Part time teachers salary

[AJH93]

I am pregnant and beginning to think about plans for once I go back to work after maternity leave. I’m currently a full time reception teacher in a MAT primary school. I’ve got a few questions that I’m hoping someone could answer.

Did you feel like your work/life balance improved once you were part time or was it just as difficult (or more so) being a mum on the other half of the week? Work has been incredibly stressful this year (I know this is countrywide and not just happening in my school) but I have been close to burn out and worried how I will juggle everything once the baby arrives and I’m back at work.

I think I will have two days of free child care from our parents. Is it worth going back 3 days and paying that extra days wage to put my child into a paid provision for one day?

What can I roughly expect at the end of the month being on M3 for two days a week in comparison to three days a week?

Thanks in advance ☺️

100% worth it.
I went down to 3 days after dc2 was born and it is the best possible balance.
It brought my working hours down to about 33 - 36 pw, and my stress levels down to a manageable level.
It means - as your dc get older - you get to meet their friends, other parents and their teachers when they start school, whilst also maintaining your career.

The Unions usually put out information about salaries, but remember, due to the way tax works, you will take home more than 3/5 of your FT salary.

@Kite22 Thank you so much for your reply. That’s really reassuring!

Look at the TAFKAM salary calculator on the TES. You can enter your pay scale/any student loans etc and part time working and it tells you your take home pay.

@Shinyandnew1 Brilliant, I’ll have a look at that. Thank you.

It's definitely worth it until baby is 3 and gets 30 free hours childcare.

Work wise i think it depends on your part time role. I did PPA cover/interventions so had very little prep and could usually leave by 4:30. Job shares I work with always seem to end up working at home on their days off. But I think class teaching has more job satisfaction than cover/interventions so 🤷

I went back 2 days - with GP looking after little one both days. I found this to be the perfect balance. If you do 3 days then you tend to be the 'main teacher' and ultimately do quite a bit more in my experience. 2 days is 0.4 contract so if you work out 40 percent of your full time wage then you will get an idea (remember to take out pension contributions). I think 2 days works out not a lot less than 3 days because you are hardly in tax territory. The increase in money for the third day will likely be eclipsed by the childcare cost for that day.

2 days definitely saved my sanity and meant I was able to be with my little ones as much as possible. Good luck with whatever you decide 🥰

I went to 60% after having my
second and it was great. I then went up to 80% and that is shit. It is compressed fulltime work with 20% less pay. Dont do that.

I wasn’t down to 4 days as that was all that I could afford , but it was the best decision ever . My advice is to be form that this is your time to be with your little one . Before ds stated school I never did school work on my day off . We went to the park , soft play , petting zoo etc . I had lots of annual passes.

Thank you. That’s really helpful! I am worrying that those days at home will be taken up with the work I haven’t managed to get done on my work days. Hopefully if I start as I mean to go on then I won’t get sucked into doing that!
Thank you ☺️

I can imagine 4 days is really hard going. Thank you for the advice, if I can afford to stay clear of doing 4 then I will do.
Thank you ☺️

I can imagine 4 days is really hard going. Thank you for the advice, if I can afford to stay clear of doing 4 then I will do.
Thank you

I can imagine 4 days is really hard going. Thank you for the advice, if I can afford to stay clear of doing 4 then I will do.
Thank you

@GoodnightRain that is really helpful! Thank you. I am swaying more towards the 2 days rather than 3.
Thank you ☺️

My children are much older and all in school but I still went down to 0.6 this year and I love it. I originally dropped to 0.8 and hated it. I try to get everything done on my 3 days and then I have 2 days to mooch around, do school pick ups and generally do things at a leisurely pace. I tend to work late on one of those three days so I’m all set for my long weekend and I make it very clear that those are not my work days.

I’m currently 0.6 and take home just shy of £2000 on ups3 and inner London. However, going back full time in September as sick of working on my days off. I intend to work 7-6 everyday and do nothing else-wish me luck!

You dont have a right to go back part-time and so it may not be an option?