Any newly qualified teachers out there??

I'm thinking of applying for teacher training to start next Sept. I was going to go for the 1 year in school training plus NQT. By then my DS's will be 7, 4 and 18 months. I took redundancy (must be mad) from my last job when I was 8 months pregnant as my commute was very long, and my job was going to be made full time. I'd never have seen my kids so couldn't face going back.

I figured once qualified, teaching would be a family-friendly and flexible career (I would also love to teach). My worry now is that the training is intense ~ 60 hours a week all in) and I'm not sure that it would be fair to do it with 3 small kids - am I just going to be in the same situation I was in my old job?

Are there any new teachers out there who can give me an honest opinion of the work involved in training and how they have coped doing it with small kids? Would it just be better to wait a few more years until they're all at school? Is teaching a flexible career or am I just deluding myself?
Thanks, your opinions are much appreciated.
«1

Comments

  • iwb100
    iwb100 Posts: 614
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    What do you mean by flexible? I'm not a teacher, my wife is, but by its very nature teaching is fixed hours. You turn up before school and leave after it finishes. My wife is always in by 8 at the latest and rarely leaves before 5pm.

    I'm assuming you want to teach part time? Id research whether there would be enough demand for a part time teacher in your area. Just a thought
  • Who?_me?
    Who?_me? Posts: 206 Forumite
    Honnestly? don't do it. I am an NQT who did her training with a 18 month and 3 yr old. I haven't been able to complete my NQT year because I never found a job. Despite all you hear, the only shortages in teaching are the jobs, and Gove makes it worse and worse allowing people with no teaching qualifications to work in schools. May be not bother with training? you could go in as a cover supervisor looking after whole classes with no training / teaching qualification. You don't even need a degree, which you have to have to train.
    The hours are excessive - being in work before 8 or even 7.30, you may leave between 4 and 5, depending, but still have planning and prep and marking to do at nights and at weekends.The advantage of young children here is that you can pack them off to bed at 7 and then have the evening to work.
    The only child friendly thing about teaching is the holidays. You will struggle to get time for thier parents evenings and school plays. Then again, the chances of you getting a job when you have qualified are so small, this would not be a problem. I suggest you head over to https://www.tes.co.uk and look on the unemployed teacheres and job seekers forum. They will back up what I am saying, Life experiance and age count for nothing, You will be OK if you are 22 with no other commitments, but with a family, they won't touch you with a barge pole. THey want someone cheap who will give every moment of their life to the job. Sorry, not positive, but you need honesty. Teaching is a fabulous, rewarding post when the light bulb goes on, but its hard work and the proffession currently has no respect. Supply teaching doesn't exist either, if you were thinking that! All done by unqualified cover supervisors!
  • ILW
    ILW Posts: 18,333 Forumite
    Who?_me? wrote: »
    Honnestly? don't do it. I am an NQT who did her training with a 18 month and 3 yr old. I haven't been able to complete my NQT year because I never found a job. Despite all you hear, the only shortages in teaching are the jobs, and Gove makes it worse and worse allowing people with no teaching qualifications to work in schools. May be not bother with training? you could go in as a cover supervisor looking after whole classes with no training / teaching qualification. You don't even need a degree, which you have to have to train.
    The hours are excessive - being in work before 8 or even 7.30, you may leave between 4 and 5, depending, but still have planning and prep and marking to do at nights and at weekends.The advantage of young children here is that you can pack them off to bed at 7 and then have the evening to work.
    The only child friendly thing about teaching is the holidays. You will struggle to get time for thier parents evenings and school plays. Then again, the chances of you getting a job when you have qualified are so small, this would not be a problem. I suggest you head over to https://www.tes.co.uk and look on the unemployed teacheres and job seekers forum. They will back up what I am saying, Life experiance and age count for nothing, You will be OK if you are 22 with no other commitments, but with a family, they won't touch you with a barge pole. THey want someone cheap who will give every moment of their life to the job. Sorry, not positive, but you need honesty. Teaching is a fabulous, rewarding post when the light bulb goes on, but its hard work and the proffession currently has no respect. Supply teaching doesn't exist either, if you were thinking that! All done by unqualified cover supervisors!

    With the amount of spelling mistakes in the above, probably just as well you are not teaching.
  • snozberry
    snozberry Posts: 1,200 Forumite
    celyn wrote: »
    I figured once qualified, teaching would be a family-friendly and flexible career (I would also love to teach). My worry now is that the training is intense ~ 60 hours a week all in) and I'm not sure that it would be fair to do it with 3 small kids - am I just going to be in the same situation I was in my old job?

    Why do you want to be a teacher? If you think that it is an easy profession to be in then you are sadly mistaken.

    I did my PGCE 13 years ago and, yes, it was an intense course to do. Long days and non-existent weekends were the norm. The workload, following qualification, doesn't get any easier - you just learn to get on with it. Despite working PT I'm in early, leave late and work most evenings/weekends. However, I manage my time well and, finally, FINALLY, no longer feel guilty about, for example, going out for tea during the week.

    Thinking that schools are family friendly environments is an incredibly naive thing to assume. I have worked for some heads who are supportive of home/work balance and others who aren't but it is like that in any line of work. Just because we teach children doesn't mean that we put our personal families/circumstance first. It is unlikely that you will be able to take them to school on their first day and you will struggle to watch their school plays, sports' day, celebration assemblies, class assemblies...

    Now, a lot of teachers have young families but they sacrifice a lot because you can't book an hour or an afternoon off at a whim. At my place, we don't book time off for doctors/dentist appointments because it is such a pain to arrange cover. In fact, my old head was keen to point out that such appointments should be made in the holidays. Oh, and holidays are set in stone. Not all LEAs have holidays at the same time. You are stuck should your children go to school in a different authority and your holidays clash.

    Think long and hard about applying. Teaching is a great job. I love it - I really do but it is not a doss about profession.
  • terryw
    terryw Posts: 4,396
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    ILW wrote: »
    With the amount of spelling mistakes in the above, probably just as well you are not teaching.

    Do you not mean the number of spelling mistakes?
    "If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools"
    Extract from "If" by Rudyard Kipling
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    Talking about finding jobs after you finished training, did anyone see that programme on Tv last night or the night before. Parents worried about the standard of teaching were paying for extra lessons for their kids. One teacher who gave lessons from her home at £50 per hour couldn't keep up with the demand and had a waiting list. One woman came to see her to say she thought she was pregnant so could book lessons starting in 2017.
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • ILW
    ILW Posts: 18,333 Forumite
    terryw wrote: »
    Do you not mean the number of spelling mistakes?
    No idea, I had poor teaching.
  • Toothsmith
    Toothsmith Posts: 10,072
    First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Forumite
    celyn wrote: »

    I figured once qualified, teaching would be a family-friendly and flexible career


    :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

    I'm married to a teacher!
    How to find a dentist.
    1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
    2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
    3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
    4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.
  • Dunroamin
    Dunroamin Posts: 16,908 Forumite
    If you're worried about doing 60 hours per week when training, then teaching is not the job for you!
  • celyn_2
    celyn_2 Posts: 24 Forumite
    Thanks for all your interesting comments. It has helped me with my decision.

    snozberry, I did not ever say that i thought teaching was easy! I was asking if it was flexible and/or family-friendly, which is a different thing.

    Maybe I should look at private tutoring instead!
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards