Teaching part- time help

[powerpufff]

Hi everyone,

I really value mumsnetters who are teachers- you will tell it to me how it is ( uni and school placements are sugar coating it and trying to present everything as wonderful due to retention crisis in schools )

thank you in advance to everyone
I am about to finish my PGCE - I have been working 60 + h weeks ( I know I wont have assignments to do when I'm a fully qualified teacher but the workload is nevertheless intense with more classes tutor group extra curricular activities etc) I've noticed teachers stay in school till 6 / 7 pm even later

I realised that I do not want to work more than 30 max 40 a week ( full time teaching is more than this even in schools where there is a centralised planning system)

Should I go part time? I am thinking 2 or 3 days a week and then do some agency or supply work on the side OR pastoral full time ( I know it is challenging as I have shadowed a pastoral leader but classroom teaching is mental)

Or simply choose a different career all together ?

Id like your honest thoughts on part time teaching

I am a relatively new secondary teacher (in my third year post qualification). I have always worked 4 days and this year went down to 3 days which has been brilliant. My elderly mum lives 3 hours drive away and needs visiting regularly and so I really felt like I didn't have any time with my own family. I am lucky to be able to afford not to work on my days off.

I do think there's a danger that you're not taken as seriously as a part time teacher and think there is some merit to doing 4 days for the first year to establish yourself. As an MFL teacher you should be in a good position to negotiate something that works for you. You should be able to find tutoring work to supplement and if you can do exam marking that looks good on your CV and will attract more tutees.

I would get some full time teaching under your belt before going part time, so you will be taken seriously. If you do go part time, make sure you compensate for the impact on your pension - found this the hard way! You could do a LISA, normal ISA, SIPP or stick with the TPS but look into faster accrual for example. (There's another option too, just can't remember it right now.)

You may find you become the first port of call to cover absent colleagues on days you aren't working.

With children, I have definitely found part time essential to even remotely keep a semblance of work life balance.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I would definitely get some full time work in at the start of your career. The first few years are the hardest, and you may feel after that, that you can manage ok. As you go along you learn 'short cuts' and you build knowledge and experience... I worked very long hours in my first few years but was able to continue full time but working fewer hours once I was in the swing of it

The main problems with part time which will impact massively on you long term is that

A) IME part time teachers usually end up going above and beyond so are working what would probably be the equivalent of full time hours in any other job. Even on days off, a lot of part time teachers end up prepping or marking

B) you'll end up with a part time pension. At the start of your career you're perhaps not thinking much about that but you will when you get to the other end. Honestly it will knock hundreds of pounds per month off your pension, and tbh the pension is one of the perks of teaching as compared to other jobs it's very good

What @watermeloncougar says is true, but needing to plan and mark outside teaching time happens whatever hours you do. I personally prefer to do it during the day even if unpaid, than late at night/all weekend. But OP is MFL so maybe that's not such a consideration (I teach an essay subject).

Regarding the Teachers' Pension, iirc, OP's in her 20s. It may not exist in its current form in 50 years' time.

I career changed into teaching at 40 so the pension was definitely a consideration.

Something else OP should be aware of is that (as a MFL teacher who could get snapped up by an independent school) is that some independents have left TPS and more may in future. The alternative pensions they offer will be more affected by part time working.