Move to Primary Teaching?

[Roobetharack]

I have about another 15 years of my career left, and I don't feel as though I can cope! I'm a secondary teacher and the pressure is getting too much. Teaching two GCSEs, A Level and IB is such as lot of responsibility and I just can't switch off from work. I always seem to have a huge amount of marking hanging over me.

Am I deluded in thinking that if I moved into KS1 or KS2 teaching that the pressure would lessen? I don't think that Primary teaching is easier - certainly not - but the relentless exam pressure and grading (just about to enter another round of mocks for two GCSEs and an A Level, having just graded a load of IB work) is starting to really make me feel unwell. It's an essay subject, so there's an element of subjectiveness in the grading and marking takes such a long time. The scrutiny is hard-work.

I enjoy teaching and wouldn't want to leave, but I can't cope with the amount of exam classes. I also have KS3, but I don't feel I do this justice because of the KS4 and KS5 exam prioritisation.

As a single parent with a DC at university, I can't afford to go part-time.

Would it be wise to look at KS1 and KS2 jobs? My school is linked to a Prep, and I often wonder what it would be like to teach there. I do love smaller children, which is also a reason why I'm wondering.

Thank you.

Go for it. I’ve done both, and primary is way more chill in terms of marking + prep. (My subject was English).

I wouldn’t. I would hate to have to teach every subject. Also most of the time they teach all day with their PPA time on a single afternoon rather than an hour a day.

Less germs in secondary too - unlikely to catch nits or worms in high school.

I don’t think you’ll find the grass any greener. Primary teaching takes its own very special set of skills To suggest it’s somehow easier and is a bit disingenuous and tells
me you don’t really understand primary education.

I can’t offer any advice, but I just want to say I don’t think many people outside the education sector realise how stressful teaching is, and I appreciate all what you say about GCSE / A Level.

yes all working sectors have their very stressful areas before people complain, just I think teaching doesn't always get the recognition it fully deserves.

My son is in ASN school, he had a teacher who taught mainstream but then moved to SEN as classes are typically around 10 pupils . He was very laid back; appreciate obviously SEN isn’t without challenges !

I've made a move to primary after 16 years as a secondary teacher. It has it's advantages in terms of behaviour and atmosphere but I'd be lying if it's not one frying pan into a fire. You may enjoy it, I am but my role is different from a class teacher. It comes with a different set of stresses though.

I can see why the marking is a nightmare in secondary school, but primary is very stressful in lots of other ways! You have to teach all subjects and be a jack of all trades, which is really hard when teaching upper KS2 in particular. As you mention you are linked to a Prep, do you have subject specialists at your Prep? We do at my Prep, and I only teach 2 subjects which is way easier than having to teach 12 different things! In primary, you are also very responsible for the pastoral / friendship side of things, and you are held accountable for progress across all your subjects. You also have to do other things like school plays, even if it's not your area of expertise at all. If at all possible, I would try to get some experience in primary school before you make your decision. Good luck!

Not a teacher but in private education as a mentor and have worked as a TA. I couldn't imagine working in a secondary school. The pastoral side on top of education is really pressurising. Primary kids are nicer. The behaviour is better for most children. Till they hit around year 5 then they aren't bothered by a look, a hand up in the air or a threatening to take a star away.

Have you thought about speaking with your headteacher or line manager to explain how you feel? You sound really passionate and would be a shame to walk away from a job when you actually like the teaching aspect of it. Could you explain how you're feeling and ask for a reduction in ks4/ks5 classes and take on more ks3 lessons? Maybe not now but at least for next academic year?
Good luck x

I'm a Ks1 teacher. I teach maths, English, phonics, grammar, guided reading, science, history, geography, RE, PE, PSHE, music, art, DT... I am a subject lead for 2 subjects, mentor...
I teach mixed year groups so have to plan 2 curriculums, plus separate planning for a non-verbal child with ASD. I clean up poo and wee regularly.
Yes the marking is less- it takes me longer to decipher writing than mark it.
We have a phonics screener in Y1 which is an 'exam' delivered 1-1.
Its still stressful, just different.

I teach primary, and speaking to secondary colleagues it’s really just a different set of stresses. Yes less marking (especially KS1) and our school has all schemes of work set out so planning is pretty straightforward, but there are far more subjects for you to switch between and zero downtime - you are always “on call” for any pastoral needs for the children in your class, and you will likely be more involved with safeguarding. Having taught across primary, I would say there is a broad trend from early years super intense during the day, less work after school, which gradually switches to less crazy days, more after school work as you move up through the years.
Things like the phonics check and KS2 SATS are as important to a primary school as GCSEs are to a secondary, so the pressure is still there if you teach those year groups.

