Quitting my NQT year

[Gaspodethe1derdog]

Hello!
Apologies for a very rambly, Sunday night panic sort of post.

I am an NQT who qualified through a well known “leadership programme” (two year grad scheme. I also did a year as an unqualified teacher - this means I started teaching in Sept ‘15, got my PGCE in August ‘17. I’m not fresh out of uni, prior to April ‘15 I worked in marketing.

I’m signed off at the moment with stress and the job has broken me. I’m constantly being told I’m failing my children, I can’t keep up with the marking and I have normalised 60 hour weeks (7-7 at my desk, working through lunch) and additional work at weekends. The SLT are not remotely supportive and my training providers are mostly interested in keeping me on the programme. I’ve realised the job is completely unsustainable for me and my lifestyle...I don’t have a lifestyle because I don’t have a life!

My question goes out to anyone working in teaching or who has quit already and found pastures new...

Should I stick this year out (I am quite certain I have already failed this term, FYI) and quit in July, never to return, or quit in April? I am 100% certain that I do not want to teach and will go back to working in marketing, but I’m really worried about quitting without completing my NQT year. On the other hand, I’m not sure it’s possiblr in my current unsupportive and very difficult workplace. Also, if I stay til July I will be competing with graduates for jobs in my old sector. I would love to hear advice from those who have made the jump, work in teaching or just feel they can help switch off my anxiety brain and get me more than two hours sleep tonight!

[DreamingofBrie]

How was your week, Gaspode? Hope that you've had positive moments.

[chloworm]

I used to love teaching years ago, and did my PGCE year with some amazing tutors who really understood young children. Home by 5pm, evenings free, worked half a day at weekends and a few days each holiday. I then took some time out to raise a family and went back about 5 years later. Big mistake! I actually couldn't believe how much things had changed and how micro-managed I was! To the point where the HT would take photos of my classroom on the Monday and email them to me telling me what what wrong and expecting me to sort it BEFORE my working week started on Wed afternoon (I was job-share). The totally age-inappropriate things I was being asked to teach really went against my philosophy and oh my word, the SMT bullying! I could go on, suffice to say I got out of there. I now have a lovely job in an office, supportive colleagues and good pay, so it can be done.

If you are sure you want out, do it sooner rather than later. Your health and happiness are so much more important. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[YippieKayakOtherBuckets]

Good luck, Gaspode. Make sure that you talk to TF and that you are honest with them about your reasons. They need to know that this isn't a supportive school for future participants.

[PGCEwoes]

Hi OP although my situation was slightly different to yours I know exactly where you’re coming from. This September as a mature student I started PGCE (secondary) in a teacher shortage subject attracting a very large tax free bursary. Within a few days of starting at my placement school I was unhappy, and finally chucked the whole thing in last week. Like you I was given lots advise to stick it out, my second placement would be different and better etc etc. I felt totally unsupported and overwhelmed but also deep down I knew I didn’t actually like teaching it wasn’t a good fit for me.
I was worried I’d regret leaving but I can honestly say it was the best decision I’ve ever made, much to my surprise many of my friends have commented that it was a “brave” decision, I know many of my fellow students feel the same but are sticking it out for the large bursary etc and plan to finish the course and run. But I decided at my age Im too old to be miserable for another 10 months, good bursary or not. I am lucky I already have a professional qualification and will go back to my old job.

[Gaspodethe1derdog]

@Piggywaspushed thanks so much for the recommendation, I’ll check it out!
@Manctart your story is the way I want mine to go! Thankyou for sharing, it’s great to hear from so many who made the jump and didn’t look back.

I’ve thought long and hard about my NQT and whether or not I finish the course. Due to the difficult relationship I (and most of the other staff) have with the headteacher, I definitely don’t want to stay there for another two terms. He seems to have crazy expectations (15/20 points of improvement from lesson observations, random observations changed at the last minute blah blah blah)... So, I’ll definitely resign and leave by April - hopefully Feb if I can negotiate early release.

Then, I thought about the advice on here and from friends and family and tried to separate my feelings about the HT with my feelings about teaching. I appreciate what everyone has said about trying other schools and not giving up on teaching. The thing is, I know I’m not cut out for this. I’ve nailed behaviour management (insofar as one can with 34 kids and no TA..), love teaching lessons, but can’t handle the pressure, paper trails, assessments and general vileness that comes with the territory. The way this government is shambling along, that will all get worse before it gets better. It sounds more stressful to try and make this profession work for me; shopping around for a school and being stuck in loooong contracts when it’s not working out. I think you all do an amazing job, and I’m proud that I managed to drag along beside you for 18 months... but im letting go before it pushes me!

Thanks again everyone

[Manctart]

I did two years of secondary teaching before realising it was unsustainable. My health was horrendous, I never saw my family or friends and I was constantly being told that I was not good enough (was in a failing department so I am pretty sure we weren't able to get better than requires improvement in our observations - or maybe I just wasn't very good!). In the end I decided to try to find something else and ended up working in university admin which I love. I get to do all of the pastoral stuff which I loved about teaching but also leave my job when I go home. The pay is actually better as well. I have many friends who have worked for over 15 years in teaching who have also had to find something else because of similar reasons to myself.

I would say that you can find something else if you want to, maybe consider how you may feel this time next year if you don't leave? That's what I did and the thought filled me with absolute horror so I knew what was right. If you think things may have improved by this time next year maybe it's worth at least sticking it out until the end of the school year.

