Teaching FT with baby

[Whoopsadoo]

Hello just looking for advice. I'm a primary teacher (specialising EY/KS1) and looking for a part time role, ideally 3 days but could do 4. I can't find anything that offers part time and probably need to face up to the fact I may have to work full time again. I have a DC aged 1 and the guilt is killing me!

How bad would it be? Anyone have experience of my situation and can offer any advice? I'd rather work part time of course but do need to be employed for September

Don't do it! Hold fire - schools are sorting out timetables at the moment; part-time jobs are always advertised later, once the schools see where the gaps are. You might have to teach outside your specialism though.

Are you going back after maternity leave? If so you can put in a request to go PT where you are.

My request was declined :(. I did my 13 weeks part time for a term (negotiated this with school) and then left. Now unemployed!

My request for pt was turned down after my second lot of maternity last year. I went back ft. It is not easy. My house is a tip. The guilt is awful- I'm not doing as well as I should be as a mum or as a teacher.
I have had to learn to cut corners. I always volunteer to host student teachers twice a year. If you host a good student for their final placement they take on 80% of the teaching timetable, which is a huge help. Although there is a significant amount of paperwork that goes with hosting students, the payoff is worth it.
I try to run the same trips I've done in previous years, to save time on reccies and writing risk assessments.
I volunteer to organise the clubs run by outside agencies, so there's no extra work beyond registering and dismissing the children.
I dropped my leadership role, which honestly broke my heart. I just couldn't give the time.

Have you thought about supply work? The money is good, as long as you get the work, and you can pick and choose your days. No planning, no expectation for extra curricular provision, no ofsted!

I've done it for two years now and it's hard!

My son is 3 now but in some ways it's harder because he's an only child so wants me to play/go to the park/take him to parties so we are often very busy at weekends.

I teach secondary but still do one extra curricular activity a week.

I do have to say no to some things though and although in some ways I would like a promotion, I can't go for one at the moment because it would take even more of my family time.

I try to work like crazy during term time so that there is little/nothing to do in the holidays which means more time with my.son.

I have had to learn to cut corners. I always volunteer to host student teachers twice a year. If you host a good student for their final placement they take on 80% of the teaching timetable, which is a huge help

Twice a year? I don't know anyone that has a student twice a year. Does that not have an impact on your class?

I do it and tbh I enjoy it! I teach in catchment (5 min walk from front door) and have one DD at the school and one DD with a childminder.

It's worked out brilliantly for us, my career is progressing nicely, I'm enjoying a FT wage, I actually see more of my DDs because I'm local instead of commmuting out of our town and weekends & holidays are our time to play etc.

I know you'll get a lot of opposite posts to mine but in the right school with the right staff it can be wonderful working FT.

*Today 09:03 Redlocks28

I have had to learn to cut corners. I always volunteer to host student teachers twice a year. If you host a good student for their final placement they take on 80% of the teaching timetable, which is a huge help

Twice a year? I don't know anyone that has a student twice a year. Does that not have an impact on your class?*

Yep, twice a year. Usually an undergraduate third year in the autumn term and a postgraduate in the summer. Some of our classes (were one form entry) actually take students in all three terms! We need the money from the universities, quite frankly.

Ah, bold font fail!
Also *we're, not were!

This is my 2nd year back from Mat leave. I work full time in a core subject in secondary, and also teach two more subjects as well as my core. I can't imagine being any less (or even allowed to) than full time. In my school being PT makes life more difficult. Plus you get fewer ppa time slots and not a lot less work.

Meant to add (sleep deprived brain) if you want to pm be about it, feel free.

It is doable and copable if you are mega organised.

My DD had just turned two and we manage with me doing work on Sundays, in the evening (when I'm not dealing with a toddler not sleeping) and by saying "not my circus, not my monkeys" quite a lot. I have a good cm, DD is there 50 hours per. My OH works long hours so cannot do childcare in the week.

Think long term. I went part time after mat and have requested to go ft. Request refused so now looking for a job up against cheap nqts

Thank you for a mixed response - I probably do need to think longer term. Does the guilt ever ease? Can anyone offer tips how to make life easier? I am considering getting a cleanse if I am FT

I teach full time in year one. I have a TLR for maths too. It's tough. I tell myself that I get more time off than 'normal' workers who do four days.

As for organisation. I have a cleaner. It's a necessity. Anytime a meal can be doubled and frozen I do it. We also do super quick dinners and DD only eats a light tea at home. I have a DH who works fairly decent hours and we tag team in the evenings. We are up at 6 and finally stop and breathe at around 7.30pm.

I went back full time when DS was one (single mum). He's now five. I stuck to the same year level that I'd had before maternity leave, and stayed with them for a couple of years, so I was able to reuse quite a bit of my planning.

Get a cleaner. Worth every penny.

I make a point of not working at home until after DS is in bed. That's family time. I'll sit down after he is in bed and do my work. I tried and dedicated a fair bit of time on the holidays while he was still at child care to getting as much of the upcoming term planned as possible. He kept going to child care in the holidays as I would have had to pay anyway, so by having some blocks of time I could sit at the PC and just plow through planning with no interruptions was great, which meant that when I was with DS I was able to concentrate on him.

Learn to say no. School disco? No. Saturday sports carnival? No. Staff meeting that goes beyond 5:30pm? No. Assuming you have been at your school for a while, then you can usually get a couple of years of being a bit grumpy about non essential out of hours activities while your DC is young.

Try and buddy up with another teacher. The teacher in the room next to me who also has a young child, and I share a lot of our planning. She'll do maths and I do literacy and give it to each other. Some days we even put our classes together and team teach.