Going into primary teaching with young DC

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I am planning to do a primary PGCE in the next couple of years, when DC will be in year 2 and year 3.

I have wanted to be a primary teacher since before I had DC, but I have a nagging worried/guilty feeling that the job will be so demanding, there will be no work life balance, that I wont see much of DC during term time.

can anyone who has been a primary teacher with young DC/done a PGCE offer any words of wisdom please?

I’m a primary teacher with primary age dc.

Honestly it is tough. Work life balance is difficult in term time - the holidays are amazing though. It works for me because I’m part time - I really really wouldn’t want to be full time teaching as then I would have to work at the weekends (my dh also teaches & does work weekends - it didn’t work for our family when we were both trying to get work done at the weekends).

It’s a great job but it is not family friendly. Make sure your partner isn’t going to expect you to do all the childcare stuff - you have to be able to share it including sick days etc. also be realistic that you won’t be able to go to things at your dcs’ school eg sports day & all those types of things. The trade off is they get you in the holidays.

Have you done experience in a primary school recently? Make sure you have a realistic picture going into it and you will be fine.

As a general rule you will need to be in school by 8. You'll be able to leave between 4.30 and 5 most days. You'll then have another 15 hours to fit in across the rest of the week.

There are a few late nights each term for discos, parents evenings and parent presentations. You should get notice of these well in advance.

I don't have children. Some of the teachers I know who do feel they are bad teachers and bad mothers as it's hard to be good at both or even one.

I did my PGCE when my children were in yr 3 and 5. I studied and attended lectures whilst they were at school and my Mum moved in when I was on teaching practice ( single parent) to look after my children. It was the only way I could manage.

It’s not a family friendly job. Don’t do it.

I managed two and half years of feeling like a shit teacher, shit mum and shit wife all at the same time (there was never enough time to do any of it well enough) before I left to do something else. I'm not afraid of hard work but primary teaching is all consuming.

Thanks for taking the time to respond - this has really made me reconsider. What job did you change to instead, if you don’t mind me asking?

Thanks for this - I am a single parent so judging by all of these replies, going into teaching might not be a good choice for me right now. Maybe it’s something I’ll reconsider once DC are a lot older.

Feeling pretty lost now, as I’m not sure what sort of jobs to go for! 😓

Have you spent some time in school observing?

I did a secondary PGCE as a single mum of 3 and am still teaching 10 years later. I have stuck it out for the holidays and am not sure how much longer I will last. It is doable but you do lose time with your children in term time.

Yes I have worked in a primary school as a TA for a couple of years, I enjoy it but understand the workload as a teacher and hours spent working are far higher!

are you glad that you stuck it out, or would you have chosen a different career path if you could go back in time if you don’t mind me asking?

It has worked for me - I haven't really got any support, other than my ex who is no support whatsoever, as I'm an only child and my parents are long gone.

It works from a holiday perspective - I didn't want my children both in school and in childcare for the holidays whilst I worked. And I am glad now they are teens I am around in the holidays. I did have to shift to supply at one point to manage the demands on me when my mum was ill, but that proved a blessing in disguise as I ended up in an independent and I've never left!

I feel like my children's childhoods passed me by in a haze of planning and marking and I have some regrets on that account. I probably haven't been as present as I could have been. But I do enjoy the job and think overall, I got what I needed from it, even if it it's demanding and all consuming much of the time.

What about training as a HLTA and doing that for a few years until your DC are older and then training as a teacher if it is something you still want to do?

I think it would be doable but tough to do PGCE and ECT years now if you have a wider support network to help with your DC during term time but that might not be possible and also you might feel guilty about it.

To be completely honest, the only way I am still in teaching (mental health and work/life balance point of view) with young DC is by working 0.75 and you might not be able to do that as ECT and maybe money-wise too.

Of course, there are other jobs too that might be more family friendly...I have heard Civil Service have some good roles. Personally, my heart is still in teaching and it sounds like you have wanted to do it for a long time so maybe HLTA is a good route to go, if money allows. Or online tutoring in evenings?? Not sure if it would be better to have teaching experience first, kind of chicken and egg situation. All the best, OP.

As a general rule you will need to be in school by 8. You'll be able to leave between 4.30 and 5 most days. You'll then have another 15 hours to fit in across the rest of the week.

I think this might be true when training or as an ECT, but the experienced primary teachers i know don't do 15 hours extra a a week on top of 8-5. More like 10 - an hour a day & extra on weekends. Its not unusual to use planning and resources over several years so the workload reduces over time.

You do have to plan on it being a 50 hour working week though, less is unrealistic in term time.

But because of the longer holidays, its comparable to doing a normal 40h week for the 47 weeks a year worked in other jobs.