and maybe some A- levels or similar. Some level 1s also have a Feb start so you could overlap but not double up. Level 2 starts to count towards your degree grade. If you did really well on level 1 - e.g. distinctions you might be OK doing two level twos but accepting a lower grade. I really would not do two level 3s, they make up the bulk of your degree grade. It is not worth it if you find one or both of them hard going. The degree escalates quite quickly and you will find it stressful.

You can get a student loan if that would feel like fewer strings. You only pay it back when your pay reaches a certain level.

I'd look at Foundation Degrees and then top up. The programmes of study will be designed to accommodate working patterns and the assessments will be work based.

Do check out the student loan as an alternative source of funding. Perhaps if you used a student loan for the fees, the school could continue to pay you full time but allow you more time off for studying, enabling you to study at a more intensive rate.

I’m not an OU student, but just about to grad from an education studies degree. I’ve got 2 children, 1 with a complex disability and I work 24h per week. It’s been really, really hard but so worth it. I literally study in every single spare moment, evenings weekends and early mornings. I have zero time off. But I’ve done it and I’m about to grad with a 1st. It is doable but hard work!

Wow-is the funding for 2/3 of your tuition fees for your degree being paid for by a school? I’m gobsmacked they have the cash to do that!

It's a trust of academies and if I left in a certain time frame, I'd have to pay it back.

@lanthanum

Do check out the student loan as an alternative source of funding. Perhaps if you used a student loan for the fees, the school could continue to pay you full time but allow you more time off for studying, enabling you to study at a more intensive rate.

I will definitely think about this.