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Original poster

Becoming a teacher while having babies/kids

174 replies

tlclyf · 02/02/2024 11:17

I am really interested in doing my teacher training and becoming a primary school teacher.

I've just had my first baby, she's just turned a year old and goes to nursery. I am (hopefully) not done having children but what are the stances when you're a teacher? What happens if you get a call in the middle of the day that you're little one is poorly? You obviously cannot leave your class and go collect them - is it wise to leave the career goal for once I have finished and they're all in school full time? Or is it just wise to have a backup plan?

My family aren't flexible to have her if she is poorly so I can work. I suppose my other half could do it should it be necessary? I just don't want to completely wipe out being able to be there for her because I'm a teacher and can't leave work.

If you're a teacher with young children, how do you do it?

OP posts:
Talk66talk · 04/02/2024 13:59

Good question OP. I'm not a teacher but I think you are very wise to ask this! Based on my own Son and he isn't a sickly child... no you couldn't just leave your class. Why should it be the woman though? Couldn't you agree your other half would be the one to leave work should that be the case? At my DS school there's quite a few part time teachers who are mums.

JLM1981 · 04/02/2024 14:01

Hi. I'm a teacher with 4 young children. One a baby. I work 3 full days. Absolutely love my job. I do a bit of work in the evening now and again when children are in bed. I get 2 paid emergency parental days per year as does my husband so if a child takes ill one of us can leave to collect them (I've never been questioned on this when it's been necessary) we've never had to use more than the 4 days per year. Me being part time helps. The holidays are fantastic and I genuinely love what I do and for me that outweighs everything else. I also have a childminder for after school care and if I need her she would pick them up in an emergency (depending on the illness). Take all the advice into consideration 😃

LondonQueen · 04/02/2024 14:03

I'm a teacher with youngish children (both lower years of primary). It's not possible for me to just leave if one of them are unwell. Luckily DM can collect them if necessary. Your training years are intense, I'd wait until they're in school at least.

GirlsAndPenguins · 04/02/2024 14:24

Mumoftwo1312 · 03/02/2024 03:50

What happens if you get a call in the middle of the day that you're little one is poorly? You obviously cannot leave your class and go collect them

Yes, you can. It's called emergency parental leave. The school will arrange cover.

It's pretty rare to actually be called in the middle of the day though, for the child to be picked up immediately. I can only remember that happening to my dd once in nearly 3y of nursery

I think you were just incredibly lucky. Finished mat leave at the start of November. I only work 3 days a week. Been called out 3 times for my 3 year old and around 8 for my 11 month old…all since November!
My auntie just went back to work in January and has a one year old and she’s already been called to collect a couple of times.
Apparently it’s very common to collect a lot, especially in the early days

JLM1981 · 04/02/2024 14:40

Goodness that's alot. I've only ever had one or two calls per year from nursery/primary school to collect.

GoodGriefMavis · 04/02/2024 15:34

I've just handed my notice in after 12 years with no job to go to. I'm stunned that people still, after all the publicity about the working conditions, want to train to do this with small children.

Tiredmama53 · 04/02/2024 15:56

There are so many proffessions where people would struggle to just up and leave, surgeons, police, long distance drivers etc. Most of them probably more difficult to just leave than a teacher. If none of them had kids the population would t be significantly less. My kids are 5 and 3 and been in nursery/school since a year and I've never had to go pick them up in the day.

Shinyandnew1 · 04/02/2024 16:24

My kids are 5 and 3 and been in nursery/school since a year and I've never had to go pick them up in the day.

Yes, that is more rare. Mine are much older and I have only once had to go off in a rush to hospital for one of mine and that was after school anyway, during a meeting.

What I had a lot more of (probably like most parents) is an ill child in the night/morning and then the juggle of what to do with them. Luckily DH’s job was much more flexible than mine, so it was nearly always him or my parents who had them. I was also part time when they were little which made things easier.

stichguru · 04/02/2024 16:49

I wouldn't yes you should get family leave on the odd occasion your baby is sick. However more the difficulty is the amount of work you end up doing outside work. You can't just not be ready for class because your little one has had a clingy or wakeful night, or not mark kids' work because your little one has a party or a play that you want to watch! You have to be up to date and ready to teach whatever is going on.

Jomtie · 04/02/2024 16:50

Wow! I can't believe that you don't know any other teachers working 60 hours a week. 60 hours + was usual at my school.

Bordesleyhills · 04/02/2024 17:44

Pgce is wonderful and teaching is great but you don’t do it for the time or money. I taught secondary for years, love it and miss it but with a young family it’s hard. You will need some school experience, could you think about being a TA and see if works before thinking about teaching?

Mumoftwo1312 · 04/02/2024 17:51

Being a TA is almost as much stress and hard work for a fraction of the pay, they are so underpaid (imo).

Edit for grammar

Shinyandnew1 · 04/02/2024 17:57

Being a TA is almost as much stress and hard work

My close friend would really disagree with that. She left teaching recently and went to work as a TA. She said whilst it’s hard work during the school day, her stress levels have virtually disappeared. She doesn’t have to work before 8.45 or after 3.20, the responsibility of the children’s progress no longer lies with her and she isn’t trying to do planning, prep a subject for a Deep Dive, worry about Ofsted interviews or stay up till late doing marking, assessing, rewriting policies or writing reports. She loves her job now.

I agree with you the pay is low though-I’m sure she would agree!

