I'm leaving....anyone else?

[didiimaginethis]

Finally I've made the decision to leave, I've been a teacher for over 10 years. I feel very good about my decision and I know I've made the right choice because when I handed my notice in I felt so happy!
Anyone else decided to leave? What did you go on to do? Luckily I've got a couple of months grace period in terms of money so that I don't have to get something straight away after August. My dream job looks something like this:
Turn up to work, quick cup of tea
Work
Go home

Got offered a new job out of teaching in a charity this week. I’m running out of there!

So so so trying to be brave and stick to my guns, and leave!!!! Wondering if writing it down might actually make me do it! Xx

Me probably. Going to be a SAHM for a while until I decide what to do next.

Donthate... r they prepared to wait until July for you? Xxx

I’m hoping so! Have still to arrange leaving date.

I left at Easter. This weekend feels so different to a normal 'end of the holidays' weekend. I am actually feeling relaxed ... for the first time in ages. It's going to be strange, first time in 18 years that I won't be working in a school.
I'm doing a bit of tutoring and freelance work so not completely unemployed.

I was put on gardening leave Feb half term. No concrete plans yet. Doing ivf in the next couple months. Will take it as it comes!!

Thinking maybe admin for a uni? Civil service? Maybe retraining?

Now two months out of teaching and I feel like myself. Have as much energy as I did 10 years ago!! Started teaching 7 years ago...

Congrats on getting out! I want out but can’t afford to. Enjoy!!!

I’m three years on from “getting out” and the joy I feel at the end of holidays hasn’t gone alway. I don’t feel sick on Sunday evening. The grass is greener!! Don’t listen to others who bang on about other jobs being hard. There are shed loads of jobs where you won’t lose your mind, you get to use the toilet, you can eat lunch, you won’t have to sell your soul or be indoctrinated into government double think, you can be free of it all.... Do it!

Loandbeholdagain ... such positive post! Am panicking about work situation, posts like this make it sound a possibility. Thank you

I so wish I could get out, just thinking about Monday is making me want to cry!! Good luck

Me - going back to uni to train the be an Ed Psych. Can’t wait to be honest.

I know what you mean about work.

I too want to
Go to work
Be told what is expected
Do that thing
Go home.

I'm on the brink of handing in my notice. I'm being bullied and can't take it anymore. The only thing that puts me off is what the hell I do next.

I'm another wondering what else. Stayed with my sister who is a social worker so another job that is known for long hours but her role never means she works weekends. Whereas I'm working part time three days a week and need to do a full days work today. I think I need to see what else I can do.

I've been out a year and am so much more relaxed. I now work in a nursery with set hours and work at home.

Nosy question, but I hope you don’t mind me asking—What do you do in the nursery, @Bubblysqueak? Is it a minimum-wage Level 2/3 role?

smash, poor you. I've been there and it's soul destroying.

have you spoke to your union?

I'm giving it 5 more weeks and making a decision - we have a new regime (primary) which will mean a lot more scrutiny which is not a problem, but the marking with next steps and response to marking is what will do it for me. If it means an improvement in (real) progress, fine. If it's just tick boxing for the sake of data, there must be something else out there. I've decided to be the very best teacher I can be at all times for the next 5 weeks. I owe it that much.

I'm sendco and early years coordinator. Not minimum wage but it is a drop from teaching.

I've only been teaching a few years and already thinking of leaving profession. I've had a baby and feel like I never see him during the week.

@piggy yes I have and they've been great so far. We're still fairly early on into the process though. You're right though, it's ruined me.

Mine didn't do anything to help in the end but it was juts nice to have someone completely on my side to talk to . Even friends at work weren't objective really and had opinions which were sometimes not helpful.

This is when unions come into their own. Good luck smash

Well done! You've done the hardest part, the fear and the 'what ifs' are difficult but that's all done now.

I left teaching after 12 years so a similar time to you. I work in an office doing admin, initially I was answering the phone but I found my place and now I'm manager.
It was quite difficult at first in terms of working in business as they have a whole different set of 'rules' but I work 4 days a week and have bags of time on a night and the weekends. I won't pretend I didn't get serious regrets when it came to school holidays though! But that's very short lived when compared to the rest of the time.

My life has changed beyond recognition,
I'm happier and life is easier. The drop in pay has been tricky but I manage.

The world is your oyster - try a few things and get yourself a new routine. It's nice to have some freedom and realise that there is life beyond the classroom. Remember that your next step isn't your final one, you might need to try a few things before you settle but that's a positive thing.

I left at Christmas after 14 years in the same school. I managed to get ill health retirement, and also have a bit of income from some disability benefits. I am not working or studying for the first time since I was 16 and it feels...... amazing. The house is clean, the garden is tidy, the ironing is done and evening meal no longer consists of a ready-made cottage pie. As a feminist, I do fell like I’m ‘letting the side down’ but for the moment I just don’t care. Summer is around the corner and I feel great.

Scarily enough, without having to pay for after school childcare and other costs of going to work, my take-home money isn’t that much lower than it was when I was working. I’m not contributing to a pension any more, but the way my mental and physical health was going I don’t think I’d have made it to 68 (or 69 or 70) if I’d stayed in teaching any longer.

I don’t know what I’m going to do in the future. The conditions of ill health retirement means that I can’t work again in anything remotely related to teaching (including lecturing and tutoring). My nature of my disability means that there are a huge number of jobs unavailable and realistically my only chance of being paid for anything means being self-employed. That means retraining, but I don’t know what in yet. One thing’s for sure, I’m done with education - no interest in it whatsoever.

Meanwhile, I just wish the ‘teacher dreams’ would stop. I tend to have at least 2 or 3 a week - the ones where I’m back in the classroom fretting over how much of the A level syllabus I still have left to cover when study leave starts in two weeks’ time.

Oh well, off to get my highlights done this morning - making full use of my 20% pensioner discount! Haha!