Career change to maths teaching: lots of advice helpful!

[Finallybreathingout]

DH wants to change career to teaching. He has given it a lot of thought, and talked to friends who teach who think he’d be great and have been very encouraging. He’s in a leadership role at the moment and would I think want to do similar eventually in teaching as he finds it very rewarding.

We’re trying to figure out the various routes in and heads are spinning slightly!

He is the main earner in our house so although I will carry on working this is going to involve a major loss of income for us. We’re planning to relocate and save for a couple of years to brace ourselves but routes that involve earning/an income are obviously attractive. We have three children at KS2/3 ages.

An ability to have some say about location is important given the family.

He has a first class PPE degree, and a PhD in political history, but a Maths A level. He is thinking of maths teaching. He has done some tutoring in history over the years but otherwise no teaching experience at all.

Given all the above, I’d really welcome views on the options into teaching. He’s had Teach First recommended to him, but is slightly concerned about its reputation. He’s in his 40s and only wants to teach/work in schools.

He knows he’ll need to get his maths up to scratch to teach it through the SEK(?) course.

Why would he not be interested in teaching something like history/economics/philosophy/RE? Many good independent schools hire PhDs who have no teaching quals with excellent salaries and benefits

He wants to add value! He went to a bad school himself and wants to work with kids who need extra help. He would hate teaching in a private school - it’s just not him.

Maths because he actually really loves it (almost did it as a degree) and knows how badly maths teachers are needed. One of his best friends teaches in a very challenging school working with kids to get them over the line at Maths GCSE and he has been really encouraging about how well he thinks DH would do in a similar place.

Also he knows that if he did go down the Teach First route, their entry requirements mean he would HAVE to do maths.

Has he set foot in a school since he was a pupil? What his friends ‘reckon’ he’s be good at and what he’d really experience in a classroom are quite different.

I assume he’s more interested in maths because of the bursary. With his wish to get into leadership (before he’s even tried teaching 🙄) Teach First sounds perfect for him. It’s maths they’d want him to train and teach but once he’s qualified (and tbh, with maths he doesn’t need the qualified bit, especially with ‘kids that need extra help’ sadly) he can go anywhere and teach whatever he can convince a school he’s capable of teaching.

He needs to actually go into a school to experience what it’s like now rather than 20+ years ago.

I agree with @CarrieBlue. It's all very well be be idealistic and wanting to 'add value', but teaching bottom set Y9 on a wet afternoon in December, with twilight setting in, tends to knock that out of you sharpish. It's important that your husband gets into a secondary school ASAP to understand the reality of what he thinks he wants to do.

I freely acknowledge that I am old and cynical

I was trying in my OP to give the basics for context for advice. But he’s not some pranny who’s seen Dead Poet’s Society and thinks he’s going to save the world!

He’s had three kids in secondary over the past decade so doesn’t think it’s 1980s Grange Hill either. The friends who have recommended he consider teaching are experienced teachers in challenging schools who’ve known him a very long time and think he has what it takes to be a teacher. He’s resilient, patient, great with stress, deals with challenging situations and has really good rapport with kids.

Maths started off when he first looked into Teach First and realised that he’d be slotted into that subject because of his A Level. But the more he’s thought about it, the more he’s been drawn to the idea as he enjoys the subject at school level - he’s in a weird situation of having a degree in a subject he never studied at school. We never thought about bursaries until we realised that Teach First might not be the only route to career change so that’s not the reason behind maths at all. One of his oldest friends is a PE teacher who now teaches maths to kids who just need to tick the box of a 5 at GCSE and finds it really satisfying to help them get over that hurdle so they can get on in life, which I think resonates with him.

The leadership is only because he was told he’d be good in school leadership roles by people currently in school SLT roles and because it’s an element of his current profession that he is good at - he has thrived on developing people and organisational culture. He’s not some megalomaniac who wants to run a school within five years and could easily decide that he prefers the classroom to management.

But I would really like views on the pros and cons of the different routes for career changers. There seem to be a few, and strong opinions on which of them leads to the best teachers!

I was a primary career changer, so a different situation, but also have a degree and PhD so the post struck a chord!

My two pennyworth:

• Find some time, while doing his current job, to volunteer in a school, preferably several. I appreciate this is harder in secondary, but when i trained it was a requirement to have spent a minimum of 2 weeks in school before starting.

• Consider doing a PGCE. Yes, it's a year unpaid BUT it provides a year of 'stand back and think about it' education that can be so much more than 'this is how to do the job by numbers' In addition, certainly in primary, it provides the opportunity to do placements in several schools (I did 3 in 3 separate schools) which gives a much broader view of what 'teaching' is rather than what 'teaching in a particular school' is.

• If you can find it, SCITT can be good BUT select the school really carefully and check that you will have an opportunity to visit and preferably teach in other schools. If the school is under pressure in any way - and it seems likely that your DH could be drawn to a school in more challenging circumstances - then the time and energy that can be devoted to trainees can slip. I did not go down the SCITT / GTP route because, with an academic background, I find 'understand the background, then do' suits me much better than 'do, and learn on the job'.

• TeachFirst is a difficult proposition. It has a relatively poor reputation within schools, in my experience, because the combination of poor / minimal training and the arrogance acquired through 'this is a programme for the best and brightest, to create the leaders of the future' can be somewhat irritating for the existing staff in a school! However, it can be an attractive proposition for candidates in terms of its high external profile, the financial factors and, tbh, for those who WANT a fast track into management, something on their CV that may enable them to bypass too many years in the classroom.

If finance is not an issue, a PGCE with a good university would be the best proposition. If a really good training school is close by, then SCITT would be a decent alternative. If neither of these apply, and if leadership rather than class teaching is the main aim, then TeachFirst is at least national and does tend to go into the kind of schools your DH is attracted to.

Whatever he does, make sure he spends as much time as possible in schools (primary or secondary), or at the very least with the right age of children in groups (Scouts, D of E, football clubs, youth clubs etc etc) before he makes leaving his job for teacher training irrevocable.

Thank you, that’s very helpful indeed in the round. DH is also someone who might find learn then do more comfortable than not. I’m not sure what finance he can access given that he already has a postgrad as well as first degree - were you able to get a student loan?

He’s thinking of what volunteering opportunities he can access with the right age kids - we live in a fairly small place at the moment and kids at secondary age are often not engaged in the sort of activities that are looking for help. He’s done his share of Cubs in the past but it needs to be more than that!

As I suspected, when I mentioned the possibility of teaching in a private school (his professional achievements along with his PhD would make him quite marketable I think) he bristled at ‘contributing to the continuation of privilege’ although I did point out that we could actually benefit from that privilege for the first time!

Being a parent to a secondary school student is totally different to being a teacher in a secondary school, I am both and I know the difference in experience from inside to outside of the environment. I’m sure the many teaching friends are much better placed than an internet stranger to assess your DJ’s qualities but the fact remains that regardless of the training route your DH won’t get a place on any of them without some relevant experience beyond attending parent evenings on the other side of the table. (Actually, that’s probably not so true anymore, especially in Maths where having a pulse is the main acceptance criteria)

I actually don’t think the training route makes much difference. What counts is knowing what you’re letting yourself in for and that needs to be experienced in school before signing up.

I am completely unsure of the finance deal wrt PGCE at the moment, so I can't advise on that.

My training was free, and I did not take out a student loan (I do not know whether one was available, but I went PhD - job - SAHM - PGCE so I did not have a salary to disappear and we were used to living on 1 income). Had I studied in a more shortage subject, I would at the time have received a bursary. However, the precise deal has varied a lot over time so I cannot help on that front.

(Can his teaching friends find opportunities for him to volunteer in their schools? That type of personal contact is invaluable when it comes to getting a foot in the door for volunteering roles)

@CarrieBlue I didn’t mean to suggest that being a parent is the same as being a teacher. The implication appeared to be that he had no clue what modern schools are like, which of course he doesn’t from first hand teaching experience but does as a parent.

I’m slightly taken aback at some of the challenge on here. He’s no different to anyone else thinking of a teaching career presumably in that he thinks it’s something he’d like to do and is now looking into the best way to go about doing it: how else is he meant to do that? Only existing teachers (and TAs) have actually done the job. It’s very helpful to know the sort of volunteering that he’d be expected to have done as part of applying for various routes in. If I worded my initial post badly then I apologise for that.

We don’t live near any of his friends unfortunately. His current job would make it hard to do work experience in a school but he can work out how to work with young people in some capacity. The fact that we live in a small community does reduce the opportunities but we will be relocating.

I should say that I am from a teaching family, and know how infuriating it is when people assume it’s easy/long holidays/a job for people who can’t do anything else etc. I couldn’t do it myself in a million years and I hold teachers in very high respect. DH is not someone who thinks teaching won’t challenge him. The tutoring he’s done over the years has been really rewarding (including quite a few kids attending local failing schools) but he knows full time teaching is a very different beast.

