Thinking of re-training as a teacher - would love to hear from teachers who are Mums

[snowflake99]

When DS2 starts school I am thinking of retraining as a primary school teacher.
If there are any Mums out there who are also primary teachers I would really love to ask you a few questions so that I can get a better picture of what I'd be letting myself in for.

• What time do you have to be in the classroom at the start of the day and how long do you stay after school?

• Are your evenings all taken up with preparation/marking etc?

• Are you in the same school as your children?

• If not, do you miss out on their sports days, plays, etc?

• If you re-trained after having your kids, how did you find that?

Many thanks for any replies.

What time do you have to be in the classroom at the start of the day and how long do you stay after school? I am usually in by 7.45-often earlier-and leave around 4.30 on a normal day, 5.30 -6 when we have meetings ( twice a week)

- Are your evenings all taken up with preparation/marking etc? Not all, I tend to work at least an hour each night and all day Sunday ( I teach Yr 5/6 o the marking i pretty heavy, Literacy take 4 hr each weekend!)

• Are you in the same school as your children? My children are older now but my youngest was at the same primary as I taught, although the "other end" of the chool

• If not, do you miss out on their sports days, plays, etc? Yes, never been to any

• If you re-trained after having your kids, how did you find that? Bloody Hard! My children were age 8 and 6 when I did my PGCE and, as a single Mum, it was very difficult. I worked all day whilst they were at school and then started again when they were in bed. My Mum literally had to move in when I was on teaching practice, I never saw them for 6 weeks!

I am a mum to 2 aged 6 and 3 and I am a primary teacher.

Before I offer my pearls of wisdom can I just say: NOOOOOOOOO don't do it, run for the hills.....

OK:
I have to be in school by 8.40 but I feel late if I'm not there by 8.15. I generally arrive at 8.25 thus feeling late all day! I have to drop off in two different places at the moment and its all a huge nightmare! I leave at 5.00 on a Monday (meeting) and abotu 4.30 most other nights.

I rarely take marking home...... I tend to do it as I go with massive catch ups every now and then. My planning is done on my planning afternoon and I refuse to fill in endless planning formats because I've been teaching for 20 years and I don't need a script (can you tell this is a sore point with me?)

I am not in the same school as my children, mostly because my DS has behavioural issues and I have a 'shouty' head and my DS would just shout back..... also am a catholic so DS goes to a cathoilc school.

My head is excellent at letting us out for plays, sports days etc, he has a family too. We just have to ask and something is juggled!

I trained many moons ago, long before I met OH and had DS and DD. I am an old crumbly mummy!

I love my job but I am knackered. I have had the year from hell with DS's behaviour at home and school and I have had a very challenging and large class. At one point I was very down and heading for a breakdown. Next year I will be going part time.

I will be in over the summer to sort stuff, just as I am in every holiday. Childcare is expensive but luckily my boss allows me to bring DS if his school is closed for any reason such as an inset day. When DS started school he let me be late each morning for a week so I could take DS to school and allowed me to get him each lunchtime (DS's school have a staged start in reception) My head knows I have no family nearby and that my mum's husband is terminally ill requiring 24 hour care and he has made allowances for my needing to care for my kids etc.

If I had my time again and I knew the way teaching was going to go I wouldn't do it. And that's from someone who aliented her first step father by becoming a teacher instead of an engineer.

I am a teacher (6yrs) and how family-friendly it is really depends on the school. My children are 5 and 2. When ds1 was born I was working at a school where no teachers had children and it was incredibly hard. I moved schools when he was 18 months and my current school is brilliant.

My son is at the same school as me. This was because it is our local school and it is a very good school. It isn't ideal esp. since he finds school very difficult and is on the SN register. However, it means that he doesn't have to be in after-school club everyday. He does go to breakfast club though. I do attend concerts (with permission) and I can 'nip out' to watch a bit of sports day.

It is difficult being a teacher/parent. Some teachers find this tricky and it is difficult to have the same relationship that you would have with a 'normal' parent. Plus the other parents tend to ignore you. Joining the PTA would be difficult as well. I do feel that sometimes I am judged as a parent by the staff and parents but this is probably down to my insecurities.

I work 8.00-4.45 every day apart from Friday when I pick up ds at 3.30 and leave pretty much straight away. I then work 7-9.30 every night apart from the weekends. This is the way it works for me. It is a good choice in that you can be flexible - full or part time

It isn't a particularly family-friendly career as you have to be there during the day it is not a job where you can work from home! It is also very difficult being with demanding children all day and then the same when you get home. There is not shut-off from children. Training days are tricky and when they are ill it is a nightmare!

I think that being a parent makes you a more understanding teacher. You also have books and resources at home which can be helpful.

(However, I love my job and can't believe how priviledged I am to work with children!)

