Anyone work for Twinkl

[WillowB]

Absolutely sick of my 'part time' teaching job that involves job sharing with a supply teacher but having full class responsibility for planning, assessments, reports etc. All for 2.5 days pay.
I'm thinking of handing in my notice and going onto supply in September. I've seen twinkl advertise teacher advisor roles from time to time and just wondered if anyone had any experience? How did you find the role? What do you actually do?! Is it really 15 hours or whatever or is it far more in reality?
Thank you!

[Barbie222]

I'm keeping an eye on them - next year my two year old will qualify for more funded hours, so I might have time to do that. The advisor roles run alongside a teaching role, though, so you can't jack it in altogether.

[WillowB]

It does say that you can be working as a supply teacher. I just thought it would be a good back up if supply was scarce

[Pebbleinthesand]

This is something I've been interested in for a few years but unfortunately the pay always looks awful, despite them asking for experienced teachers.

OP I am about to go back after MAT leave to the same situation that you are in: teaching 0.6 with supply as job share and full responsibility on me for planning, reports etc.

[RavenWings]

I keep an eye on it as well - ideally I'd go for one of the online advisory staff roles but I don't see any advertising at the moment. I'm not sure 15 hours resource making a week appeals right now, which is what they're looking for.

[priority9]

I've had a look at it in the past but it's really not very well paid.

[LittleEllie88]

Low pay and lots of politics

[rosesinmygarden]

For the same money you can tutor Chinese children online 11-2pm ish. I left the classroom at Easter after 16 years and now tutor and write on various projects. When we move back to our house (renting while building work completes) I'm planning to do online. I've turned over nearly £20k so far since Easter so I'll cover what I was earning on a 'part time teaching contract. And I have my life and sanity back

[MaybeDoctor]

Sounds good!
Who do you do that for?

[MatildaMay]

Rosesinmygarden I love more information about that too please?

[rosesinmygarden]

About which bit?

[Zoosie]

Rose could you recommend a company for tutoring Chinese children?

[renovatenotstagnate]

Me too, Roses!

[rosesinmygarden]

I don't yet as (i havent got decent enough internet in my rented house) do this so can't recommend one I've personally used but I know other tutors who work for Landi and DaDaABC who seem to fill their daytime hours and enjoy the work. There are lots of companies though. The other ladies I know who do it say it's very easy and low hassle in terms of admin etc but that the pay isn't amazing. However, if you're doing it to fill some day time hours and then private tutor in the evening then may be that's not an issue. I'd see it as a bit of extra money in hours that are difficult to fill with face to face students.

[MaybeDoctor]

I see, so 10.30 - 14.00 roughly corresponds with after school and early evening in mainland China.

Do you need TEFL qualifications?

[rosesinmygarden]

Most of the companies don't demand Tefl or Tesol. Some ask you to work towards it.

[sarah13xx]

@WillowB if you’re still on here can you give us an update of what you ended up doing? I’m due to be in this situation going back to work next year after maternity. Since I’ve been off all I’ve been thinking about is how much I hate my job and how much I don’t want to go back. Maybe supply would be an option so I don’t feel so trapped there but I feel like it’s almost a dictatorship where you’re just told what you’ll be doing and when you’ll be doing it. I read the emails people at work are receiving just now and just think I can’t go back to that level of stress snd needless paperwork 🤦🏼‍♀️ I was planning to go back part time so need an alternative that pays around £1500. I’ve been considering twinkl but the pay does look so low. I would need to work full time hours or do it part time but do supply shifts every week

[HamCob]

Hi @sarah13xx
I'm still here but have name changed!
Sorry to hear that you're not looking forward to going back. It's never very nice going back after mat leave, especially if it's somewhere you're not happy 😞

Following on from my original post, I left my contracted job in Dec 2019 so almost 2 years ago.
I got a job working for Twinkl as a content writer. They are a lovely team. Everyone was so supportive and friendly, they really helped me get my confidence back at a point where I was feeling pretty rubbish.
In terms of pros & cons...
Pros

• lovely team
• fairly flexible hours
• training was really thorough
• all of the meetings and work are online so could be done where/when you want

Cons

• the pay is rubbish!
• hours are only flexible to a point. My team used to meet for key meetings at set times on set days and I was expected to be there. Something to consider if you want to juggle it around teaching. Many of the staff are office based at the HQ so only available 9-5
• no school holidays! You have to work your 15 hours regardless

I found that although there were aspects of the Twinkl job that I enjoyed, I really missed teaching and being around people. I started doing day to day supply and found that I really enjoyed it so I gave up the Twinkl role after a few months - plus the money on supply was loads better. I could virtually earn in a day what I was being paid by Twinkl for the week!

