Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

divorced mum looking to relocate in england and work as a teacher

6 replies

evii · 04/07/2012 09:19

Hi everybody!

I am completely new to this blogging process,so excuse me for any mistakes .
I am a 35 year old mum of a 4 year old boy.I am living in Greece currently , i am not getting payed from my job for the last 8 months, my ex-husband too and i am the only one to pay for my child's expenses.I need a new job and environment.I have studied in UK and am thinking to relocate there, find a job as a teaching assistant first for early primary and then do a one year PGCE to work as a teacher.My main concern, is where i should live in order to be able to sustain my self and my child and have a good quality family life.In london,rents are sky high,but there is a bilingual school and it will be easier for my child to adapt.i do not know if i would be entitled to any bursaries due to my situation.Do you know of other places that are nice for a family in UK and have schools that i could teach?13000 pounds is the average salary of a teaching assistant.This is 1000 pounds per month.22000 is the starting salary of a teacher.Is this money enough for me to find a place to live in london?(family friendly areas in London?west acton is a family friendly area?)Is there any supported housing schemes for young parents and their children i could apply to?
Thank you for any information you may have.:)

OP posts:
ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged · 04/07/2012 09:26

I'd suggest Birmingham or Manchester - much cheaper rents than London and lots of schools so lots of jobs after you qualify. Not sure about supported housing etc. also not sure how you'd fund your PGCE year as it would be hard to work alongside the course. It might be worth looking into the GTP programme instead as then you'll get paid during your training.

StillSquiffy · 04/07/2012 17:27

You will need to get yourself a job before you even think of coming over - you will find it very difficult to gain employment to be honest - unless you have any special skills or experience that would put you ahead of all the other people applying?

The rate of £13,000 is (I think) a full year equivalent, but TAs only work for the school terms which is around 39 weeks, so the actual rate becomes £740 net per month (after taxes) - this is pretty much what a TA friend of mine earns (they actually earn slightly less).

Now, this amount of money is almost certainly not enough to cover your outgoings. Renting a small flat is not going to be possible but you may be able to rent a single room in someones' house - a room in a shared house rents for around £300. It may be difficult to find people willing to rent a room to mother and son. Then you will need to travel to work, support yourself and feed the two of you. You will also need to pay for childcare if you need it. You may be entitled to benefits but I am not sure how much and how quickly you would get them.

Bursaries are not normally given to children under 7 years of age, and they are then usually awarded to children with exceptional talent. Saying that, state schools are free and your child is of an age where they will quickly adapt to a new language so that shouldn't be a problem.

Of course you will not be able to work while you do a PGCE, because these are normally full time courses. There are some courses that allow you to teach whilst you qualify but I expect competition is hard for these places.

In all honesty, I don't think your ideas will work. There are many many people here in the UK who would love to do TA work, but cannot because very few vacancies, lots of competition and very low pay. You will need to check carefully about access to benefits/likelihood of getting a job, etc. If you do get a job you need to accept that you will have to live in a less expensive area (West London is impossible on a salary of even £30,000). You may have to live in assisted accommodation in a high unemployment area. I am sorry, but that is the reality of a household income of £9,500 with young children.

MrsApplepants · 04/07/2012 18:35

I'm sorry to say it, but I don't think this is going to work at all well. TA jobs are quite sought after and the salary won't be enough to get a flat in London. Housing association waiting lists are huge. You could try an

MrsApplepants · 04/07/2012 18:36

Sorry, posted too early

You could try another city but I think it would still be very difficult for you.

Good luck though!

ekidna · 05/07/2012 10:11

could you try and get a live in housekeeping job to start with?

Putthatbookdown · 05/07/2012 19:57

Yes I agree with the others A live in nanny post or better live in pastoral care in a school would be better. Are you bilingual? Because I saw a nanny agency recruiting bilingual people

New posts on this thread. Refresh page