@Finallybreathingout - your posts come across as your DH coming into teaching to save the world and taking over slt before he’s even set foot in a school. Schools are used to people interested in teaching coming in for taster days. Your DH will need to take leave for a day to get into the classroom. It’s great he’s done tutoring in the past, but seeing how it is inside the classroom is of course different.

I’m sorry if you think I’m being challenging but after seeing many potential trainees who last were in a classroom when they were at school or who think they are going to save children from the rubbish teachers who are there already, perhaps I’m a little jaded.

Tell him to email some local schools.

Well then I do apologise as that’s my wording and not DH’s thinking or attitude. He has been told by people who know him well that he’d be a good teacher, and that his leadership skills would fit well into a school setting but he is not someone who would ever look to take over or presume to be better than others. I only mentioned that (with no intention at all of causing offence) in case it made a difference in the route he would take in training. He has utmost respect for teachers, and having gone through school in a deprived area in a challenging school, he would like to be part of supporting other kids who come from similar backgrounds to achieve.

He’s totally willing to do what’s necessary and interested in getting experience, and this change is at least two years away, but I just wanted opinions from teachers on here on the routes in as there are so many.

Ironically given what a hash I have made of this thread, he has had Teach First suggested to him but isn’t sure because he doesn’t want to be seen as an arrogant knob.

Actually I do have to say that all I said was:

He’s in a leadership role at the moment and would I think want to do similar eventually in teaching as he finds it very rewarding.

I don’t think it’s entirely fair to say that implies he wants to come in and take over an SLT.

I recommend he uses this website to get some school experience -
schoolexperience.education.gov.uk/

I did this before applying and it helped in 2 ways. 1. It confirmed that I did want to be a teacher and understood what I was signing up to. 2. It gave me things to write about on my personal statement which helped me get accepted on a course.

I also have a PhD and decided that I'd been at university long enough and would rather train based in a school. I did a SCITT and enjoyed being in a school from day 1, but not thrown into teaching straightaway. I had several weeks of observing and supporting learning which really helped when I came to teach.

Thank you, that’s an incredibly useful website!

DH finished his PhD almost 20 years ago but his job is quite academic in nature and I think the practical side of teaching is one of the things that appeals to him. Although as I said earlier, he is probably by nature a learner! Probably work experience will help him do more thinking about what would suit him.

He has told me that something that worries him is that we live in such a small community that the minute he asks for work experience, it’ll get out that he’s thinking of leaving his current job. So that website will give him a way of contacting a more distant school and avoiding that, rather than approaching a local school.

Looks like he could get a bursary of £24k if he trains to teach maths, (£40k if he’s ever been in the military?!)

getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-your-training#bursaries-and-scholarships

Yes, we were both surprised by the size of the bursary, especially tax free. But whether the PGCE is the best thing for him isn’t clear yet.

Personally I’d say pgce is probably the best option for most people, if they can afford it. The mix of uni / practice is well tested and well respected.

Absolutely, your DH should spend a few days in a secondary school first. A parental view of the school is not the same as a Teacher view (I have done Supply in my eldest school after he left).

If he is the main earner, what will you do if he can't get a job after training? Do you have a back up plan? This would be my main concern.

Is he prepared for children who really, really do not want to learn anything?

You say he has children who have been in secondary some time ago. Do they think he would be a good teacher? Or happy in his job?

For the Maths..

1. Buy a GCSE textbook. Become very familiar with the GCSE specifications. These are available online. Think about how you would teach these concepts.

2. Become familiar with PowerPoint and other presentational software. (I imagine he already is).

3. Listen to Craig Barton's Maths podcasts...

4). Read Craig Barton books.

5. There are almost certainly other books and websites that deal with Maths and it's teaching..

6. Look at White Rose Maths website for KS3 ideas...

I’d be surprised if he was accepted to train to teach Maths without a Maths degree (or a degree with a substantial mathematical component) even more surprised if he were offered a bursary.

Well I might be wrong there, so apologies.

Hi both. Really sorry, this thread had fallen off Threads I'm On but I just saw it pop up in Active!

Yes, the maths thing came about because under Teach First he'd have to teach maths. And it seems in general that he'd be accepted (especially given that his degree was part economics).

Acting on this thread, he's got himself some shadowing in a local school this term. He remembered that he knew one of the local headteachers through work, who has also been really encouraging about the idea of him teaching (I can only assume he gives off some sort of vibe) and he'll be spending some time with the maths teachers there. He also found out that the husband of a friend is a maths teacher in another local school so is going to talk to him about spending time there too.

Both schools will be pretty far removed from the sort of placement he'd get in Teach First or even general teacher training I think, but it's a start. He's been promised an introduction to some other local teachers too.