State teaching vs.independent

[lineandsinker]

Been teaching for 7 years - secondary. Did 3 years in mainstream and left due to work/life balance. Ended up in a PRU where I’ve been for 4 years and now a HoD. Although work/life balance is better, I’m done with the poor behaviour and also a very unsupportive management (no real consequences for poor behaviour). My room is trashed on a daily basis, students vape / phone in lesson, and the verbal and physical abuse from students is getting worse by the day. Mental health is in my boots and I’m just so tired, physically and mentally.

So this leads me to thinking it’s time for a change. I’m a single parent to a 4-yo so moving back into mainstream isn’t an option. I can’t really afford to leave teaching as I’d have to halve my salary. I’ve seen a HoD job advertised at a local independent - am I just going out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Would love honest experiences from teachers who have taught in both sectors.

Thank you!

I’ve never worked in an indie so can’t help with direct comparison but will just say to check the pension package carefully, as lots of independent schools have left the TPS.

I understand why being a single parent to a 4yo is a factor to consider but I don’t understand why independent would be better than mainstream state in this regard, unless you intend to send your child to the school you are considering? The terms are shorter but the days are not, necessarily.

Thanks @ThanksItHasPockets.

With regards to independent being different to mainstream, I was thinking more in terms of workload due to smaller classes (so less marking, theoretically, compared to mainstream). Workload is my biggest concern as I don’t have time to do any work in evenings / weekends. I have wraparound care so will be fine if I have to work a longer day - I already stay at school until 5-5.30pm each night anyway to get everything ready for next day.

Ah, understood. I will be interested to see the responses to this. My understanding (but based only on friends teaching in indies and a family member who sends her DC private) is that while there are fewer children to mark for, the higher expectations of frequency and detail of marking (including significantly more homework) means that the marking load tends to even out as broadly comparable. I’m an English specialist, however, and our marking situation is quite particular. Certainly friends in indies have told me that our use of whole-class feedback in between diagnostic assessments would never fly in their settings.

I’m also an English specialist! Makes sense what your friends are saying. Even though the pedagogical evidence is increasingly leaning towards WCF as being more effective 😂

My marking load is very light in comparison to mainstream, however, my planning load is heavy as I’m often planning 6 different lessons for each class (because of their varying needs and prior academic attainment).

I ended up on an independent and love it. Class sizes are smaller and behaviour is, for the most part, better. Ultimately, children who are unable to moderate their behaviour end up leaving and I have seen that happen only twice in the last 5 years. Parental demands are huge, however, and there is an expectation at some level of….service? This can be frustrating and annoying and some of them complain about anything and everything. Much will depend on the school but there is a high expectation on extra-curricular activities, trips, as well as open days and taster days. You might have to go in on Saturdays, you might be expected to stay late. You will be expected to get results which are above the expected both at GCSE and A Level.

There is a big difference between schools. If the school has boarders there is often an expectation of involvement in co-curricular, which will include Saturday sport. On the flip side, PPA allowance can be double that in state. I find the days (and weeks) longer but less frenetic. Holidays can be very long in boarding as well; 4 weeks for Christmas, 3 for Easter and 8 week summers.

I'm not convinced independent is the way to go if you want reduced workload. I think it can be less stressful due to better behaviour, resources and so on, but the workload expectations are high and in some schools there will be an expectation of attending weekend and evening events. Even moreso if you are a HoD.

Obviously each school varies, but if you specifically want more time to spend with your child then I actually think a flexible state school is the best option.

I agree with this - the relationship with parents (and to some extent students) is very different. You are providing a service to clients and they expect a certain level of attention and availability in return for their fees. Check very carefully the expectations around responding to parental contact as these vary between schools. Usually there is an expectation to respond within x hours but at some places this includes evenings and weekends.

YY to checking the pension provision. I personally wouldn’t jump if the remuneration package doesn’t involve TPS (be careful here, as some schools have kept existing staff in TPS but are not offering it to new starters).

Thank you for all of your helpful comments. It’s a day school, so no boarding. Assuming there will be no Saturday events (I’ve perused their school calendar and there’s no suggestion of any Saturday events… though I’m not fussed by the odd Saturday if needed).

With regards to pension, not sure if they’re in the TPS but I’m of the opinion right now that I’ll be lucky to reach pensionable age with the level of stress I’ve been experiencing, so if that means I need to take a hit on my pension to have better wellbeing and health, then so be it.