Wanting to retrain as a teacher

[Millermillermiller232323]

I am a single parent with a 2 year old, who is starting the 15 hour funded childcare nursery this September.

i have a degree, and 2 postgraduate courses in psychology. And have worked in that field for 10 years.

however, i feel i need a change.

want to get into teaching. Dont know how practically I can do this, ie childcare and little one being so young.

is it worth waiting a bit longer? And doing pgce when she’s a bit older and in the meantime find a TA post?

many thanks

I did it as a single parent of 3, the youngest was just 3 and able to do 7:30 - 6 in the school nursery. I did both placements locally - the university was very supportive and made sure I was looked after in that regard. It was desperately hard work in the early years and I wouldn't still be doing it if I had found a job in an independent.

You need solid childcare and good back up arrangements for when your children are ill.

Yes, TA and get in a classroom and see what you think. The profession needs good teachers but more importantly, it needs teachers who are going in with their eyes open. It's tough but manageable.

Any good provider would take your situation into account I.e. consider it when finding placement schools, and would have your back if your mentor was anything less than sympathetic. The PGCE is a really tough year, but actually having a younger child might be better for the mum guilt as I imagine DC goes to bed still relatively early and has naps at the weekend which will allow you time to do work. I am also a single parent and have been since DD was 14 months old and it's completely do-able, if you are very organised and motivated. however you will need a rocksolid childcare arrangement. You'll have to attend Parents' Evenings, open evenings, transition evenings, CPD evenings. Then you need to take into consideration that if there is an incident in your form, you might spend your evening in phone calls or meetings with parents, running detentions, staying late to meet data deadlines. Then consider the drive home. If your meeting finishes at 5 and there's been an accident on the road so you won't get to pick up on time, is there someone you can rely on? I ended up moving 300 miles to be near my parents to make it work, but I know colleagues who use au pairs or nannies.

Mine are a bit older now, but it's absolutely possible.

A childminder with a good backup network worked best for me. The backup network meant that if the childminder was off, another would usually temporarily take on the children. Childminders are also usually more reasonable and flexible than nurseries; for example, I found that my child was not sent home at the slightest whiff of a loose nappy with a childminder, but nurseries won't take any chances. Or if I needed an extra hour, I could ask and it would usually be granted, at a cost, with enough advance notice. I have to say that I was lucky with my schools when it came to time off for sick children, but it was always a bit of a give-and-take in that respect.

As for workload, if you go into secondary work rather than primary you should be able to maintain a resemblance of a life after your ECT years - those are tough and very work-intensive. Beg, borrow and steal was one of the first things I was taught in teacher training and it still holds true now. If you can focus on surviving the first 2-3 years and not going above and beyond (but also keeping up so that you don't crop up on the wrong radar) then you can build up your career after that.

I have done it twice as a single mum. A lot will depend on your determination and your ability to stay organised and prioritise, but it's absolutely do-able.

want to get into teaching.

My first question would be why? What about the job really appeals to you. Definitely don’t do it because you think it’s a flexible family-friendly job or because you get the summer off.

Having robust childcare in place will be key, particularly if you don’t have another parent to help you. 8-6 is a good starting point, plus capacity for cover for parents evenings as well.

Have you considered training as an educational psychologist?