I did my training before becoming a parent but I have to say that I found the PGCE incredibly full on. I found my NQT year hard work but easier. One of the girls on my PGCE who had a child actually went for jobs as a TA once the course was finished just so that she could spend a bit of time with her dd.

Since having ds, I work 3 days a week. I drop ds off at nursery at 8 and get to school by 8.15. I try and work through playtimes/lunch and leave at about 5.35. I sometimes work in the evenings, and always do at least one morning or afternoon at the weekend. I think the family-friendliness of your school very much depends on your head. Ours is pretty understanding.

It's a great job though!

Very much as you plan to, I started to train as a teacher after my youngest started school. I was very lucky as I trained with one of the very few ITT providers who offer the Primary PGCE part-time (I did it over 5 terms). I qualified within the last couple of years and am still (just!) an NQT

I now teach a rather strange part-time timetable in which I teach every day, but do not teach for all of every day. I have 2 long teaching days (full time), one day in which I am in school all day until 6pm (staff meeting) but do not teach for all of the day, and 2 shorter days.

• What time do you have to be in the classroom at the start of the day and how long do you stay after school?

I arrive at school between 8.10 and 8.15. This is not ideal - I would love to be earlier. However, I commute a long way and have to drop my own children with a childminder on the way. I cannot leave them with her before 7.30 am, hence the relatively late start. I am similarly constrained by childcare arrangements after school. This means that unless I have a pre-arranged meeting (for which my husband has to leave work early and be childcare as we have no family locally) I have to leave by 4.45 on a 'full-time' day (on one of which I run an after school club so have children with me until 4.15), 2.15 on a part time day.

• Are your evenings all taken up with preparation/marking etc?

Yes, partly because my 'after and before school' time in school is so constrained. However, that is my choice. When I get home from school - whether on a long day or a short one - that is my 'family' time. I take my children to their out-of-school activities (both have a significant number of these, one reason why I am part time), cook supper, supervise homework and bath time and then settle down to work in the evenings. Also, as I teach in a small school where there are lots of jobs that we all have to 'muck in' and do, I do more 'non-teaching' things than most NQTs in larger schools would be required to so I get less time in school to mark / prepare than I might otherwise. I also work on Sundays. Basically, during the week I do preparation and marking required for the next day, on Sundays I do the weekly plans and longer term assessment, in school holidays I do medium and long term plans and I manage extras like renewing displays as and when.

• Are you in the same school as your children?

No. The two schools are a 45 minute commute apart. I would dearly love to teach closer to home but I know in the current climate for NQTs I am exceptionally lucky to have a job.

• If not, do you miss out on their sports days, plays, etc?

It depends. Sometimes I am lucky and events fall on my 'short' days. Sometimes I manage to wangle a change to staff meeting day (I work in a small school so we can be somewhat flexible) and so can be free on the relevant afternoon. Sometimes I miss them ... it's the luck of the draw.

• If you re-trained after having your kids, how did you find that?

Only possible part time. My final teaching practice had to be full-time and 'luckily' my husband was unemployed for those months. So he became the full-time parent and I became the full-time worker. I am glad really that I did not train and teach beforehand, as I have never experienced what I could do (in terms of preparation, displays, resources, assessment) when unlimited by childcare arrangements and thus am reasonably content with what I manage to achieve. Being a perfectionist, I would hate to have to compare before /after children and see how little I am doing now...

As previous posters have said, the job situation is dire. Ring your prospective training provider and find out how many of their graduates obtained jobs this year before you consider taking it further.

I finished my PGCE last July and did not manage to get a job for Sept 2010. I have spent the last year working as a supply teacher. I have been applying for jobs and haven't had an interview for this Sept. I am in London and while there are lots of jobs, there are also lots of applicants. Also I do not want to work more than one hour's commute from where I live as I know my NQT year will be tough. However, I may have to as I cannot work as a supply teacher after Christmas.

• What time do you have to be in the classroom at the start of the day and how long do you stay after school? I'm in at about 7.45 and leave at about 6.

• Are your evenings all taken up with preparation/marking etc? A fair amount of them, yes.

• Are you in the same school as your children? No.

• If not, do you miss out on their sports days, plays, etc? Yes.

• If you re-trained after having your kids, how did you find that? n/a-I trained 14 years ago well before having children but it was bloody hard work and that was with DH (then boyfriend) doing all of the cooking and housework!

Check out the NQTs forum on the TES website before you make a decision; there aren't many jobs out there at the moment and I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone did a PGCE at the moment.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your thoughtful and insightful comments. I did read them all at the time but it took a while to take it all in. It realy does help to hear all experiences, both good and bad, as personal experiences are invaluable when considering a career change. I have lots to think about.

Can i just say, i have read this thread with such admiration and gratitude, and quite often teary eyed. You are absolutely brilliant, my dd will start reception next year, and i only hope she encounters such dedicated, caring teachers/role-models as those who have expressed an opinion here.

Thankyou and good luck to all of you.