52 - want to teach in FE. Any insight?

[Bilbo63]

Hello,

I left school at 15 without qualifications, had a child at a young age and two more later on in my thirties. Spent most my working life working in customer services (retail, LA, historic property steward, charity retail etc). My roles included working with community payback clients, giving educational tours to public and school groups, and I had a two year period of self-employment hosting 3 under 18 language school students per week and selling vintage clothing online.

Anyway, at the age of 48 I went to uni and did a foundation year and degree in the social sciences. I am just coming to the end of a MA in SEN and inclusion. I am considering doing a PGCE in FE - I would love to teach access years, GCSE and A-level, social sciences (sociology, health and social care, social policy, perhaps a little psychology - but not my strong area).
I would love to teach in prison or refugee charities eventually.

My previous work particularly with community payback was a big reason why I chose the courses I did. I am also SEN (so apologies for any mistakes - I normally use Grammarly for written work), and I have a child who is SEN.
My choices are guided by what I find rewarding and interesting, rather than money - I will never be rich.

Am I being realistic at the age of 52? I would be grateful for any insight!!

I have taught in prison, and taught refugees, and in FE

In prison, you need to be able to teach down to primary level, many prisoners are illiterate or have an educational level a decade or so below the age at which they left school, so you have to be able to start at where they are. You will also have very little continuity. frustrating, as you may have a student doing brilliantly, then they suddenly disappear and you never hear of them again - this is what happened to most of my students - very important work though. Try and make learning goals VERY short term.

Refugees may be illiterate and uneducated too - much is said about girls not attending school in Afghanistan, for example, but there is little understanding that many possibly most boys don't attend either. You are mostly teaching ESOL, even if that is not what it is called - and if a refugee can read and write in their own language, they can learn to read and write in English. But if they can't it is an uphill battle, to even teach someone what reading even means...You may also meet people who are uneducated and illiterate, but know FAR more than you in their field of specialism, for example people who have worked in hospitals may know a huge amount of biology, etc. making someone feel welcome is a very important part of this work - rewarding work.

FE education - you are likely to be dealing with appalling behaviour - why is a 16 year old in FE? Possibly because they have failed in the first 11 years of education - some of the issues I dealt with in FE - pregnancies, elopements, homelessness, rough sleeping, sofa surfing, hunger, family alienation, shooting, arrests, probation, convictions, drug dealing, drug addiction, binge drinking, driving lessons, parking problems( big excuse for lateness) car accidents, abortions, deportations, visa issues, radical politics, revealing clothing, political slogans on clothing, participation in pornography, care leavers being left with no provision and teachers proving furniture, clothing etc. police arriving ( once Mid A level exams) saying residents of certain hostels need to collect their belongings immediately as the hostel was closing in an hour, fraud, gangs, money laundering ( one through the FE college) colleagues with no training, micromanaging managers, ofsted's normal insanity, avalanches of paperwork, unbelievable marking load ( far higher than in a normal school as many of the FE qualifications are coursework based) low pay, very poor pastoral care, term times which do not aline with local schools causing child care problems, responsibility for enrolment,

and worst of all

talking when the teacher is talking.

I wouldn't do FE again, I was working through the night several times a week for years.

These are my insights and experiences

Do a PGCE and teach in a school, if you want to teach, you can be part of steering children away from a path leading to prison or FE, and support refugee children in a far more structured and nurturing environment

Thank you for the responses.

We have a local sixth form centre attached to the college here - many choose to go here rather than stay in school. My own son went there and is now educated to post grad level. No guarantees there would be a job available there - but FE is not just for the disruptive or disadvantaged (I was once one of them - not disruptive, but certainly disengaged).

I am particularly interested in teaching access courses. I would be grateful for any experience anyone has working in this field.

If it is a sixth form centre attached to a school, then the staff are likely to have PGCEs, I was referring to FE colleges not attached to schools, where staff are not required to be trained or have qualified teacher status. If you are teaching in a school, you will be teaching across all age groups, and likely need a PGCE (or equiv) anyway.

@orangeleavesinautumn even when not attached to schools there are plenty of great FE colleges that aren’t just for those struggling??

I am sure there are - incidentally mine was a great college that gave opportunities to young people who many other colleges turned down. But it was a difficult place to work.

I am simply giving my own experiences and insights, nothing more.

I've taught in two FE colleges and my son is currently studying at one.
All very different in terms of course offered, cohorts, entry requirements etc
This is what makes the teaching environment differ, much like schools.
I found that I enjoyed teaching the mature students and the very dedicated younger students.
My workload varied according to my responsibilities and the level of teamwork/sharing of colleagues.
I had to complete a Certificate of Education in FE to teach, all pays for and undertaken whilst working.
I think it can be very rewarding if you do your research on the college.

