Moved back to UK, need to do NQT, interviews etc

[justwantafreshstart]

Hi, I have just moved back to the UK after going overseas for what I thought would be a year or 2 but turned into 8, with marriage and children thrown in. I went abroad after my primary PGCE without having done my NQT as I just felt like I wasn't really ready and wasn't settled and wanted to get away, I'd applied for a few jobs but it was hard to get anything and I did some supply but found it difficult with so little experience.

While overseas I taught for 6 years in 2 British schools, we followed the UK curriculum but it was far more laid back and I could easily fit all my work into the school day once I got used to it.

Now I've come back home for various reasons and am generally really happy to be back, the only thing stressing me out is the work side. I went to a supply agency straight away in August but my DBS still hasn't come through and I'm getting really frustrated with this. Is there any way to check what's going on with this? I've called the agency various times but most of the time they don't even call me back.

I was planning to try and work part time but I have been applying for various teaching jobs, full and part time. I've had 2 interviews for full time jobs and have 1 tomorrow for part time. The teaching part has let me down so far, I just feel totally clueless as to what they want to see in 20 minutes. I tried to be creative in one but the head said it was obvious that I hadn't just done my training and they wanted an Nqt up to date with current practice. The other lesson I tried to cram too much in and didn't finish. I just feel like it's such a tall order to plan and teach a lesson in that amount of time to children you've never met before and have no idea if what they've done or what their abilities are. Should I ask for more details before the lesson about this? Or is the whole point that it's really hard and essentially feels like it's setting you up to fail?!

It makes me feel quite hopeless and I think this is why I went abroad before but at the same time I want to stay here and overcome this and do this bloody induction year.

I have tried to plan something simple for my interview tomorrow but I'm already thinking there's 5 people doing the interview process, why would they give me the job? It's only a 1 day a week job and it seems ludicrous to have to go through all this stress and hassle for that!

I'm now thinking of going for TA jobs to try and get to know a school that way, I'm in a completely new area and don't know anyone or any schools here. I also feel like people are getting in the back door in a lot of cases so I'm beaten before I start. In fact in the last interview I had the only other interviewee who was there mentioned that her head used to work at the school we were being interviewed at and had called the head to speak to him when she applied for the job. So I wonder if my interview was actually completely pointless and I wasted my time and money making and printing resources, driving to the interview and stressing myself out by doing 2 interviews on one day.

If anyone can offer me any hope or advice I'd appreciate it. What would you do in my shoes? Should I just keep plugging away applying for jobs and eventually the stars will align and I'll get one? Or is TA work or supply teaching a more sensible path to take? Also are there any courses I could take to make me more hireable?

[justwantafreshstart]

Sorry that was so long, I was trying to read back over it to make it a bit easier to read and accidentally posted!

[Inkandbone]

Agencies are shite.

Could you just apply for some posts?

[justwantafreshstart]

Yes I am applying for posts, just getting impatient I guess.

[Inkandbone]

Theravada lot of nepotism in teaching.

I gave up work to be a SAHM and then slowly got back into it. I covered a maternity leave for a couple of months and then had a temporary job in a special school but it's very thin just now where I am.

[Inkandbone]

"There is a "

[justwantafreshstart]

Yes there is isn't there. I've got this next year of my dd being preschool age and then I would like to be in some kind of regular work. I'd also like to have another baby at some point but need to be working to be eligible for any kind of maternity pay.

[ohreallyohreallyoh]

Your DBS can be chased after a certain amount of time - look on the yougov website.

There are a lot of teaching agencies. You need to register with more than one. I am registered with 6 and I don't work everyday. They are all chasing the same work.

Agree to TA/HTLA with the agencies as that will get you in school and seeing what is going on.

Register with indeed online and you will get daily emails of vacancies that are being advertised. Be aware agencies only tend to advertise when they have no one for the role - lots of work goes before it gets that far (hence register with several). There is also an app called job magnet that will pull through jobs for you continually - think carefully about search parameters so you see everything there is.

Some schools are 'teaching schools' so ask of you can go in for a few days and see what's going on. You need to be proactive - it won't just happen.

[justwantafreshstart]

Thanks ohreally, some good suggestions there. I thought it'd be best not to apply to multiple agencies as at the moment I only have 2 days a week free because of childcare so didn't want to end up being unavailable for work by getting involved with too many agencies. And some of them seem to say you have to pay for your own DBS which I don't want to be doing. I will do your other suggestions though.

I think partly I'm a bit scared and am also enjoying being at home but financially I can't just not work ever again!

[ohreallyohreallyoh]

Your DBS once completed can go onto the update service so you pay £14 per year and all the agencies can access it.

[justwantafreshstart]

I called the DBS helpline to check what is happening and they said they have no record of my application ever being submitted, so I don't know how it works but possibly the agency never submitted it as I filled it out online. I think I've wasted all this time waiting thinking it was because I'd been abroad I called to speak to the manager and got told they were all in a meeting and would call me back.. Which they haven't. So annoying.

[castasp]

Sounds like the agency are ghosting you. Forget them and sign up to about 5 other agencies - there's loads of them and more and more seem to pop up all the time. You should always apply to at least 2 or 3 agencies because you are not at the mercy of just one then - you can be more in control.

Can you do your own DBS and then just use the update service and all the agencies can use that?

[justwantafreshstart]

I called DBS and they said you can't do it yourself, you have to go through an organisation. Apparently the agency didn't bother to submit it because there was an issue with some of my ID documents having my middle name and some not. Anyway it's good to know now as next time I can leave it off.

I have 2 more interviews. I'm finding I lose more confidence with each one I go for. Maybe if I can get some supply it will help, I'll go to some other agencies.