employment after a very long break

[Southlondonmum81]

I honestly don't know what kind of job to go for and if I will be taken seriously at all after my very long career break

Here is my recap
worked between 2000-2004 full-time in a Tele-research company, worked my way up to Team leader then I got pregnant twice between 2005 -2007 so concentrated on looking after the children

2009 - I started and completed my PGCE with half a masters
2010 I got pregnant during my PGCE and went onto have 2 more children

My other half didn't want the children to be put into nursery or be looked after by others, something I agreed with too. We don't have any family members that could've helped us with 4 children

Now my youngest children are in Year 5 & 6, I want to go back to work but I honestly don't know what kind of positions I should be applying for. I found Secondary school Teaching to be highly stressful during my PGCE, it wasn't the teaching aspect but the additional stress of managing children's behaviour and the late nights that went into meetings and marking work. There are hardly any part-time positions in Teaching unless you have been working a while and can request reduced hours.

The reality is that I just don't know if employers will take my applications seriously for ANY job I apply for, I don't know what pay scale I should be aiming at.

Forgot to add I'm 40 and feeling like I want to use this opportunity to re-enter the workplace and feel a bit more empowered, it's been draining mentally being a SAHM

Wow, awesome job on a PGCE with four kids.
Congratulations on four kids too.
Sympathy for dreading teaching job on top of caring for four kids. I've just the one and my head is mashed.
I'm in similar but different situation.
My best ideas:
Have a look at tutoring distance learning.
Keep looking out for school jobs, you might spot something.
Research the schools you like and ask for an informal chat.
Get a cover supervisor job.
Talk to a teaching agency see if they can suggest anything.
HTH

Oh and bringing up four kids isn't a career break. It's a tough role in which you had to have specialist knowledge and a broad range of transferable skills.

@seanchailleach

I did the PGCE when I had two children 🙊 then I had another two lol

I don't think I want to go back into teaching, I had an online consult with teach.gov and they suggested because I did my PGCE such a long time ago, schools may not want to employ me because I don't have recent classroom experience. They suggested calling around at secondary schools and see if they will let me volunteer or observe lessons. Seems like a long process to re-enter the teaching profession.

I wanted to know if there was a chance of office based work based on my situation / past and what pay grade I should be aiming at. Would it be better if I had a chat with an employment agency?

Office work, yes, an employment agency is a possibility. Check the hospital websites as they all need admin staff.

Goid luck!