Career changer starting PGCE

[DailyScribbles]

I'm a mum in my 40s, due to start a Secondary English PGCE in Sep 2021, on School Direct route. Am career changing from a high stress job in a large institution. I have one child in primary, one in secondary.

I'd be v v grateful for any advice from other career-changers on how you managed a PGCE/NQT year with kids. I'm excited but slightly terrified. Any and all thoughts welcome! Thank you

Ensure you have great flexible childcare, a well stocked freezer and a supportive network of friends and family. I didn’t and struggled.....except for food.

I came from high stress business position, had children and eventually retrained. It is a very different type of stress in education, but if you are a supportive school it will help.

Hello! I'm in the middle of it now, secondary English School Direct. PM me if you have any questions.

I have 3 kids - one at secondary, 2 at primary.

Wraparound care is easy enough with breakfast club and after school club. We don't have family to help out nearby, so it can be tough going. Half of this term has been remote which was a steep learning curve- very glad to be back in the classroom!

My teaching hours have increased and up next term too. And so have the assessments at uni. It's a wild ride, demands every way you turn. With English, so much marking.

Kids are fab and make it worth it.

I'm hoping to go part-time once NQT is done.

Thank you so much both! It's good to know it is doable, if hectic and extremely challenging. I'm excited and nervous.

So it seems childcare is key. Luckily the shift towards wfh will help me out in that respect, as my partner can wfh a lot more now- how can they refuse him that?! And we have grandparents locally. I am already feeling sad about not being able to drop off or pick up my kids from school at all in the weeks- but I'm also hoping to work PT once NQT year is done.

Can I ask- when you are in the non-placement parts of your course (eg first half term of Autumn term), are the hours a little more manageable?

Don't be scared! If you're organised and motivated you'll be fine.

I am at a supportive and progressive school which advocates a work/life balance and is implementing ways to reduce marking etc. My mentor is amazing. I've had a couple of disastrous lessons. You need to be resilient...as someone who has suffered from depression and anxiety, I was apprehensive about the enormity of it all. There is constant observing and feedback; sometimes you feel hard done by, but stay humble. There is a LOT to learn! Be reflective and always think of what you can do to improve. Forget the ego.

It can feel relentless...lesson planning is the last thing I want to do after teaching a 5 period day, commute, feed kids, do their homework, sort their stuff out, tidy, clean....i want to go to bed at 9pm not work...

But it's been wonderful too. After 15 years in a large soul-sucking corporation, I feel like I'm doing something important and the team make me feel valued. And as I said, the kids are brilliant. You have to enjoy being around young people and most of all, have a sense of humour!

It does depend on the school you're at, but I've found it getting more intense after Christmas

I did my PGCE when my eldest was just 6mo and now work FT with 2 kids. It’s totally doable if you’re organised and motivated, and the skills you bring from business are such an advantage. Go for it and enjoy!

Thanks all, I really appreciate the advice.

Do you have any practical tips on managing to carve out time with your own kids? Eg is it acceptable to do planning and marking from home, or is there an expectation to stay in school to do it after lessons/meetings?

I'd much rather go home, give kids tea and put them to bed, then work in the evening from home. I often do that in my current job. But is it frowned upon in teaching?

That’s how I did and do it, although it depends on the school. Some have a culture of staying late after school, but I’ve always been able to organise my workload around my family / bedtimes. If you’re organised, it’s totally doable.
It also helps if you’re in a department which shares planning. The first two years are the hardest and then it is totally worth it. Plus I genuinely think it’s the best job in the world :-)

That's lovely to hear Littlebid. I absolutely feel 'called' to do it- but aware that sounds quite cheesy and naive!

Hi DailyScribbles,
I am a career changer, but didn't "settle" into a school until 2 years after I completed my PGCE (did a couple of maternity covers).

For the first few years I didn't really see the children much except during the school holidays. I would come home for around 6pm and eat/bath/put to bed but then work until the small hours. It was a killer, if I'm honest! We had a nanny as the logistics were horrendous and unworkable. The dc still remember me falling asleep mid-sentence during the bedtime story on a regular basis.

I'm in a much better position now, 6 years on. Planning doesn't take too long (marking still takes ages), and have a job where my holidays and the dc holidays are aligned (they weren't when I was working in a different county). I love the job too - it's taken a few years but I don't regret the career change at all.

I mean this kindly . I trust you realise you are also going into a high stress job in a large institution? I am sureyiu do but literally of career changers I know who gave come from one large corporation/ institution to another seem surprised by what behemoths of bureaucracy schools are!

Typos went a bit wild in the middle there !

Hello! This is my first mumsnet Post! I was wondering about a career change in my 40s to become a maths teacher, starting 2022, so nice to see I'm not the only one in the country. Will be interested to hear how you get on.

For those posting on this, do you think doing a part time pgce over 2 years would make the workload a little more manageable around the kids?

Piggywaspushed yes absolutely, I know that's what I'm getting into. That's why I included that detail in my OP- to illustrate that I'm no stranger to bureaucracy, multi-layered management, large workload, burning the midnight oil, bringing work home, etc etc.

Ah, OK! So long as you know!