I need out...

[pudding25]

This is my 12 th year of teaching -I went into it in my 30 s thinking it would be a great idea...
I hate it. I am part-time primary with a tlr which I share with my job-share. I work most of my days off sometimes at weekends and when not working, am always thinking about what I need to do. Well, you all know what it's like.
I just don't know what else I can do. The main problem is I can't take a drop in salary And any jobs I see that look suitable pay terribly.
I want to stay part-time so I can still see my dd , do school runs etc for her and I can't afford any extra child care.
Does anyone have any bright ideas to help me get out of the hell that is teaching. Thank you

I feel the same. 17 years in and hate it. I adore being with the children but that feels like about 10% of the job at the moment and it's just wishing the day away so I can get on with what matters to SMT: deep marking, levelling, form-filling and 90% data data data.

My PMR target is for 100% of my class to make 6 sublevels of progress this year in all core subjects. Even the one who's just been taken into care and one who's been diagnosed with cancer.

I can't win.

I'm going to try supply and then...? Who knows.

I reckon our schools will be full of supply teachers in three years. They won't want to face observations/PMR/book scrutinies/moderation etc etc if they're only being paid for 6 hours a day with no pension contributions!

Who will SMT have to stalk and harass then??!

University admin?(look at your local university's vacancies page) Sales/marketing with an educational publisher? (look at the vacancies page for e.g. pearson etc.).

Sign up to jobs webpages like jobsite, totaljobs and do a filter on any key skills or areas of interest/location - it'll give you ideas at least, which is what you need at the moment.
Buy some stock and sell it on ebay?

Set up your own tutoring business?
Try out one of those questionnaire careers websites, like prospects - I know they tend to come up with a load of jobs that you'll probably laugh at the idea of yourself doing, but it might at least make you think and give you some ideas. The worst thing that could happen is if it told you your best fit job was....TEACHER. Aaaargh!

Every one of those questionnaires I've ever done has told me to be a teacher!!

Several of my colleagues left in the summer to do supply. They are very happy and are getting plenty of work. I'm sure more will follow this year.

I'm going to leave this year too, after 11 years. The job is unrecognisable from a few years ago.
The children have become a by-product, it's the targets that matter. And that makes me feel so sad, for me, for my own child at school and for the profession as a whole.

If you seriously can't continue, then you need to downsize and reduce the amount that you need to live on. I went on supply two years ago, I'm making around 2/3 of my previous salary, and we are all managing fine.
Eating a lot of meals that we used to cook when we were students, cut down on treats and most non-essentials, but it was completely worth it.

At work today I didn't speak to anyone who didn't say they were feeling quite low about being back, counting down til Easter and feeling overwhelmed by how much progress they need their class to make to reach expected progress or how much work they had already.

I have considered other jobs today, and do regularly, teaching doesn't seem sustainable anymore.
DD has just gone into it and has it far worse though, a rude mentor who undermines her, a year 6 class in her training year (school based) and intense observations almost every week - god help her - I think we will all breathe a sigh of relief when the year is over. She said today that she isn't sure teaching is long term for her.

I've just left teaching after 12 years as I was finding I had no life of my own. I was part time with a tlr (secondary) and was working all my days off and weekends. I actually resigned with no job to go to, and was extremely fortunate to find a non-teaching job almost immediately after.

I'm alarmed at how many teachers are leaving, especially those with a similar amount of experience to me. I think there's going to be a real crisis in schools in the near future if this trend continues.

Perhaps if there is a prolonged crisis, then those in power will finally be forced to accept that politicians can't just create numerous ineffective 'solutions' and 'initiatives' out of thin air with no evidence or experience of the area they are trying to fix.
Maybe they will have to listen to the real experts in a few years, in order to create a sustainable and flourishing education system for the future.
Or not.

Why don't you hand back the TLR as a starting point? Would this make a difference? Could you drop another day? I'm considering this myself. I was looking at all of my options as I want to leave, but downsizing current job was probably the best place to start in terms of pay and holidays.

Or not . Plug the gaps with NQTs and cover supervisors. All long as those students get Cs (or whatever number they are now) at the end and tick all the baskets for the others that 'count', do any of them really care what the quality of education is for our children?

As not All...

If schools end up (as I suspect they will) staffed by supplies/cover supervisors and NQTs-that's going to give the non-teaching SMT a chance to wield massive amounts of power over them as they won't have the experience to argue back.

The cover supervisors and supplies won't want the long term pressure (and not should they be expected to tolerate it) so it will all fall to the only permanent full timers...NQTs. Will they have to do all the planning, data analysis, target setting, coordinate all the subjects as no one else will be able to do it?!

I wouldn't want to be an NQT under those circumstances!

'I wouldn't want to be an NQT under those circumstances!'

That's because you know the score, rollon. The propaganda machine will ensure that there will always be new candidates for a well-paid, family-friendly job like teacher, with all the long holidays and not having to know much to teach primary...
Only need them for a couple of years, then the new crop will be ready.

I see what you mean, but if you are that NQT who arrives in a primary school with no experienced staff, 4 classes covered by cover supervisors, 3 covered by supplies and 2 other NQTs, I just can't imagine how horrible it will be.

If there's no planning in place (usual, as things change so often) there's no one for them to ask what to do. Add subject coordination as no one else will do do it, then throw into the mix SMT doing weekly observations, book scrutinies and drop ins-without that infrastructure of experienced teachers-won't people will be failing their NQT year left, right and centre? I can't seem them even lasting a couple of years?!

I have a friend who a school governor. I am thinking of taking a teaching job in the town she works in. She was excited and said - 'ooh great - we can meet for lunch'. I was surely she would know that teachers don't get out to meet friends for lunch. If even school governor are not aware of the teacher day, no hope for those completely outside education.
I have often though that prospective teacher trainees should have to properly shadow a teacher for a week all the time, not just observe selected fun lessons in outstanding schools.

Yes, rollon. But unless the system actually breaks down, nothing will change.
if intelligent parents, school governors, theorists and politicians think that those of us at the chalkface are mostly lazy, lying or incompetent, then only a major crisis will force change.
We've tried discussion, heated debate and strikes. No effect.
Total system failure will be the only way to create a complete overhaul. Or they could send in the army...what happened to that idea?
Pity about the children. Or the age-weighted pupil units, whichever term you prefer.

The school I left ( and withdrew my children from) now has a total of 6 NQT's in a 2 form entry primary, along with 2 posts filled with supply, and 2 teachers from Canada that were interviewed over the phone! Some year groups have no experienced teacher at all. But hey, they're cheap and they'll work and not answer back. That's an academy though, so it might be slightly worse than usual.

My own school and my childrens new school still have a mix of "old" and new teachers of a variety of ages, and are small, supportive, and not all about the money. There are still some out there, clinging on, but they're hard to find! My own county is now about 70% academy and all my colleagues working in them say the same: cheap and young is in, old and expensive are out.

'cheap and young is in, old and expensive are out.'

I agree, and one of the things about being old and experienced is that I make a good supply teacher. Rather than feeling that thirty years of knowledge is obsolete.

I would start by looking at dropping your hours further? I can't find a job remotely comparable to what I earn as a teacher. I am shocked at how little jobs such as sales assistants pay. Then a lot of jobs want evenings or weekend shifts.

I understand the feelings you have but you do get the holidays and a salary you can live on. I think you will be lucky to get a part-time job with hours that fit around your daughter without a drop in salary.

I could never do supply in a million years but I suppose some people like the lack of responsibility.

What about jobs in education but not in the classroom eg advisory posts? They come up occasionally in my area.

Solitary-do you do supply through an agency? Do agencies try to get you work for cover supervisor rate?

' but I suppose some people like the lack of responsibility. '

Yup, but your comment sounds rather snarky. I have multiple responsibilities outside of work and juggling them and the current slow car-crash that is education wasn't working. So I chose.
The current expectations of a FT class teacher are unreasonable and change constantly. Not for the better.

What's a cover supervisor rate?
I get paid £110 gross a day and I claim for petrol mileage. I work through an agency because I like the lack of stress and the huge variety on offer.
The difference between being a caged bird and a wild one, more risk, more freedom.

I loved doing supply. It was more satisfying to do a good week in a school and have successful lessons than it was to do a month in my old FT school and be living in a climate of dread and pressure.

I do 3.5 days a week PPA cover now and I LOVE it.

'Solitary-do you do supply through an agency? Do agencies try to get you work for cover supervisor rate?'

No, I've never been offered less than my agreed daily rate.
I wouldn't accept it anyway.