State to private

[Millyc86]

Hi all,
Id love to get some opinions...
I have been teaching for over 12 years and have worked my way up during that time. I have worked in a variety of different school settings and now work in school improvement for a large trust. However over the last 5 years, Ive started to get a bit jaded. I've looked at many different options including leaving teaching.
A job has come up in a private school which I am interested in as I have always worked in state schools. Has anyone recently made this switch? How have you found it? What, generally, are the expectations in terms of working hours? I've heard alot about working weekends etc-how often is that?
Thanks

It's worth a try, if you are feeling jaded. FWIW I went from state to private a few years ago. The teaching aspect was much the same, but the school was quite money focused, the days were long, the management was poor, the pay wasnt any better and the pension was worse. I didnt hate it, but it didnt provide any major happiness that state school couldn't do - apart from small classes! I would imagine it would be very school dependent, and you cant get an idea about the whole sector without trying a school.
I'm heading back to state after 4 years and looking forward to a more professional environment with a greater focus on good teaching.
I dont regret my time in private though, I always think its worth trying something different.

I totally agree. Exactly the same experience. I felt quite deskilled in the independent sector. The focus money did not agree with me morally. The best part was the kids, love of learning and no behaviour management. Found that all the things teachers don’t do in state you have to do in private, like cover and invigilation. Might not be the same for you though.

I did it three years ago after 20+ years in state. I also stepped down to being a classroom teacher again. I work mostly as hard although not such long long hours but find it so much less soul destroying and don't get sworn at on a daily basis.

We do cover and duties but they are easy and we earn an extra week's holiday in lieu.

For me, it was definitely the right choice.

I've done ten years each in both sectors (currently still in independent)
I came to private from two very challenging state schools in deprived areas. I was a HOY for a few years in the latter one. I mostly enjoyed my job, but the lack of discipline was an issue and in one school the management was incompetent and abusive towards staff. I moved to an independent as my dh worked there and as the head knew what my specialism was, he asked along for an interview. A previous candidate had turned down the job due to the fact that the head wanted the entire age range (3-18) to be taught my subject.

I went for it and the change was amazing. Smaller classes, more respectful students, very little in the way of behavioural issues. However, over the years things have changed. We've taken on many more students to keep the finances in order and now class sizes are too big for small rooms. Staff have left and have not been replaced and we were made to leave the TPS when the employer's contributions were hiked up. We now also have many children with SEND and not enough specialist staff to work with them. It's not great. We've had some staff go back to state. We've been considering it, but we have a lot invested in the school which makes it harder.

Oh and the parents can be very, very demanding and unpleasant at times. Luckily most of them are nice people.

I made the move in September from a challenging inner city school. I find the workload is more because I am expected to mark more and write reports quite frequently. The day is longer so I work later in the evening, but obviously I have a longer holiday. There are more free periods and lunch time is longer which makes the day feel less frantic. The teaching itself is much easier so I'm less exhausted.
Parents email quite often, but if you've been at an affluent state school I doubt it's much different. I've actually found the parents to be nice though, just a bit precious about their kids. I often work at work for a few hours Sunday morning, but generally feel the longer holidays make up for this.
Lunch and refreshments are provided and the department is better resourced.
I found there was a greater sense of purpose in state with drives to improve areas of the school.
From what I can see, the school is much more flexible about part time than my old school.
I miss the feeling of making a difference my old school provided.

Sorry, previous comment should have said worked at home on a Sunday.