I work in a successful FE college teaching health and social care. Students come from a range of backgrounds but the wider area is quite deprived. Whilst it can be challenging, I wouldn’t say that my experience aligns with that of orangeleavesinautumn. Yes there are young people who get pregnant, use drugs, are disengaged etc. because they’re teenagers. But the majority of issues are more around constant low-level disruption, mobile phone use and lack of engagement.

Your experience would likely be very different depending on the cohort you choose to teach, be it access, A level, or vocational. Generally A level students do tend to be better behaved and I’ve got colleagues who teach A level who have been shocked by the behaviour of students in our classes which to me hadn’t stood out as especially bad. I have no experience of teaching access although I’ve always liked the idea of it. Colleagues that do tell me they enjoy it but that it comes with its own challenges, often with students being particularly needy as they lack confidence and are studying at an accelerated pace when they may have been out of education for some time.

Being a broad subject area, we do get a lot of students within health and social care who choose it because they didn’t really know what they wanted to do. This naturally can lead to problems with attendance and engagement, especially since it became a legal requirement to stay in education until 18 - yes young people can opt for an apprenticeship instead but ultimately it’s often not great money and if they don’t put the effort in they’ll be let go so those who lack motivation are much more likely to choose college.

You could look to apply for jobs before getting your PGCE, which in my college would mean you’d be released for half a day each week and study for your PGCE over two years. This is paid for by the college on the understanding that if you left before working for them for 5 years you’d pay back your fees. Alternatively you could study the PGCE full time, which for me was two days a week at uni and two days in placement. I do think this was felt like a much easier ride than those who do school based PGCE’s and perhaps explains why a PGCE in post compulsory education isn’t held in such high esteem. Doing it this way means you’d be entitled to a maintenance loan from student finance. A friend of mine actually managed to study the PGCE full time and secure a job which she was able to use as her placement, meaning she was earning too.

It can be rewarding, although perhaps not as much as I’d have hoped! Some classes are can be really fun and it is nice knowing you’re helping young people to determine the path they’ll take with their career. The college years can be really strange and often tough time in young peoples lives, and they do a lot of growing up in the time they’re with us.

I think the only way to know for sure would be to give it a go - I’d recommend contacting some local colleges to ask if they’d be willing to let you observe some teaching. I don’t think your age is a barrier at all, and your own experience of education will be something you can share with students if you wish. Also just to add finally that I have colleagues with dyslexia, and it’s great for that they can be an example to students that sen doesn’t have to hold them back. Good luck whatever you decide

I have taught in FE on what are sometimes called 'Foundation' courses (they often go by other names such as 'Pathways' etc) and which are designed for students with learning disabilities and/or other SEN. I loved the work.

Many of the students needed extremely simplified work, but they were fantastic young people. A few behavioural issues could arise, but perhaps not as many as in mainstream classes. I got great satisfaction from the teaching, partly because both my sons have SEN.

The prison was for young males aged 15-17. It was challenging, and for the first year, I struggled with the behaviour. Even when you have a bell and two officers in the corridor, it can be hard to manage the behaviour of young people who have used disruption as a way to escape education for so many years. However, after that first year, I learned strategies that worked. The boys had often had quite horrific experiences and many had undiagnosed additional needs. Sadly, as others have said, they often stayed for a couple of months, left, then cam back having forgotten everything they learned. Strangely, the work was rewarding, but I wished the system could help these young people more effectively.

I have also taught mainstream A levels, AS levels and GCSEs, and really enjoyed this.

Teaching in FE can be immensely rewarding but, like all teaching, there is a lot of preparation, marking, work outside hours. It is also quite an insecure sector.

I was a student on an Access course and have taught the Open University's Access courses (but they are quite different to Access to Higher Education). As far as I can tell, when people enrol to an Access course, they are highly motivated to achieve. The students also tend to be more mature.

Thank you for the responses and insights! Really helpful.
Ontetwo3 - that's interesting regarding the foundation course. I did what was termed a 'foundation' year at university - it was basically an access course, but more expensive. It did give me a good grounding though, and I was actually a lot more clued up in my first year than many.

I am thinking on it - I am very tempted to keep studying until I age out - I've loved it, and it's proven to be about the only thing I've ever excelled in 😂

Yes, the 'foundations' courses were not foundation degrees. They led to entry level or sometimes pre-entry level qualifications for people with learning disabilities. Often, the courses included life skills, basic numeracy and literacy, travel training and so on.

I am also a perpetual student and have enrolled for yet more study in October. :)

All schools in my area don't go past year 11. All students transfer to FE college (several choices) for post sixteen