With all that said, a change might be as good
as a rest, so if you are feeling burnt out by secondary I would definitely give primary a try before quitting entirely!

Marking will most likely be less, but I think the school day itself will be more draining. You're expected to wear so many hats in teaching in general, but I find this especially true for primary. Even regarding responsibilities outside of the classroom, primary teachers tend to lead multiple subjects due to smaller school sizes.

I also find it emotionally and socially draining, as the day is a constant bombardment of never-ending questions, conversation and showmanship (especially in KS1).

You might not be doing paperwork at the end of every day, but you will need a dark, silent room to retreat to...

There are different stresses, and if you get a tricky class, thats who you have all day every day! But if you are not enjoying your work now it's surely worth a try!

You can try it and if you don’t like it move back. There are different stresses. Parents can actually speak to you in person to yell at you rather than rant on email.
behaviour in many primary schools is bad now. Children are coming in unable to perform age appropriate tasks.

marking can still be extreme as you may need to mark English and maths books daily so at least 60 books. Plus whatever else you did that day. Make sure you read the marking policy if you visit any schools.

I’ve know secondary school teachers come to primary and then return to secondary.

is there anyway you can shift the burden of your current classes more fairly across the department so not all the exams are on you.

I was a secondary school English teacher and left after having my children. More recently I've been working in a primary school as a TA/HLTA. I've since left that job to move onto something new but that's a different story and not relevant here. I would say primary teaching is every bit as stressful but the stresses are different. Being a primary school teacher can be very overstimulating! You're everything to the children in your class - it's pastoral and teaching all rolled into one but the kids are too young to understand boundaries. The playground disputes get brought back into class so your sessions after breaks are frequently disrupted dealing with this. The likelihood of having another adult on hand to support is very low so you feel like you're trying to keep sooo many plates spinning.

The curriculum is jam-packed! And MAT leaders will decide to add new initiatives mid-way through the term that you then have to get your head around only for them to decide the following year to do something different. And this is usually something to be shoe-horned into your already bursting timetable. Plus, the expectations for what the children need to know is mind-blowing. As an ex-English teacher, I find the spag absolutely ridiculous (and so tricky!!). The concepts they have to learn in Maths are super challenging. It's frustrating when you have some children who can't yet grasp the basics but you have to move onto something new and abstract because otherwise you won't have time to fit it all in.

There is still exam pressure. Year 1 phonics screening, year 2 SATs (obviously no longer official but lots of schools still do them and are scrutinised based on them), year 4 MTC, year 6 SATS. Year 5 is the year when so much of the work goes into preparing for SATS so there's the pressure there as well. No national tests in year 3 but it's a huge leap from ks1 to ks2 and the children struggle with this. Plus, this is often the year when friendship dynamics change and can be the start of conflicts and issues etc.

The marking load is immense. English and Maths books need marking every day. Foundation subjects also need marking every day. Self-marking can happen but you still need to check so you know what they know.

They lack independence, at least until year 5/6. Coming from a secondary background, this will be a huge adjustment. You can't just tell them to put the date and LO in their books (why we waste so much time getting them to do this will forever be a mystery to me!), you've got to do everything step-by-step. You finally get them where you want them but not until mid-July when it's time to send them up to the next class and you're starting from scratch with babies!

Assemblies to plan and lead, class assemblies to script, rehearse and deliver (on top of all of your normal daily tasks). Lunchtimes are usually interrupted because there will be a conflict to settle. Toilet breaks are non-existent because you're with your class ALL. THE. TIME. and you won't have a TA who can watch them while you run for a wee. And don't go thinking playtime will be your window for a wee. Oh no, you'll either be on duty or supporting a child who is upset/injured/angry/struggling...

Then you've got:

• your interventions which are so important but never happen because you don't have enough staff to support with delivering them
• a billion different subjects areas that you have to be an expert on
• school trips, risk assessments
• PARENTS! Oh the parents. Their child is the centre of their world so must be the centre of yours as well, right? But Billy doesn't like sitting next to Henrietta so please move him. Hmm, he gets distracted if he's next to Kitty. How about sitting him next to his bestie? Yeah, Billy and Herbert get on brilliantly so that would be perfect, kthanksbye. You tell the parent that their child needs to work on their spellings at home because they're consistently getting 0/10 on their test. Parent gets angry at you because it's your job to teach them to spell. Then they get angry again when their child is still getting 0/10 and asks what they can do to help but it's 2 weeks before SATs and little Jimbob is never going to get it because the parents didn't help when you asked them to 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Disclaimer: I worked in a really really lovely primary school and LOVED every minute. Behaviour was excellent, the team were amazing, parents were (generally) pretty supportive. Primary teaching is hard. Is it harder than secondary? No, but it's a different kind of hard and it's important to think about what your own personal triggers are. I'd much rather be overstimulated and dealing with Timmy and Tallulah's he-said-she-said that marking a million year 10 essays. The marking is endless but it less intense. Primary school children are delightful and the relationships you form with the children are simply magical.

