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Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

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Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

Lone parents

Would i be better off working as a teacher full or part time?

35 replies

allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 09:50

Thinking of doing part time PGCE next year, with the view of being a teacher obviously!
I would rather work as a part time teacher but can you do that straight away?
also, money wise, would working part time (eg 16hrs a week)mean i receive as much from tax credits as i would earn from my full time wage? or would it be better to work full time?

Have been on entitledto.com but dont understand their results!

am single parent with 2 dc.

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KatieScarlett2833 · 16/01/2008 15:49

Go to tax credits website and complete the "do I qualify" section as if you have graduated and are about to start work. Do the calculation for 16 hrs, then another for full time hours.

You will def not get as much from tax credits on 16 hrs as a full time teachers wage.

www.taxcredits.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/Qualify/WhatAreTaxCredits.aspx

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singledadofthree · 16/01/2008 17:31

you wont get as much from tax credits if you work less than 30 hours. and as for teaching the holidays are good anyway so fulltime shouldnt be too much of a problem. you will be loads better off than on benefits - well over £100 a week.

i know a few who've started as teaching assistants on lower hours and gone to college a day a week - its paid - then increased their hours. to be a proper teacher needs a degree of course.

have fun - i was asked years ago by my kids' primary school if i'd do it - said i dont like kids that much thanks - with hindsight wasnt necessarily the best of answers.

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OverMyDeadBody · 16/01/2008 17:36

Hmm well I don't know how much you get with two kids, but with one, I found out that if I continued working full time once I was single I would be no better off than if I was on benefits and having my rent paid! The main reason though is because the rents are so high around here, ridiculously so, but teacher's salaries are normal (not London) and I was just starting. Also, DS would have needed full time child care, if yours are school age that will also make a difference.

TBH if you're thinking of being a primary teacher there are hundreds of them already, I also found some areas had hundreds of aplicants per job, so it's a little risky, you might not even get a job (unless you are willing to work in inner London or are a secondary teacher teaching one of the less popular subjects like science)

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 19:13

was hoping to secondary actually!

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 19:13

do secondary

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OverMyDeadBody · 16/01/2008 19:13

good. More chance of getting a job.

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 19:16

although English as my subject!

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OverMyDeadBody · 16/01/2008 19:28

Hmmm. Are you in a rough inner city place or leafy suburb? and would you mind working in a rough inner city school?

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Umlellala · 16/01/2008 19:36

Part-time was always my plan.

You can do the NQT training year (after PGCE) part-time but you are probably better off doing the PGCE + NQT full-time (and then some ) and then looking for part-time work.

Here in London, there are LOADS of jobs for secondary English.

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Umlellala · 16/01/2008 19:38

Hang on, sorry just realised that you would do the PGCE p-t too. Bear in mind it will take ages to qualify (and part-time will mean nearer to full-time hours I think...)

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 19:48

yeah the part time pgce is 16months instead of a year.. live in leafy home counties, no city near us!!!!!!!!

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Umlellala · 16/01/2008 19:56

Oh 16mths isn't so bad. You might even be able to have some time to yourself. Part-time certainly saves my sanity now

Teaching is fab btw - good luck!

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 20:15

Its good to hear someone say it is fab for once!!!!!!!!!!!

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Blandmum · 16/01/2008 20:17

Part time is utterly fabola and the best of both worlds. I love my job with a passion!

I went straight from my NQT year into part time. To a degree it depends what you teach and how plexable the school is prepared to be,

Thankfully mine were very good about me wanting to be on an 80% timetable.

I'm now down to 65% because dh is ill.

School and kids have all been fab

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ahundredtimes · 16/01/2008 20:19

[MB - there's a thread with your name on, and everything. Come see]

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 20:31

im just worried that i wont make enough money being part time and on my own! i would only be earning 10k per year if i did 50% timetable!

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Heated · 16/01/2008 20:34

I'm a p/t English teacher and your salary depends very much on where you live as local authorities have different ways of calculating it.

London is usually generous, any county ending in -shire generally is not! I work 3 days a wk and most reasonable places will pay 0.6fte but my authority pay per minute which is a complete con.

Make sure you claim either working tax credit or use the childcare voucher scheme through salary sacrifice which saves you up-to £1200 a year www.worksmart.org.uk/money/viewsubsection.php?sun=32

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allgonebellyup · 16/01/2008 21:15

sussex...

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pinguthepenguin · 16/01/2008 22:43

Im a full time secondary teacher and with tax credits to help with c/care costs- it definitely pays to go full time. ( If you want to that is)
That said though, I'm 4.5 years in, and only just starting to see a decent salary. Starting rates are farking crap!

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allgonebellyup · 17/01/2008 09:24

pingu, are you a lone parent?
is it manageable to teach full time with young dc?

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allgonebellyup · 17/01/2008 18:42

pingu????

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pinguthepenguin · 17/01/2008 20:08

Hi allgone

I've just returned to work this very week after mat leave ( didn't imagine returning as a lone parent tbh, but cest la vie)
Time will tell how it goes for me, but tbh, I think I have to manage- couldn't see how I would cope financially otherwise. Your outgoings don't necessarily go down when your income does, eh? {smile}
I llike my job though- so as hard as it might be, it would take a lot for me to consider part time.

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allgonebellyup · 17/01/2008 20:11

oh yes, i remember you from Lonelou's threads about missing her ex..

So at least the job is sort of do-able? i had planned on teaching when i was with dh, its seems more scary now i am on my own!

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pinguthepenguin · 17/01/2008 20:42

Oh yes, definitely do-able. In fact, in terms of hours and childcare etc, you couldn't ask for better. Sure, theres paperwork etc, but you can do that when kids are in bed and in lunchbreaks etc. Its kinda easy for me to say its fine, because I've literally only just started back at work and it feels fine atm.
Before I had DD I was always knackered by a fri evening and towards the ends of half-terms, but other than that, I was tired a the end of the day in the same regualr way that everyone is at the end of their working day.
I imagine when I've got back into the swing of things and I'm doing some real work ( kind of 'catching up' this week tbh!)then I'll feel things a bit more, but as it stands, I think you can most definitely manage

You can also get help with childcare through tax credits.

How many dc do you have?

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Alambil · 17/01/2008 20:59

The TDA say the starting salary (am looking at NQT in "rest of England") is £20,113 - that is a GOOD start wage, is it not?

It is good to hear from another LP teacher - am starting my PGCE in September and everyone keeps telling me what an awful career it is!!

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