Am I too old and inexperienced to retrain

[BuxomWenchOnAPony]

I think I know the answer to this, but... I'm 32 and have worked with older children and young people (11-20) since I was 21. I have worked especially with 'challenging' young people in residential settings and schools as well as delivering classroom-based workshops to years 10 and 11.
I'm wanting a bit of a change and thought I'd apply for a pgce for teaching secondary - as would be logical with my experience. BUT, having spent a lot of time helping out at dd's school (she's in yr1), I am thinking I'd love to work in primary school, perhaps with children with challenging behaviours.
Problem is, I'm not sure where to start, or even if this is a possible career path for me. Any thoughts? Thanks!

You're definitely not to old or too inexperienced to retrain (I am assuming you have a degree, however?). It sounds like you have very valuable experience in working with children/young people.

The only thing I would say is that places on PGCEs are highly competitive and once you've obtained this, then there is also a lot of competition for NQT jobs. Teaching is very over-subscribed at the moment - and I am assuming you would not be able to relocate for work due to your DD. It is possible that you could find yourself qualified to teach but unable to get a job.

However, if this is something you would love to do you should go for it! Absolutely nothing to lose in applying for a PGCE. Good luck.

gosh no - go for it. I had an old colleague train as a teacher when she was in her late 40s. If you are going to do it I would try to get on one of the PGCEs where you train on the job, not sure what it is called but they often seem better suited to people who are older and have more experience in general

good luck

Definitely not too old! The more experienced you are the better I think.

If you are at all interested in secondary, they still have shortage areas - from memory languages, sciences and I think Maths. So almost guaranteed a job there - but yes primary teaching oversubscribed.

There are courses where you train on the job - GTTR. Quite tough though. Here's the link explaining different routes: www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching?&gclid=CMzY8pzmjbYCFeXKtAodgFYAsQ

Also you could consider skipping teaching and training more for the support type roles - for example, speech therapist, counsellor, or educational psychologist (although that takes a long time!)

I retrained as a teacher at 25 and loved it. Best of luck!

Thanks for the replies, I'm feeling really encouraged! I'm going to do a bit of research into all my options, but definitely going to pursue it a bit. I think I'm going to talk to dd's school about perhaps doing a week of shadowing/observation to get a more complete picture of how it all works.
I'm quite excited now , tempered only by the copious amount of toddler sick I'm dealing with today
Thanks again