Have you ever taken time out e.g. 6 months, a year etc from teaching

[nearden]

Hi,
I've been teaching without a break for over 20 years. The job is more demanding now. I'm wondering whether it would be a good idea to just take a break for either 6 months or a year. I would then probably aim to return to teaching, hopefully more refreshed and not out of the loop due to the short duration of the break. I'm not suffering ill health, stress etc and I do still enjoy the 'teaching' side of the job. I've just being doing it for a while now. Has anyone ever done this? Was it worth it? Did you return to teaching or did you end up applying for a different job?

Thanks in advance

I’m pondering the same question @nearden. I’m in my 28th year of teaching and not ready to retire but need a break.
I would do it in a heartbeat but am thinking as an older (more expensive) teacher it may be tricky getting a job to return to …

I have a similar length of service. I agree, returning to a job may be tricky either based on being too expensive or being offered the job but at a lower point on the pay scale due to their budget available. Definitely food for thought.

I began teaching in 1986 - so I’m going into my 39th year in education!
I’ve never took a career break as they were not really a thing back then… only took maternity leave etc.
I only have 3 years to go until retirement and I’ve just started a new job to turnaround a failing school so there’s no point taking a CB now…

I think unless you’ve actually got a justified reason to do so - e.g. you want to go travelling and don’t want to wait until retirement then definitely see it as a good opportunity. Same as if you need to take leave to look after a relative.
If you dislike the job then instead of a CB then I’d just consider looking for something else..

The problem is, if you leave your job on a upper pay scale or M6, it's very unlikely you would be able to just come back on the same pay. Your current contract protects you and enables you to keep earning the higher pay. If you can afford to take a break, and don't mind coming back on less pay, then go for it. You could do supply, part time or anything after even a year's break.

yes, have done this..twice, got bored after 10 years, and ditto after 20. it was easy to go back, but does depend on your subject. Science and maths easier than history perhaps?

It was revigorating and I came back as a better teacher for sure.

After 6 months away I'm not sure I could face going back!

I took a year out after 30+ years of teaching to do some voluntary work and travel abroad. School policy allowed for this, with my job kept open for me. I went back, did a year, then took early retirement. The year away gave me time & space to realise I had nothing left to give, and was missing out on life. Perspective restored. The last 10 years of retirement have been among the happiest of my life.

Yes, I took 7 months sabbatical leave to go travelling. My school kept my job open for me, on the condition that I was willing to teach anything when I returned mid year and that I stayed at the school for at least another year. I stayed another 4 years. I was lucky to be part of a big department where turnover was naturally quite high, so it worked from a staffing point of view. My current school offers the opportunity of a sabbatical too if you have been there for a certain length of time.

SLT and I took 2 years out to work elsewhere. I’ve gone back in as SLT. If any of my staff asked for a year off I would say yes!