Supply is great in that you can walk in at 8.15 and leave at 4 with no hassle. Assuming a daily supply rate of around £135, I think you could easily make £1500 a month but you would need to work at least 3 or 4 days most weeks to cover the holidays or the odd week where work is slow.
I didn't work at all during Covid and wasn't furloughed. Luckily we were able to live on my husbands salary.
No teachers pension either which is something to consider. Be wary of taking in long term posts. I did a couple of these at first as I was worried about not getting enough day to day work. It's basically like having all the rubbish bits of a permanent post: planning, assessment etc but without the perks of paid holidays, sick pay, pension. Plus you can be sacked at a moments notice.

I am now in a permanent post again working 2 days a week at a lovely school. I do extra bits on supply if I feel like it.
It's the best of both worlds as I have a bit of security and stay in the TPS but I don't have all the hassle & responsibility of a larger post.

I hope that you are able to find a solution that works for you. Good luck with it all.
If you have any more questions about Twinkl or supply then just ask!

[Maryi23]

Hi,
I'm waiting for my LO to turn 2 so I can go back to work but content editor position sounds doable with baby around. Do you need to be a specialist in a particular subject.
Also what is the interview process like?
Thanks in advance

[HamCob]

Hi, I'm the OP!
The interview process is online via google meet/hangouts which is similar to Microsoft teams. Before the interview I was sent a content writing task which I had an hour to complete and then send back. It was pretty similar to the work I ended up doing.
I was then interviewed by 3 people who asked me questions about subject knowledge and also some slightly offbeat ones to try and get a feel for me as a person (who has inspired you, what invention would you create...)

In terms of specialist knowledge I would say you don't need to have been a subject leader but you definitely need a good working knowledge of that subject, especially phonics or white rose maths for example. I'm a KS1 teacher and there's no way I would have wanted to write content for KS2 either.

As for the role, it's fairly flexible, however just a note of caution, most staff are based at the offices in Sheffield and work core hours of 9-5. Most meetings take place between these times and you are expected to attend a few hours of meetings a week - more when you first start. There is also a 4 week training programme with some of the training delivered at set times over the web. People will also message you throughout the day. It's not a job that you could just do in the evenings or at weekends. I found it tricky to fit it around supply teaching due to needing to commit to meetings and times on set days and ended up struggling to keep up with the content writing. I also struggled with having to work my hours even when my children were on school holidays. I ultimately found supply easier (and better paid!)
They were a lovely team of people though so good luck with it!

[Tralalalala1303]

Hi Sarah... can you give me an idea of what the role of content writer actually involved... do they email or call and tell you what content they want...could you maybe give me an example of what you had to do..please x

[MissAtomicBomb1]

@Tralalalala1303

Hi Sarah... can you give me an idea of what the role of content writer actually involved... do they email or call and tell you what content they want...could you maybe give me an example of what you had to do..please x

Edited

I worked on the mastery maths team so might be able to help.
You would get an overview similar to a medium term plan of what needed covering then a breakdown of the different lessons in the sequence. E.g it might be a y2 unit on fractions,
A lesson might be 'find 1/4 of a number'
Using the white rose as a guide I would then plan a lesson following the Twinkl agreed lesson template.
I would add clip art or give instruction for the graphics designers. This would then be checked by a content editor.
I would have to then fill out a lengthy form to go with the lesson with the info for the search engine etc. Typically you would be expected to produce about 5 lessons a week in a 15 hour role.
Several hours would be spent in meetings talking to content editors over teams and planning for the week ahead etc.
When you first start though, there's lots of training and you are given a mentor. It's a very gradual introduction. You might perhaps only plan 1 or two lessons a week to start with.

[helenc1972]

Hi
I've just applied for an EYFS editor role at Twinkl. Any idea how soon you hear back? The closing date was last Wednesday.

[helenc1972]

I'm in my early 50s with 2 teenagers. I'm a qualified teacher. I currently work as a TA3/teacher in a school nursery covering EYFS and nursery PPA. My daughter has an EHCP is waiting for an ADHD and ASD diagnosis. She's in Yr 11 and hoping to go to college this September. My son has recently told us he is trans... he's taken a break from college and is planning to return in September.
I'm looking for a different job! I'd like to be based at home for at least part of the week. I know that September is possibly going to be a tricky period of transition particularly for my daughter and also for my son going back to college. I feel like i need to be around at home for them but still need to work full time. I've applied for a job with Twinkl. However since reading reviews I'm not sure it's as great as I was initially led to believe.
Does anyone have any experience or suggestions of work that could fit around my home life?

[Apolloneuro]

I’ve heard positive things about working for Twinkl, but the pay is pretty rubbish.

Could you do a TEFL course and do online English teaching?