MrsKeats · 04/02/2024 18:02

Terrible idea. From a teacher.

diamondpony80 · 04/02/2024 18:26

The reason I left primary teaching was so that I could be there for my kids while they were still small. I decided to start a business from home and never went back. I personally wouldn't recommend anyone start teaching, but if you must, don't do it while your kids are babies.

TheSquareMile · 04/02/2024 18:34

@tlclyf

How old are you, OP?

What have you done career-wise so far and what do you have in terms of qualifications?

PurpleFlower1983 · 04/02/2024 19:47

If you’re going to full time teach, you need a partner who is part time, very flexible work wise or have a lot of additional support around you.

As for emergencies, the school will have to arrange cover.

Sunnydays60 · 04/02/2024 20:16

Definitely second someone's suggestion of getting experience of working in a school first as you possibly seem to have quite a simplified view of the job. A lot of people warning about it on here but you really can't appreciate it til you've worked in that environment. Tbh, even if you have worked in a school in another role, there's nothing that can quite prepare you for the workload and responsibility that comes with the teaching role.

ditalini · 04/02/2024 20:18

PurpleFlower1983 · 04/02/2024 19:47

If you’re going to full time teach, you need a partner who is part time, very flexible work wise or have a lot of additional support around you.

As for emergencies, the school will have to arrange cover.

I wouldn't say that "very" flexible was needed ime, but you'll find it simpler if your partner assumes that childcare and cover will be worked round their job, excepting school holidays (which is a massive help with juggling, again ime having a partner who worked in another inflexible sector before retraining).

If your partner has a MN "Big Job" then yes, much much harder.Some of dh's colleagues from teacher training have struggled. A couple of them have partners who absolutely take the piss imo and clearly thought teaching would allow their wives to do all the childcare.

JustJessi · 04/02/2024 20:21

OP of course it can work out. I really don’t understand the negativity from some posters, especially those saying women should quit their paid employment when they have babies! We don’t need to do that; there are laws now which protect women so that they can have babies AND work. I’ll tell you my experience:

I went back to work as a primary teacher when baby was 11 months old, I work 5 mins from home, I leave the house at 8am, and get back at 4pm. DD is with a nanny during the day (cheaper than nursery, as she works term time only, and is under 21 so her wage is less). We chose a nanny for many reasons, but one huge advantage is that I have never been called out of work to collect DD from nursery. My personal experience is that I do have a very good balance with parenting and working - I am with DD for 3 hours a day term time, plus 13 weeks hols a year. In fact, I am so satisfied with my balance that I’m now expecting DC2 and I will be going back to work earlier this time round.

Best of luck to you, I really do think it can work well 😊

BTW: I don’t do any evening or weekend or holiday work. My work stays at work. I do everything I need to do during my lunch break, and after the kids leave (that’s 1.5 hours a day planning and marking, PLUS PPA - it’s ample! Work smart, get a nanny, work as close to home as possible, choose your school wisely.

JustJessi · 04/02/2024 20:24

Sorry, I don’t see the point in being a TA - you’d pay your childcare more than you earn

MarnieCo · 04/02/2024 21:28

ColdWaterDipper · 04/02/2024 12:58

I think it depends what sort of a teacher you want to be. We have one teacher in our primary who has young children (one in nursery, one in another primary) and she arrives 2-3 minutes before the school day starts at 9am and leaves either bang on 3pm or sometimes she leaves the TA to do handover and leaves at 2:45pm, to go and get her own children. She does no work in the evenings except parents evening and never works at all at weekends or holidays. So it is possible to do, but she is a crap teacher! Not just the attitude about only being there for school hours, but she is rubbish as a teacher too, and I suspect she only went into teaching because it allows her to spend all the holidays with her children. Maybe I would feel differently if she was actually good at teaching, as then the hours she keeps wouldn’t bother me. We have 4 other excellent teachers at the school, 3 are a bit older and don’t have their own children and have been teaching for 25-35 years and it is their life (they tend to work 8/8:30am til 4:30/5pm which is a normal working day for most people), and one is younger and may or may not have children in the future. I have two friends who are secondary school teachers and they both have husbands who look after the children (all school age) if they are poorly. So yes it’s possible but I think the trade off for you having all the school hols off is that your partner would have to cover the majority of sickness absences (but then he wouldn’t need to take leave in the school hols so it might balance out).

Is she supply or part time - as she isn't even meeting the expected hours of the school day, equating to 32.5 per week.
The school day for pupils must be longer than 9.00am to 3.00pm otherwise the children in your school are not getting enough teaching hours….

Although this is not statutory until Sept 2024, most schools have made this change. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-32-5-hour-school-week-what-you-need-to-know/

Short hours - and that is without her directed time.

The 32.5 hour school week: what you need to know

Guidance reveals how the new expectation will work for schools

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-32-5-hour-school-week-what-you-need-to-know/

Shinyandnew1 · 04/02/2024 21:34

she arrives 2-3 minutes before the school day starts at 9am and leaves either bang on 3pm

Where is this school? I don’t know of any schools doing 9-3. I also know of any heads who would keep a teacher who never stayed past 2.45/3, tbh. What about staff meetings? Planning meetings? Pupil progress?

gemma19846 · 04/02/2024 22:17

You do know this applies to every single working mother out there not just teachers....or you

slackademic · 04/02/2024 22:25

... anyway