Thinking of leaving teaching

[starwishing]

Hi,

I'm currently feeling very negative about school. I'm relatively new back into teaching after having my son (now 3) and this last year in school has been heartbreaking.

I teach secondary school and the guilt I have working from home is making it stressful. Also as I do school pick ups I can't spend hours at school after the students go home because I have to pick up my own child.

My school is very high performing and along with that comes the expected level of pressure and stress. I probably do 15hrs a week marking on evenings and weekends and still not keeping up as much as necessary, my lessons seem to be going ok but I want to be better and this means more time invested. With a toddler who doesn't sleep at night it's all getting a bit much emotionally too.

I would love to stay in school as some role but I think I want to give up teaching. Should I talk to my HOD this week and just say I'm going to start looking for another job? I don't know what else I could do in school though which is a problem.

Any advice? I can't quit as we need the money from two incomes and it's nice being with the kids.

What subject do you teach?

What time do you arrive at school and what time do you leave school?

Could you drop a day?

Would you consider special or alternative provision? I work in AP and teach fewer children in total than I used to teach in one year 9 class. The teaching is challenging in all sorts of ways (small classes but huge variance in ability and previous learning), not just in terms of behaviour, and it is emotionally tough because of the vulnerability of the students, but I never need to take work home with me, and I work sensible hours. I would highly recommend to anyone who could take the emotional demand.

I teach English at secondary school.

I teach 7-2.30/3.30 (Fridays I finish at 2.30 so I can pick my son up)

I can't drop a day unfortunately. Another lady asked to drop a day and was told a very firm no.

It's the stress that's killing me. The hours of marking are more than before I left for my baby and it means shutting myself away from my son and he gets upset.

@TheFallenMadonna if something like that came up I would take it. I teach classes of 36 at he moment and it's a lot of marking to take home. Some of my classes now are inclusion set classes and they're a wide ability range.

There's nothing close to me though. What sort of training/qualifications would I need?

Could you pay a childminder to collect your ds so that you can get your marking done at school?

@Fairenuff Friday is the only chance I get to collect my DS and is the only highlight of my week so I can't give that up. Plus I usually mark and plan till 12ish and no school will stay open that late!

None for AP. I moved from mainstream two years ago, also in a core subject, and in fact a mainstream background is a big advantage.there is a lot of focus on quality of teaching in AP at the moment. My job was advertised on the local council jobs page rather than TES, although we are now part of a MAT rather than council run.

@starwishing
I've been Head of English and AHT leading English and I know the workload that some schools end up foisting upon English teachers!
I have a number of bits of advice- maybe helpful .... Please please talk to your HOD. If they are worth their weight in salt they will do something to help you and keep you. Workload issues are killing the profession. We should not be working that much at home. (Unless you go home at 3:30 and get to school at 8:30- then 15 hours at home seem reasonable)

15 hours marking a week is excessive so there is either an efficiency issue or SLT are asking too much in the policy. There's plenty of evidence to suggest that marking does not have to be cumbersome to be effective. If your school is high achieving all the more reason to give yourselves a break in the marking as this excessive detailed feedback is only actual proven to have impact with disadvantaged/low attaining pupils.

If your lessons are going well as you say, use that time to talk to the students about their work. Look through their books with them, have half a lesson or so to discuss work they are proud of. This will have much more impact on their learning that you slavishly writing WWW/EBIs whilst wishing you were hanging out with your family.

Teaching needs good experienced teachers! Fight your corner. Ask what the impact is of any bureaucratic looking crap anyone gives you. Don't accept outrageous workload. And if your HOD isn't fighting your corner get them to start. Chances are (and I speak as a member of SLT, but it is far to often the case) that Senior team is full of people who haven't taught a core subject, let alone full time for many a year. Don't let them forget whose out there at the coal face every day.

Oh my, I just read another lady asked to drop a day and was told a firm no this is outrageous and they need a good reason to be firmly saying no to working mothers.

4 days a week is more that enough to fit in the timetable. I have two at 3 days because they are such brilliant teachers we wanted to keep them! It takes a bit of juggling with where you put classes and timetabling- but that OP is their job not yours!

All part time requests should have a hearing with a board of governors present!

@RiotCl4ire thank you for your reply. I am going to talk to my HOD. I just hate going to school at the moment. I got to half way through this week and I felt sick already at the thought of going to school.

I originally wanted to be a EYFS teacher because all my work experience was in primary and nursery and that's where my love of teaching came from. When I started teaching I was a classroom assistant with the sen groups and again I loved it. Now when I apply for teaching assistant/Lsa I never get selected for interview and have been told I am over qualified as a teacher. Surely I would be useful because I could do cover supervisor too with QTS. I'm so tempted to do supply.

As an English teacher, you’re in a really good position to apply for a post at another school - seems to be lots of jobs advertised. Maybe look for a part time vacancy?

I think that's the whole crux of the problem though. I want to stay in schools I just don't think I want to be a teacher anymore. Except I don't know how to get a role in school that's NOT teaching because there don't seem to be any about.

Would you enjoy teaching more in EYFS? What stopped you from training in early years if that was your initial plan?

@Appuskidu I was pushed by my parents at 18 to do an English degree and then a secondary pgce because it would be easier to get work.

It would take years to save up for another pgce to train for eyfs even though I would love it! I thought maybe if I got a job as a TA again in primary I could part time train then and see if anything came up in a few years.

A PGCE is a PGCE. You have one already, you don’t need another!!

I have an English degree and a primary age 4-11 PGCE. I could teach secondary if I wanted, just like you could teach reception.

@Appuskidu do you think it's worth applying then? Would I not need experience in primary school first?

Is the main problem the marking?

You definitely wouldn’t get an interview for an EYFS position without some sort of experience.

Could you look at going down to three or four days a week and getting into a primary on the other day as a volunteer? Then maybe supply?

Don’t underestimate the work involved in teaching reception. Planning and resourcing continuous provision plus evidencing the children’s learning journeys is a really hefty workload.

It depends on the school/area. There is a massive teaching recruitment crisis-especially in my area so I’d never say never.

I’d go and do some KS1/EYFS volunteering or supply first though. My point was really that you certainly don’t need to save up to do another pgce.

It's the long hours, marking, planning, half term exams alongside weekly KIPs, behaviour alongside massive classes, HUGE expectations and very little help. I'm just exhausted. Every night I come home and mark till I sleep. Then weekends I do all day both days whilst ignoring my child or packing him off to his grandparents. I don't like who I am now.

@Appuskidu the problem is they are off when I am off unless I find a catholic school and do a week once a year because they have a week for Easter when I have two 😬 I think I'm going to ha d in my notice and just brave it on supply.

It's the long hours, marking, planning, half term exams alongside weekly KIPs, behaviour alongside massive classes, HUGE expectations and very little help.

Unfortunately, that won’t necessarily change in primary.

@PurpleDaisies I know it won't. I want to be in schools just not as a teacher. The only thing is I was once trained as a teacher so it's all I can apply for. I'd love to do my training again! The issue I have with marking is 36kids doing 36 5-6page Essays to be close marked and it take hours and hours!