Career change to primary teaching and trying for a baby!

[sallybunny]

This should probably be 3 different posts but it's all come together at once!

To start at the beginning, I've been thinking about going into teaching for over a decade but just haven't done it. I went back to Uni and did an MA in Librarianship which was great, but I really should have done my PGCE. I now have a 16 month old boy (light of my life!) and me and DH have just decided to try for another baby.

Work have been great about my returning part time (although a little bit disorganised in HR!) and it's going fine, but in some ways I'm feeling sidelined as I'm not a 'proper' subject librarian anymore, but then I'm getting told off as I can't come in for meetings on certain days and I'm not checking email from home as often as they want me to. Plus, I'm just not enjoying the job anymore ragardless of anything else.

The best librarian job I had was as a children and schools librarian, working with children 3-11. It was at this point I realised I should have bittent the bullet and done the teacher training!

Does anyone have any advice about teacher training (best way),actually doing primary teaching as a job, job availability in Kent / SE London, when to apply after having the 2nd baby (!which will hopefully be here this time next year!)....

Sorry it's all a bit long but life crises approaches!

I would say, check course requirements carefully for where you want to study. I've been thinking about doing a Primary PGCE for about 20 years! Finally decided to apply this year, only to find you now need GCSE Science, which I managed to fail 30 years ago... Plus the teaching course I want to do (part time over 2 years) requires you to have 4 weeks 'observation' in 2 different schools before you apply and is very competitive to get on to. Friends currently training say course is very intensive and teaching placements must be done full time, so maybe not ideal with baby / toddler, unless you have great childcare! Teachers have to be in school early and leave late, so although you get the school holidays, the hours aren't as family friendly as you might expect, unless you get a part time job.

primary teaching is a Very full time job. Not wanting to scare you at all - there may well be plenty of p/t options, but would perhaps delay training (an awful lot of work) and your NQT year, which has to be done in full before you can move on, until your little family are that bit older, even if only at nursery / school age themselves. Realistically that is only another three years? Enjoy them whilst they're small, there's time to do the rest later without putting yourself under ridiculous amounts of pressure. If you're interested in working in schools, can you apply for TA posts? The pay's horrendous but you'd get tax creds to make up if your dh isn't a top earner. Look into the Graduate teacher training programme, although fantastically competitive, it would be ideal for your situation. Also maybe look at agency work - the teaching agencies take on cover supervisors, TA's and all sorts, you don't have to be QTS to get on the books as a support role.