It was always my dream to be a teacher. I came to teaching as a mature student, worked bloody hard with 3 small children to get a first class degree and PGCE. And I just can't get a job.
Other than a short period at an independent school, I have been supply teaching for 3 years now. This academic year I have been able to earn about £5,500 so far. That is with working full time in the same school for one term, and doing all the normal teacher stuff like after school clubs, parents evening etc. The pay around here is shit. I am lucky to take home £60 a day.
There are no "proper" teaching jobs - or rather, very few. Most schools laid off staff last summer, rather than taking on, and many are doing the same this year. Even without this situation the city I am in is notoriously difficult to find teaching work in - people just don't move around, and when they do Headteachers inevitably bring in "known" teachers, rather than random applicants. Often they don't even advertise. I have never even been offered an interview in the city I live in, despite applying for pretty much every job that is advertised. My only hope, I think, is that one of the schools I supply for and who know me well decide they need someone. But I do always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I can't afford this any more. I can't afford the long holidays with no money coming in, and frankly I hate waking up in the morning and not knowing if I am going to be working, let alone where...
But I'm not sure what else to do. I am playing with the idea of keeping on at supply for a while, and trying to build a base of private tutoring students (I do have 2 GCSE maths students I tutor). But again, holidays are likely to be quiet with very little money coming in. Finding a "holiday job" seems a bit fruitless at the moment as I would be uncomfortable leaving my youngest two unsupervised for day after day at the moment - in a couple of years it might be OK, but at 11 and 12 I just feel they are still quite young for it to be a regular thing. So I would need to find some sort of childcare for them - which would almost certainly devour any wages I might be earning...
My other idea is to set up a sewing business, mostly making dance costumes, but also possibly fancy dress/LRP costumes and similar. I could fit this around the days I am working supply, and if I end up being particularly busy with sewing at any stage I can just take a week off supply... But I am anxious about the whole idea - it will take some finance to set up (not an enormous problem really, but an issue if I end up either not selling anything or not earning any money from it).
I just don't know what to do. I am just fed up of constantly bumping along the bottom of our bank balance...
Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.
The staffroom
I don't know what to do.
Oakmaiden · 07/05/2016 20:04
You could advertise in paper or local shop to sew in name labels to new school uniform
Work out how long it would take per label and then work out how much to charge (using living wage value which I have no idea what it is per hour)
It could be a very easy way to earn some money during the school holiday, parents drop them off at your house with he labels and a note saying where they want it sewn in, if not the obvious collar
Then return to collect few days later 
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.