Non-teaching jobs in educational organisations - any ideas please?

[Walnutwhipaddict]

Hi everyone!

Sorry to come on here with a request unrelated to teaching - I promise it is vaguely connected though!

I started a teacher training course last year, but realised that teaching wasn't for me. I would really love to be involved in education though - potentially through working with a charity involved in education, or perhaps through working in educational policy.

To give a bit of background, I graduated a couple of years ago with an Oxbridge Languages degree and worked as a tutor for a year before starting the teacher training course in summer last year. I really enjoy writing as well, and wrote a lot for student newspapers and did lots of media work experience at university.

I then resigned from the course in winter last year (not long after starting!), and have tutored since then to bring some money in whilst I work out what I'd like to do long-term. I also volunteer with a charity that runs writing workshops for children.

I'm wondering if you could all help me out please with ideas for a career that involves working with organisations connected to education please?

Thanks so much :)

Careers advisor? Safeguarding officer? Teaching assistant?

We have a pupil welfare department staffed by non-teaching staff who focus on behaviour management outside the classroom, attendance, liaising with external agencies, restorative practice, finding work for pupils from staff if the pupil cannot attend class etc.

Actually Restorative Practice is massive in my area and one of my friends has just been seconded as a trainer for the whole county. She delivers training packages to other schools because we've found it so beneficial in our school. It's a big deal since it helps schools gain Rights Respecting status, also School of Sanctuary status. It may be worth you finding out if your education authority have it yet.

That's said, it focuses on pastoral alone so it all depends what you want.

I'm pastoral in a secondary (behaviour, attendance, safeguarding).

Thanks so much for your replies french, Welsh and Sauvingnon :)

I really appreciate your help so far! :)

I'm worried about going back to schools to apply for jobs there as I reigned from a teacher training course last year, and am quite nervous about returning to schools since leaving.

This is a bit of a thread derail I'm sure a lot of how I felt was perhaps due to the management of the school that I was based in. It sounds weird to put it into words (especially considering that I wasn't at the school for very long!), but I did wonder for a while if I had something like post-traumatic stress disorder or something similar.

When I resigned, the relief of no longer working at the school was absolutely enormous, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually do anything or go anywhere for around four months or so after I resigned from the course - it was like a really deep depression.

The training scheme that I did before resigning wasn't Teach First, but was very similar and I've actually applied to the TF training scheme in the past as well. I absolutely agree 100% with the aims and ethos of TF and the place that I trained with, and think that the work that they do is fantastic. However, it can also come across as a bit culty - and it is, of course, very, very intense.

Last night, I actually wondered if it was worth reapplying to TF or the place where I originally did my training scheme in a moment of madness and I've realised that I would really love to be involved in the policy side of education rather than the school side (being involved in making decisions and initiatives that have a positive impact on children rather than being on the 'frontline' and delivering these initiatives as a teacher, if that makes sense).

I've been looking into roles at educational charities or social enterprises connected to education (e.g. charities set up by former Teach First participants), and the organisations Year Here and City Year, which both sound really interesting. Does anyone have any experience of either of these please?

I'm still of course really open to more ideas please :)

Thanks so much again!

Oh no sorry name change fail

There's also things like education research (look at local uni's for research assistant posts) or education and learning departments at museums and galleries.

For an equivalent level job you might be best to qualify as a teacher and then diversify. Many people doing the types of jobs mentioned above are qualified teachers.

Fast Thrace to SLT... seems quite common in my area

(Fast track)

Central or local government (social policy or service delivery).

Admissions or fundraising (marketing, events, alumni association) in a private school?

Have you considered working in a SEN school? My friend does a support TA/nurse role and loves it. Not badly paid either she is on about the starting teacher salary.

Third sector jobs is a good site for charity work.

A learning mentor role could be good for you but not well paid.

You could look at somewhere like Pearson who are a big employer and often have stuff in different locations.

Are you tied to the Uk? Try TEFL abroad? I taught in Thailand for a year and that was great. I was not qualified at that point.

Check independent school sites for admin or support roles that you could do.

If you are settled where you live and won't be moving you could volunteer as a school governor in your local community to get strategic leadership experience.

What was it that you didn't enjoy about teaching?

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for all of your ideas :)

I'm currently looking into a role with a charity that guides people through the process of opening up free schools.

PeachPear I didn't feel particularly supported at the school that I was placed in, but I was putting a lot of effort in.

It got to the point where I was getting into the school at 6:45/7 every morning and leaving at 9 each night, as I was trying to get everything done, but my to-do list just seemed never-ending. I found it really, really hard to manage behaviour, and was just told that I would get better over time with behaviour management but no one actually gave me any suggestions on how I could manage behaviour. I was running out of energy as I didn't give myself enough time to sleep and eat (was trying to get assignments done as well as preparing the lessons and marking the students' work), and my mentor kept on getting frustrated with me that I wasn't energetic enough in my lessons.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I really, really admire teachers - it's one of the most important and worthwhile careers out there, but it's also crazily challenging (as I'm sure you all know!)

Thanks Leather (sorry I promise I'll reply to all of you!) :)

The suggestion of school governance is really good :) I'd looked into it a couple of months ago, and have a meeting coming up about it with the head of a local school.

Free Schools? Really? I hope you can find a more worthwhile use for your talents.

Is that job for the NSN? If so I don't think they are a charity, or they never used to be. A gov think tank.

FE college, adult/community learning, organisations like Btec, NCFE, SFA, exam boards? Cover supervisor or exams officer? Invigilating?

I sympathise, OP, but am unsurprised by your bad experience in teaching. I'm afraid it's pretty common for people to feel that way in the profession these days. I'm an Oxbridge languages graduate too and have been a teacher for 20 years but now just do ad hoc supply and a bit of private teaching because I couldn't stand it any more.

Have you thought of teaching adults? It's great - I teach an adult German class and it's very rewarding and enjoyable.

I can see that you are keen to be involved in the education system, and forgive me if this sounds harsh, but in a way I rather think that the people involved in making decisions and initiatives about education should really be people who have spent time on the 'front line'.

For goodness' sake don't force yourself through training and years of teaching just in order to get promoted out of the classroom and into management though - it will be hellish if teaching isn't for you.

Some kind of educational charity sounds good, but I don't know much about the charity sector.

OP, how about being a schools liaison officer for an Oxbridge college. I think they all have them - someone who works to attract kids from less obvious backgrounds and encourage them to apply to Oxbridge. This might work especially well if you weren't privately educated yourself and can talk from the heart.

I think it might be worthwhile being a TA for a while and then seeing if you do want to carry on down the teaching route- to echo a PP the roles involved in policy etc would usually require experience in teaching and a leadership role. Most pastoral roles require social work or equivalent experience. To hit the higher roles in education I think you do need to have come through the 'system' as it were.

A widening participation role in a university could also be good for you.

being involved in making decisions and initiatives that have a positive impact on children rather than being on the 'frontline' and delivering these initiatives as a teacher, if that makes sense

Without being impolite, how do you think you would know enough about education and learning to do this?

I also have an Oxbridge degree, 15 years teaching experience including management and an MEd in my specialist field, but I still wouldn't feel ready to make policy.

^exactly. You'd be joining the fast trackers who are there because they wanted out of the classroom, not those who want to be there.

You could always get a job at Teach First or other similar charities. Plenty of jobs that don't require you to be a teacher.