Anyone teach in a college?

[Daisy4569]

Considering a move from secondary to college teaching and just wondering how people find it? I’m sure it varies depending on the college but just interested in opinions, pros/cons.

Thanks!

Pro

The students generally want to be there

Con

Not always (especially gcse maths and English resits)

I work in a sixthform college (2nd year teaching - first qualified, but have been support staff for four years prior)

Pros (all of these obviously depend on the college and can probably vary a lot)

• Some of the students do want to be there. I do think this has changed since the compulsory post-18 education bill and you do find some saying 'I'm only here because I have to be'. Regardless, students can choose their own subjects, so generally enjoy them more.
• A more casual environment. Where I am teachers can have colourful hair, visible tattoos and wear more flamboyant clothes, makeup etc. Students call you by your first name.
• (possibly?) better work-life balance. I am full time and teach 5 classes. That means I can learn all my students names and know more about them, take an interest in their hobbies etc. This also makes planning and marking easier. I finish by 5pm most days. I do work a few hours on a Sunday most weekends, on and off, and maybe do a little prep in the evenings, but generally it seems like less workload than school teachers.
• Opportunity to show your expertise with things like supporting students with EPQ projects.
• If you have been to university, students generally take an interest and want to know your experiences. This can be quite fun!
• Students are generally more mature and less behaviour issues on the whole

Cons:

• Currently less pay than schools. My college has not awarded us the 2022 pay rise and no word as to when/if this will happen.
• If you teach level 2 at all, some of the behaviour issues you might see in secondary school will still be there. I hate to generalise, and there are some lovely level 2 students, but a lot of the time they didn't pass their GCSES for a reason, and it is usually attendance/behaviour/lack of respect for teacher etc.
• You might not get to teach in your specialism. At my college, I would say more than half of the teachers teach at least 1 subject outside of their specialism, and this can vary a lot year on year. I currently teach 0.6 in my specialism and 0.4 out. My boyfriend who works with me only teaches outside of his specialism, which he hates, but you have to take the jobs that are offered. Next year, I might teach completely different subjects due to numbers. Class numbers vary a lot year on year so subjects might get cut or grow at any time.
• Safeguarding. I won't go into too much detail, and can't compare to schools as I haven't worked in one, but the issues that do arise are often very complex, as students are old enough to fully understand. There's often issues with students moving out of home, living independently etc. that you might not get in schools.
• Attendance expectations are similar to school, but students are old enough that they can simply leave the college if they want to and 'bunk off' and little can be done about it. There is still the expectation to inform parents but a lot of them either don't want to know, or use the 'they are 17/18 - what can I do?' excuse.
• Lack of funding. Schools have this bad too, of course, but colleges are notoriously underfunded. We ran out of art supply budget by Xmas, for example, with half the year to go and no supplies. This means students buying out of pocket or, ourselves.

Personally though, I don't think I would ever want to work in a school after working in a college.

@helloisitmeyourelookingfor @icingsugar01 thank you both! That’s really useful. My specialism isn’t a core subject but I am used to teaching outside it at secondary level. Interesting to hear that the pay award hasn’t applied to colleges!

I don't but looked at it last year. Pay is a lot lower than schools, and often there's a requirement to do several open events in a year. Also not all colleges are in the TPS.

So ask about terms and conditions but I imagine the actual teaching is much nicer!

Just to add to above poster about open days. I am not sure how it is in schools and if this is a requirement, but we have to do Thursday open events (usually 2-3 a year), plus can do 3+ optional Saturdays and progression evening which recently means a day off later in the year. Also 2x parents evenings, 3+ interview evenings for y11s (this is a new thing, previously y11 interviews were done in your own time). Also the requirement to get involved with y10 and y11 open events during college days in the summer term, but I find this actually fun! This is usually about a week's worth of events spread over 4 weeks or so. Obviously does take away from planning time though.

Do you find you still get your equivalent 10% ppa?

I don't anymore as I went back to secondary teaching but I taught in a college for a few years.

Again, it depends on the college, but for me;

Pros
I taught Physics and students generally only take it if they are genuinely interested.

In A-level classes, I had no behaviour issues (see above)

It's nice to teach your specialism to a fairly high level and be able to stretch the most able.

Nice atmosphere- students used our first names and relationships between staff and student were strong.

Seeing students achieve and go on to the next stage is great.

Cons
Lower pay, even for course leader/HoD posts.

Enormous pressure for results. Every class is an exam group!

I also taught resit gcse and some students were still very much like Y11.

Teaching BTEC was horrendous due to weak students but huge pressure from.above to get them high grades at all costs.

You are pretty much held accountable for students attendance and punctuality, when, in reality, there is little you can do about it.

Course numbers can vary at enrolment and your timetable might change literally a day or two before you start teaching.

Some students really don't suit a particular course but SLT will do nothing because they want bums on seats due to funding. They will expect you to get them through at all.costs.

I did enjoy parts of it but, overall, for me, I prefer being in a school.

The college I looked at didn't follow the STPCD- I'm not sure about non-contact time, but you'd have been massively over what would be considered "directed time" in a school. I think there is sometimes an assumption because Y13 leave that your hours will average out the same over the course of the year- but for me I wouldn't have enjoyed that working pattern.

Thanks so much all, I went for a look around but all things considered decides it wasn’t for me.