Is this a shit idea

[madmomma]

I'm an ex secondary TA (left to have kids) and my kids are now at school so I need to work. I don't want to go back to TAing as I was bored shitless and the money is awful. I have a degree and was wondering whether it would be a good idea to do a pgce purely to use my QTS to tutor/do supply? Any thoughts?

Sorry I should have explained: I know what state Tge teaching profession is in right now, hence why I don't want to 'be a teacher' IYSWIM. I hoped that the tutoring would fulfil the part of me that enjoys teaching, without the hideous stress of a teaching post.

Tutoring isn't great if you have kids because you will end up working at the point when your kids have just got out of school and need time with you.

Which subject would you be tutoring?

tutoring

English if I did a secondary pgce or 11+ type stuff if primary

Thanks for that link roll on, what about the supply idea? The steady income isn't particularly important as dh earns ok

English PGCE only has a 9k bursary which would only cover tuition fees so you'd have a year not earning and it's hell on earth a very intense year.

Why not skip the PGCE and become a cover supervisor?

supply

Apologies for the links. I think it's worth you doing some searches on here for info.

Yeah I got used for cover in my last job (wrongly, but that's another story) and they really milk you hard for rubbish money. It'd be about half per day what supply would get me and it's very boring, although I guess potentially supply could be too. Hmm food for thought. Thanks.

Don't overestimate what supply teaching pays. I was on a supply teaching group (when thinking about alternatives) and the crap some of them had to put up with was shocking. Many were offered jobs, accepted and then were told the school would only pay them on cover supervisor rates, they were all in umbrella companies which fleeced them, some were even told that heads wanted them to do two days' supply teaching 'free' so that the schools could watch them see if they were any good for further work! If people refused, the agencies just used cheap cover supervisors instead.

I decided against it in the end.

Some people do go into it naively, assume agencies are like the cosy public sector employers they previously had and believe the lies they are told ( eg 'can't pay PAYE'. 'school will only pay cover supervisor rate',' you get paid less as an NQT' etc.) The people on the FB supply forum and TES really do seem to get shafted because they roll over and accept it ( eg 'no planning left')
You have to negotiate with agencies, don't put up with their bullshit, have several so they don't dare fleece you and just use them to get you into schools, which you can then (after a couple of months interval)approach to employ you directly as a supply teacher - get paid PAYE and Teacher Pension at whatever rate you negotiate, which can be significantly more than you would in a school as an NQT.
Complete freedom, no marking, no planning, no pointless data or meetings, no detentions to run etc. As an ex-TA you will have no problem with behaviour management.

I am a tutor and do not have a teaching qualification. I do have a degree in the subject that I tutor.

Thanks very much for all the advice, it's really helpful. blue powder do you use an agency? Don't parents want qualified teachers?

I use Tutorhunt. Parents don't seem to mind at all. I have a very good knowledge of the exam boards and get good results.

Thanks pink that's very interesting.