Teachers - please give opinion. Return to teaching?

[WittyCakeMeister]

Hi, I taught at a primary school for one year after completing my PGCE (left 2006) and then started a new career in HR. When I got pregnant I spent a couple of years working as a Classroom Assistant and then worked as a Tutor for 4 years, giving Maths, English and 11+ tuition.

My dilemma is - should I return to part-time teaching? Tutoring will no longer work for me when my DD starts school in September, as it is evening work.

It would be really good for the school holidays and working hours (childcare). We have no childcare help and the school my daughter goes to only has an after school club until 16:30.

HR would be my preferred option, but there are hardly any part-time jobs and it would be longer hours in the day. After-school and holidays would be difficult for childcare.

I was actually a really good teacher (got great results in that first year). I only left because my partner at the time earned really good money and I was working my socks off (sometimes racking up an 80 hour week!!) with the planning and marking, and I had step-children to look after as well.

Teachers - What is it like doing a job-share? Does it work with kids / re. workloads? I may possibly have to re-train as I don't know how easy it will be returning after ten years. Don't know whether returning to teaching is the right thing as you hear lots of negative info about teaching in the media - it seems a lot of teachers want to get out of the profession.

I am a teacher of 35 years experience still teaching,I think part time or supply would be a good option for you .Perhaps supply at first to get back into it without being involved in all the paperwork data preparation for Ofsted type stuff ?I think that's what spoils the job for so many people.Just ease yourself back in gently and see how you get on at a few different schools .See which ones you like best .Hope all goes well for you xx

Thank you for your message Sooz. Good idea to do some supply x

Anyone else got any experiences to share?

Thank you x

Might be going against the grain here... but I think part time teaching is a mugs game. I know a lot of women who teach part time, in most cases because they feel the job is too big to cope with full time. They then invariably spend their days off doing prep and marking, without getting the advantage of a full time salary, and ending up with pensions shot to pieces.

I'm a teacher so I understand the pressures, but I also think it's important to stand firm and be prepared to do a good job without being browbeaten into working ridiculous hours- that's a sure way to burn out and doesn't help the kids. I work full time, I do a good job but am not prepared to sacrifice myself and it seems crazy when I look at my part time colleagues who probably rack up almost as many hours as i do without the benefits.

Teaching can be a great career, but don't sell yourself short.

It's not a flexible family option. You may finish your onsite hours by 4:30 but you'll need to be there for 8 and you will need to make sure your DCs are reliably asleep to give you a good couple of hours to do the extra in the evenings. Be prepared to give up at least half a day every weekend and several every 'holiday'. Neither will you be able to take any annual leave or flexi time to attend assemblies, concerts and sports days that take place during the school day. It's a shit job for parents.

Teaching has changed beyond recognition since 2006.

My advice? Don't do it.

If you have not taught properly for the last 10 years, then you should take some time to decide whether or not this is something that you really want to go back into; this is especially the case due to the fact that the education sector has changed so much since 2006, particularly with regards to an increase in technology.

You have to consider the fact that the shift in technology has resulted in a more progressive, mobile-style of learning. There is also the potential for project-based learning and greater collaboration between different schools, whether it be in the local area or nationally.

There is also the fact that technology and software are becoming more and more adaptive, especially in relation to student performance. They can adapt a lot easier to student performance in a way that teachers are unable to.

There is actually a downside to this technology; the fact that students are used to being glued to their mobile phones and connected to the world around them ensures that their attention-span can be somewhat limited and you are fighting a constant battle.

Ok, thanks for your feedback. As I already have some reservations, I think it's not going to be the best decision for me to return to teaching. I always thought Id prefer to return to HR, which may be best despite other issues - work school hols, longer working day.

Its really hard to make work work around kids, especially with no childcare help. Its no wonder lots of women don't go back or change to a more flexible (usually less well-paid) type of work.

Yes, it is hard Witty- and expensive. But I think that's true of most decent professions- you either bite the bullet and pay for childcare or switch to something that's likely to be lower paid with fewer chances of progression.

As a teacher, The school holidays are the only thing which is an advantage when your children become school age... but tbh you're probably going to be using more wraparound care for the school day than you'd need in many other jobs. E.g. My kids were always first to be dropped at the childminder at 7.30am and often the last to be collected in the evening. A lot of my friends with office jobs could drop their children later in the morning, or in some cases even do the school run them self and not need to start work at 9!

Mind you, id worked right through the pre school years so after paying nursery fees 51 weeks a year (no discount just because I had school holidays!) the school age part seemed a breeze in comparison. But I would never have left teaching and then chosen to return just on the basis of thinking it would fit in better with school age kids. I think you'll be in for a massive shock tbh

until 9

Agree with munster part time is a mug's game. I do three days and it's a struggle to get it all done whilst my two children are in childcare for ten hours a day. I've realised it certainly won't work when they are at school either, what with the early start I need to get. Also, since I started teaching 13 years ago, it's changed considerably.

I'm doing a job share on supply at the moment so no meetings to go to and no subject to co-ordinate or any of that carry on. I drop my dd off at breakfast club at 7.15 and my older dd picks her up at 4.30 after she has finished school herself.

I think that a bit of supply work sounds like a good idea to help you decide if you want to get into teaching since your heart isn't 100% in it. If you enjoyed tuition, perhaps you might be able to find a post as an intervention teacher or do a bit more training to go into SEN or EAL. You could also try being a cover teacher as you would have only a tiny bit of prep or marking if any (not quite sure myself).

Both careers will make full use of your maternal instincts, they often say that a job in HR comes as second nature to mothers as the skills required are already present in your daily duties. So if you're looking for a confidence boost I recently read this article about why HR is perfect career choice for mums: www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/human-resources-career-perfect-for-moms/ . - do you agree?

I agree that HR part-time jobs are short to come by, I have considered a career in HR myself but have been a bit curious of the CIPD qualification ( acacialearning.co.uk/what-we-offer/cipd/) is this a compulsory requirement now? Do you have one? Maybe something worth looking into.

I have just done a quick search and found several part-time opportunities, maybe you could even consider starting part time and working your way up? If so it should all come as second nature to you. Whatever you decide it has to be something you want to get out of bed for in the morning.