Having said that, my experience as a HLTA in primary led me to all of the above conclusions and I came to the conclusion that it's not for me. Hence moving onto something new.

Also, to add, jobs in primary schools are hard to come by. I assume you're pretty far up the pay scale because you have years of experience to offer. Primary schools are trying to cut costs wherever possible. Experienced teachers rarely move jobs because other schools are looking to hire cheaper ECTs. Heads know that they're not getting value for money but they're under massive pressure to reduce staffing costs. Lots of jobs are advertised as MPS1-3. You're expensive and don't have the experience in a primary school setting (I know how valuable your secondary school experience is but primary schools are very different and getting to grips with the curriculum, planning for a different phase, etc will take time).

I would strongly recommend getting some experience in a primary school first. Could you ask to be timetabled for more KS3 classes next year? Maybe see if you can work alongside the transition leader. All of these things will help if you do decide to make the move.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

It sounds as if you are in a private school, with a linked private prep. This means that the shift to primary teaching may not be as difficult as it would be in the state sector, as some of the things that make primary teaching hard will be less common.

Fwiw, things you may want to think about:

• Marking: volume of work produced will be lower, but frequency of marking is likely to be higher. It has been common for the marking policy to state that every book is every subject must be reviewed / marked for the next lesson in that subject. With Maths, English and Reading generally being taught daily, plus a couple of other subjects each day on a weekly or twice weekly basis, a class of 30 could often result in 150 books to be marked each day. Some schools have reduced marking expectations, and private school classes will be smaller, but it is as well to be prepared.
• Curriculum planning: though there has been a recent swing to pre-published schemes, you may find yourself with a school expectation of having to plan, resource and adapt every lesson in every subject, and then adjust each day on the basis of what happened in the previous lesson. Breadth of curriculum can be a challenge - you may teach Science, Dance, English, Maths and History in quick succession over the course of a single day, with a different selection tomorrow.
• SEN: while this may be less common in a private school, a primary teacher usually has absolute responsibility for every SEN pupil in their class- in terms of targets, paperwork, intervention, progress reports, adaptations, parent meetings etc. In the state sector, this can often be for a quarter to a third of every class, each with different needs. Even if the child needs eg a completely separate curriculum, for 4 years below their chronological age, it usually expected that the class teacher will plan and deliver it alongside their normal class work.
• Pastoral care / social work: again, all pastoral care, and all observation and recording of safeguarding or social care needs, are the responsibility of the primary teacher. Ditto almost all behaviour management / consequences. Ditto all morning, playtime and many lunchtime duties, and often at least one club.
• Parents: a primary teacher has daily contact with parents, often several parents for significant periods of time each day.

Primary teaching can be the best job in the world. It can be hilarious - or heartbreaking. Feel like playing - or feel deadly serious and life-changing. It’s a juggling act where it is almost inevitable that you will drop at least one ball every time.

Be aware that demographic changes mean that primary schools are shrinking, along with their budgets for staff. Jobs are scarce, and usually paid at low rates.

How about Sen teaching? Side ways move might work and you could still teach your subject up to GCSE.

Have you considered working for an online school/ online home tutoring classes?
im very close to home schooling my child and they will be joining an online homeschool to deliver his maths science and English right up until he sits his GCSE’s. I’d imagine there’s less stress in this setting, and I’m also assuming less exams/tests to mark as they only deliver the lessons and homework but parents have way more responsibility in terms of testing the children and checking homework. I could be way out in some of the areas as this is all new to me! But it could be an avenue to consider.

Another factor to consider is how much more physical primary teaching is. Teaching PE, bending to help children tie laces/ do up zips etc, sitting on small chairs, at low tables. Bending down to same low tables to help children with equipment/ to check their work, children with SEN who need help dressing after PE/ changing after toileting accidents/ physically restraining to prevent them from hurting themselves or others, etc. Definitely try before you buy with some supply or perhaps ask to cover some classes in the younger age groups at your current school?

Have you considered going part time and making up the shortfall with tutoring- that seems to be incredibly well paid and more flexible?