Good luck with your decision

[Piggywaspushed]

Try this little book :

www.amazon.co.uk/Managing-Workload-Pocketbook-Teachers-Pocketbooks/dp/1906610878/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&keywords=teachers%20workload&ie=UTF8&qid=1511853529&sr=1-1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Mark. Plan. Teach. I have suspicions about as some of it is a bit holier than though as schools implementing it take it all too far but there are some great ideas.

[LaLaLady2]

And yes catching up, trying to take my mind off work at this time of night as I have just got home from my governors meeting after a day that started in school at 7.15am.

[madeyemoodysmum]

Crikey. I'm not a teacher but I wanted to say 💐 for all you do.
It make me so angry to read these threads. All the governments are so
Short sighted You guys are Heros.

[LaLaLady2]

Sounds like over marking, but even without that the workload in teaching is massive. Absolutely, the system is at breaking point. Expectations are too great and I love leading my school.

There is more to life than education is my mantra, except I don't have the time or energy to find it!

[educatingarti]

Tutoring is great. I have been doing it for 12 years. The only thing I would say it's that it is difficult to make anything like the money you would earn teaching and v then of course you don't get sick pay or paid holidays or employer pension contributions If you don't need to earn masses, then it is a lovely job.

[Piggywaspushed]

Deep marking sounds like what David Didau would bewail and McGill would more or less recommend - but not as often!!

Crazy job this has become.

[Piggywaspushed]

No worries.

Lazy Teacher good : maybe a bit secondary focused, as is Mark. Plan. Teach.

I'll see if I can source any titles for you and let you know tomorrow... I have 'connections'

[Gaspodethe1derdog]

@Piggywaspushed also, I wasn’t implying “everyone else” had been helpful and you hadn’t; all advice is gratefully received. I was aiming to cover all the bases in one post. You were also very helpful. yes I’ve been recommended a few books - the lazy teachers handbook (?!) is somewhere in my backpack. If there’s any more, I’d love to hear recommendations.

[Gaspodethe1derdog]

The audience is purely OFSTED, of course!

[Firstworlddramas]

Watch Micky Flanagen’s Sketch on differtiating the material! 😂 😂

[HidingBehindTheWallpaper]

It sounds like this school is getting you to do a load of stuff just for the sake of it to be honest.

Do you think that you can manage to get to the end of you NQT year just to get the qualification? That way you could do supply.

[Gaspodethe1derdog]

@Piggywaspushed so for us, standard marking would be tick and flick with corrections for keywords that the child amends the next day. Deep marking is using green highlighter for good things (and telling the child what they are) yellow for next steps and blue for misspellings, then a modelled example of what they could do better, then a pink next step sticker and the child’s opportunity to use your modelled example to have another go for themselves. So for maths it’s a modelled example of a sum and them they have a go, for literacy etc it’s a grammar point or a detail theyve not used/used incorrectly. It’s time consuming because we can’t do whole class next steps, they’ve got to be differentiated to the child.

[AJPTaylor]

I did pgce over 2 years to teach in fe.
Around this time of year second year i realised it wasnt for me. I didnt have a huge vocation and there were easier ways of making that level of pay. I found a different job in feb and started in April.
Never looked back.

[Piggywaspushed]

I get v cross about this constant expectation to mark. Who is the audience for this, one wonders idly....

[Piggywaspushed]

Genuine question : what is the difference between marking (every night! ) and deep marking? What is the 'standard' marking you are required to do?

[ErnesttheBavarian]

Have you considered moving abroad, or do you definitely want to stay in UK? I'm working in a sort- of international school. Compared to the UK the workload is much lighter. The younger teachers are always of out together, holidaying together, rarely take work home, rarely stay long after school, and the kids are a dream. It's a great atmosphere. Quite a few stay put, but there's also a few who do a couple of years in one country, then move on, to Asia, or America or wherever. We had a new teacher come from England who still can't believe how might her workload is. Bad thing is, when she returns to UK next year, she doesn't think she'll be able to return to that mad environment.

If you like teaching, but not the mad workload it might be worth considering. In wish I knew about these possibilities when I was young and free...

[Piggywaspushed]

Well, I am not sure everyone else has been helpful : they have all agreed that it will never get better! If your SLT feel the same, surely it is they who are the ones who could change it all?

I do know a bit about primary as well, and know that primary teachers, on average, work longer hours . Hopefully, the government will eventually take all this seriously...

In the meantime, I would honestly just not do the non essentials : what's the worst that could happen if you didn't do a display?
I do remember the halcyon days when schools employed people to specifically do admin support such as displays. that kind of workload help has been eroded with cuts and I'd be laughed at now if I asked someone to do a display for me.

I do feel your pain but I also think something has to give. As you get more experienced the marking will get quicker and you can develop short cuts.

But I guess if you really are suffering and really hate it, get out, before you get Stockholm Syndrome!

Have you been recommended any books about workload reduction strategies : there are some good ones out there?

[IHeartKingThistle]

It's such a hard year, I bet you're on your knees.

If you can earn well in your old job that's fine, but if you can complete your NQT year you will always have that earning potential. I taught secondary for 12 years and now do various other, less intensive, teaching roles, including tutoring. My qualifications and experience help me get other roles, but I've also got the reassurance of knowing that I could (hopefully) always get work again if we were in financial difficulties.

[YippieKayakOtherBuckets]

Have you spoken to your PDL? Are they supportive?

Having done the same programme as you I would personally try to complete the year if you possibly can, and avail yourself of the career development opportunities aimed at those who intend to leave the profession after leaving the programme.