Considering a PGCE with 2 DC?

[Snoozysaurus]

I am aiming to undertake a PGCE in the next couple of years and have taken steps towards my career goal. I have recently started working as a TA in a high school to gain experience with a school who have said they will happily facilitate my placement.

I also have a 4yo and 2yo. I had planned to apply for September 2026 entry, by which time DC will be 6 and 3yrs 8 months. However, I am finding some aspects of the TA job lovely but I am getting a bit frustrated at not being able to do a bit more. I have been considering whether to apply for this coming September (DC will therefore be 5 and 2yrs 8 months). I am really excited to start the PGCE but I am also concerned that I will always feel guilty for leaving youngest DC to work full-time (plus studying). I wonder if I’ll feel a bit more comfortable starting the following year.

I have heard all the horror stories regarding the workload involved in the PGCE year (and in the profession generally) but I wanted to ask for some opinions from people who have undertaken a PGCE recently or particularly if you have done so alongside looking after your DC.

Thank you!

Do it.
I did it with 3.
Do you have robust childcare?

People I know who had young DC while doing their pgce needed a very supportive and flexible partner. I did mine while single and it is a very intense year. You won't be around much for your family in the eves or at the weekends as there is a lot of work.

As above, you need to expect to not see much of your kids. It's intense.

Hi OP,

Which subject are you looking to study?

I sometimes feel like the excessive workload depends on the individual and the school.

I barely did any work on an evening or weekend when training, and now 3 years in I barely do any evenings and weekends still!

However, I went in with the mind set that I'd work as efficiently as possible and set realistic expectations. The school I'm working for now don't require much marking at all, where at my last school they expected a ridiculous amount of marking which wasted (it really wasn't helpful for students) hours and hours of my time.

It's definitely achievable and I love my job!
I did the same as you btw and worked as a TA first, I got bored quickly as I wanted to do more but the experience you're getting from observing a lot of teachers is really beneficial too as well as learning about SEN needs which a lot of teachers don't get from their training

Thank you all. I am going to apply but it’s a case of whether to go for this September or to hang on for another year.

I’m willing to work in the evenings but at this point I don’t feel I can sacrifice too much time on the weekends with my children.

Childcare wise, my husband is a shift worker so it’s sort of all-or-nothing. I would be relying on a mixture of nursery, DM and MIL which would be an extension of our set up already.

@PigmentLiner202 thank you, that’s useful info.

I will be applying for RE. Another factor in my decision is that there is a decent bursary for this subject but this could well change or go entirely so waiting a year would risk this also.

I have already spoken with one of the leaders who runs the course I’ll be applying for (she is an ex-teacher of mine) and she gave me a run down of what to expect work-wise and this made me feel much better about it all but I suppose I’ve since heard lots of negative stories which has frightened me. I really want to do a PGCE but I also still need to be a present mother. What frightens me is when people say I won’t see my children during that year.

The course I will be going for is very local to me so travel won’t be a concern.

@Snoopdoggydog123 may I ask how old your children were when you did your PGCE? How did you make it work? Were you still able to be around for your children?

If you have good childcare, it’s doable. My two were both at primary (year 1 and 3) and I got an au pair and managed. No parents around. Your teaching timetable is small so not too much to prepare - it’s a lot of observation. I could also be flexible about leaving on time and you have weeks back at uni when it’s not full days. Plus the holidays.

Now the first year of teaching - that was a nightmare. You’re responsible for everything on your own and really have to hit the ground running. I’d recommend part time.

That all sounds really promising, I think people scaremonger a bit. Some teachers do work LOADS of hours but it does depend on the individual and school as mentioned.

I saw my son plenty when training and one of my placements was a really long commute. The local placement was much better!

I'd say go for it for 2025, especially with the bursary!

Maintain healthy boundaries and go for it I say

One thing to mention is I'd spend around 30 mins preparing a lesson and another trainee was like "wow I spent 8 hours planning lessons at the weekend". And all I could think was HOW!

I'd recommend 4 days a week also as other poster has mentioned.

I think I once worked out I'd earn the same as a full time TA working 2 days as a teacher (or similar to this). So even if you worked 2-3 days while the kids are younger it'd be worthwhile

Not sure if this route is still possible....I did the C and G 7307 cert, 2 evenings a week and then later converted it to a pgce, the lectures on the 7307 were miles better than the pgce tutors who were really awful, and we all found the skills learnt on the 7307 better than doing the full pgce.

This is all very reassuring! Thank you all so much.

@PigmentLiner202 I recently was made aware that the NQT period is now 2 years (or 6 terms) and I was a bit concerned that if I did part-time it would be problematic as it’d stretch my NQT time out significantly. I’m not sure if that really matters?

@bumblebee1000 I've looked into part-time courses but I think biting the bullet and going for the 1 year PGCE is my only option really due to commuting times for the part-time course

I honestly wouldn't even think about the NQT (they call it ECT now) years for now OP

I worked 5 days a week for my ECT 1 year and then 4 days a week for my ECT 2 and my school just passed me as if I was full time!

It won't affect you very much, you'll have a few extra tasks to think about each term (eg observations and a few bits of studying) but also extra free periods to do it in.

A previous poster said the first year is hard, and I'd agree it's challenging just because everything is new and you're fully responsible for it all for the first time but you'll make it through especially in the right school

Part time NQT (or ECT as they call it now) is absolutely fine.

PGCE can be challenging workload wise. A lot depends on your mentor. Some mentors want lessons in very early and then you need to replan them with feedback etc. others help out more and do more joint planning,

The essays for the pgce are quite significant as well.

I did my PGCE when my DC were 5 and 7. I certainly don't recommend it.

I missed 10 months of time with my DC. If I wasn't in uni or on placement I was trying to make up lost time with my DC then working into the night.

I was a single mum at the time but if your DH is a shift worker you will be doing most of the heavy lifting in the evening.

Evenings were getting in from school, spending time with my DC (whilst dreading another night of planning lessons), putting them to bed and then starting planning at 8pm.

Invariably they would be ill/bad dream/can't sleep and this would be interrupted. Then I would finish past midnight.

I taught a humanities subject so it would be a boot full of books to mark over the weekend. 30 books of a humanities essay is not done quickly.

I was shattered. Lost a lot of hair and missed my kids. By the Easter I realised that I had sacrificed enough. I finished my course and have never taught.

@MoosakaWithFries thank you for your honesty!