What are the advantages of working in a school?

[JennetHumfrye]

I'm about to interview for an admin position in a school and just want to remind myself what the advantages could be rather than focus on the fact that I'm going to have a big step down in salary.

I currently work in the city and in corporate secretarial role. Money is good but the commute is awful. It's a 2.5 sometimes 3 hour round trip and I leave the house at 7am and don't often get back until 7pm. I am rarely around to pick my little girl up from school or cook her tea, play or do reading with. It's making me unhappy.

I have been invited to interview at a local primary school and although the money would be a big drop I cant help but be attracted to the 10 minute commute and the holidays off. I know it would be better for my family and we can manage financially if we cut back but I've conditioned myself to thinking that this is a huge backward step! I just want to hear some good news stories of people that have taken pay cuts before I talk myself into having a wobble!

If you want the flexibility of term time working but need to be able to take time off during school terms why not look at the Civil Service? I chose to work term time only when ds was younger, worked 38 weeks a year & got 38/52 of full annual leave plus 38/52 of bank holidays as well, you also get an allowance for caring time as well.

A bazillion holidays!

@Rockbird

If you go in with the backward step attitude you won't endear anyone to you.

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that the work would be beneath me. Not at all. I know it will be challenging and fast paced.

When I said backward step I meant purely financially in the private sector - which it would be.

I worked term time + 10 days when the DC were small, it was brilliant. Always another holiday round the corner! and the kids are great (I worked across primary and secondary and loved both). It was really busy but no two days the same. I would have loved to stay but got made redundant and couldn't find anything similar without a huge pay drop.

As someone upthread said, there is a real sense of purpose. Like it’s a “proper” job. You’re not just trying to make money for your company which let’s face it is the sole aim of lots of private sector organisations. If you have your own kids and remember how much you worried about them when they were very young you realise what a privilege it is to be responsible for the care and wellbeing of other people’s children. (And their families too, I have consoled a few upset parents since I started).

It’s shit that the most worthy jobs are some of the poorest paid. I was only thinking that the other day reading about staffing issues in the care sector.

That said you have to be suited to it and be the “nurturing” type. Some people, for example, would not understand how essential it is to a small child’s well-being to pass on a forgotten lunch box as soon as it’s dropped off by their apologetic parent. I know how much littles fret over stuff like that and the sooner they have that lunchbox the sooner their mind is settled and they can focus on learning again. One of the best visits I paid to a classroom was to tell a little boy that his mum had just phoned to say that the family cat (which had run off out of the house when spooked by something the night before) had come back safe and sound. The relief on that little boy’s face when I passed the message on, he burst out crying with relief and his friends were all congratulating him on getting his lost cat back. The teacher even made me a card he’d made for the cat, and he’d written inside something like “please come back, we love you and you can have all the treats you want if you come back”. I was almost crying myself . This was a year 1 child, they are still so young. You have to have empathy for them about things like that. They really matter to kids.

@CurlyhairedAssassin

As someone upthread said, there is a real sense of purpose. Like it’s a “proper” job. You’re not just trying to make money for your company which let’s face it is the sole aim of lots of private sector organisations. If you have your own kids and remember how much you worried about them when they were very young you realise what a privilege it is to be responsible for the care and wellbeing of other people’s children. (And their families too, I have consoled a few upset parents since I started).

It’s shit that the most worthy jobs are some of the poorest paid. I was only thinking that the other day reading about staffing issues in the care sector.

That said you have to be suited to it and be the “nurturing” type. Some people, for example, would not understand how essential it is to a small child’s well-being to pass on a forgotten lunch box as soon as it’s dropped off by their apologetic parent. I know how much littles fret over stuff like that and the sooner they have that lunchbox the sooner their mind is settled and they can focus on learning again. One of the best visits I paid to a classroom was to tell a little boy that his mum had just phoned to say that the family cat (which had run off out of the house when spooked by something the night before) had come back safe and sound. The relief on that little boy’s face when I passed the message on, he burst out crying with relief and his friends were all congratulating him on getting his lost cat back. The teacher even made me a card he’d made for the cat, and he’d written inside something like “please come back, we love you and you can have all the treats you want if you come back”. I was almost crying myself . This was a year 1 child, they are still so young. You have to have empathy for them about things like that. They really matter to kids.

You sound so lovely @CurlyhairedAssassin

I am a very caring person and I think that is one of the reasons I'm so miserable in my current role. It is very profit driven and the more pastoral initiatives, such as mental health awareness are treated very much like box ticking exercises by management. I have a counselling qualification and am currently studying a childrens mental health course. The part that appeals to me the most about this role is the working with children and being part of a school community.

You are also right in the fact that these types of jobs are woefully underpaid. I often thought that about the nursery staff that looked after my son. They take care of the most precious things in peoples lives but are paid so little. It's so backwards.

You sound ideally suited to it. If you can make the salary work and you know the school to be a good and happy one, then the job satisfaction is worth it alone.

Depending on the management schools can be a lovely place to work. I'm not sure I'd want to be in the office with my head though, she can be very frosty!
However, school holidays are amazing, it fits in well with your own kids and there is nothing better than working with children, they are so happy and really uplift my mood.
I took a pay cut to train to teach (school based) and it's been a little difficult, for example I recently crashed my car, it was a struggle to afford all the expenses of a new one. There's more to life than money and having more time to spend with my DC really makes it worth it. I wouldn't go back.

It's holidays that are the killer. Yes you get all the school holidays (or most of them) but you are not paid for those days anyway and you cannot take any time off outside of those strict dates. It really limits your choices for day to day things and you have to plan very carefully for things that you would normally take for granted, like getting tradesmen in, etc. You can't switch days around, or work from home for example, you have to fit everything in around the school holidays which can be a pain.

The not being able to take holidays during term time is a slight negative. It's not too bad as DH has a bit more flexibility so he could take days off for tradesmen visiting etc.

The thought of not going to see the nativity is a bit but on the other hand I will have a good 1.5 - 2 hours extra each evening to spend with my little one as well as school holidays. It's a tough one but I keep coming back to how I would love to work in a school!

A variety- good luck.

Best thing is the children, without a doubt. So brilliant working with children.

The holidays of course are a big bonus; even more so when your dc are at the age when they are too big for holiday clubs but a bit young to enjoy a week of days at home on their own or with siblings - so about ages 9 -12. I happily left a 12yo (and younger) for extended periods of time, but I was glad tbh that by the time mine were that sort of age I was a teacher and in the house to take them places or play games if needed.

I se that it is term time plus 10 - that's fairly standard for school admin IME. Most likely you can choose when to work some of those days.

A short commute is always a bonus (not a school benefit as such tho).

My top tip - the lovely admin person at my DC's lovely infant school would occasionally ring up and would say "It's Lizzie from xx school - don't worry, there's nothing happened to James" as her opening gambit - because she knew that that was the first thing people's minds would go to, that their child had fallen off the climbing frame and was now in A&E, when in fact it was a query about lunch money.

That is a good point about inflexibility tho - you have to take family holidays in school holiday time (maybe you do anyway) and you can't take a half day for a hair apt or your child's sports day or school concert. I must say that flexibility is a big bonus for me now I no longer work in a school - I can take a couple of days off early Dec to do Christmas prep for example.

Still worth it for the hols tho when you do have small children.

Flexibility varies school by school, I'd say definitely holidays have to be in school holidays, and no time off for a hair appointment! But many heads are happy for you to have a day off for a special occasion especially if you have shown flexibility yourself.