Taking a step down

[RaymondHolt]

Hello, currently in a middle leader position in a school I'm happy in but with a rather long commute.

A teaching post close by has come up that I would like to go for but worry that taking a step down wouldn't be that wise. I've calculated the difference in pay and even though it's less I think my quality of life would improve.

Does anyone have any experiences of doing this

Sorry posted too soon!
Does anyone have any experience of this?
Or would it be wiser to stay in the same place for more experience?

I did a few years ago. Was HoY but MS post came up at a school closer to home. The drop in pay on paper made it look like a daft idea, but when factoring in less costs for commuting this then wasn't too bad.

Will point out that there was a lot of upheaval in school A at the time and my suspicions of how it would turn out became true.

I now hold a TLR at school B in a completely different role (HoD) so overall not only closer to home but also a more rounded CV

I went from HOD/Pastoral Leader job in a that was just too far away, to a Teacher role. I didn’t mind the pay cut.

What was a disaster is that my HOD couldn’t cope with my experience and bullied me from day 1.

It is hard to step down because you can’t control the behaviour of other people.

I stepped down from HOY after 4 years and although I mostly enjoyed it, it was definitely the best decision for me. I do a pastoral role in my new job, but it's a less intense one and I can now also concentrate

on teaching my subject again. I do think HOY has a shelf life and it was going to damage my mental health if I continued. Good luck!

I'm about to step down from a middle-management role as in Australia, all roles are on a contract of a number of years, doubling with a HOD, and can't wait.

I once left a hideous HOD job in the UK with nothing to go to, padded by DH's pay of course, but the relief of just getting on with the teaching!

Now I'm in my mid-60s, no DH unfortunately , but with my house paid off I'm looking forward the teaching, which will give me time to review the money/part-time options.