Inspiring stories needed - primary teaching

OLDBILL_2

I NEED to change career. I am so unhappy in my current job and the hours are round the clock and long.

My dream is teach primary school children. I have looked into this today and really don't know what to do.

IF I decide to pursue my dream I need a degree. An Open Degree with the OU was recommended, incorporating National Curriculum subjects. This will cost me £10,000 but Student Finance will loan me this and I will only repay when my income is over £21k.

Time is a big factor - you need 360 credits. 60 credits takes 8 months and they recommend 26-30 hrs study per week. Doing this at 60 credits per year will take me 6 years to complete!! I will have a newborn from the end of November and a 4 year old. I will be on maternity leave until September (hopefully).

Then you apply for teacher training. I have just been advised that the course in our area received 320 applicants for 26 places.

I am worried that if I do all this study and then cannot get on the teacher training course or find a teaching post, I will be left with alot of debt and a degree that is of no use to anything else.

If anyone has some positive feedback, I would love to hear it. All i keep hearing is how hard it is to do and I should just forget it for now. I really feel this is what I was meant to do though!

Idiophreak

I don't know if this counts as positive feedback or not, but...Get yourself down to some local schools and see if there's any way you can swing some work experience...You really need to understand the amount of effort that's required in the role and the kind of things that the job entails - teaching is, in itself, quite a small part of the role these days.

You need to spend some time with that number of children, go to schools which are maybe in not such nice areas and see what you'll be up against.

As you've said, there's a lot of studying to be done before you can apply for the course. The course is hard to get on to and hard to complete (PGCEs typically have a dropout rate of between 20 and 50 percent) and when you're finished it's very competitive to get jobs at the "nice" schools...and life as an NQT isn't exactly a walk in the park either.

In summary, being a primary teacher is A LOT of work and you need to be 100% sure that it's what you want to do before you start spending the time, money and energy on making it happen.

I will say, though, that I'm only really aware of the graduate/PGCE method of entry into the career, but I know there are others - someone will hopefully be along soon who can advise if that would be the best way of you going about it...

dizzyrascal

If you want to do this then you have to go in with an open mind.
My sister did a degree (as a single parent) part time when her son was small through her local university and worked part time and she then got onto the GTP which is now called School Direct
If you want to teach in a primary school you will also need to have a good pass in English, Maths and a Science GCSE in addition to a degree
You will also need to get as much volunteering experience within a school as possible. You will need to be CRB checked for this. You might be able to volunteer at your child’s school to help out; this is often a popular route to becoming a teaching assistant.
http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/teacher-training-options/school-based-training/school-direct.aspx?sc_lang=en-GB
My sister found that being taught was easier than doing an OU degree as she had already done some modules when her son was small and was able to transfer the credits to her local university. It also had nursery care which she could use. You need a lot of family support to do this because you will have deadlines and small children don’t always cooperate with the demands of academic life.
If you want to graduate sooner, you might want to consider going to university full time but it won’t be easy. You will get a student loan but I’m not sure of the ins and outs of the financing.
Whichever way you choose it can be done, but you will have to make some sacrifices.
If you want to do the School Direct route you will work as an unqualified teacher (once you graduate) whilst you get your Qualified Teacher Status. The pay is pretty poor, a lot of people think that because they have experience of working in other environments on higher salaries then this will somehow magically transfer to the education sector but you have to remember that you are at the bottom of the ladder.
Once you qualify you will start on the normal teaching scale. Currently new teachers start on £22,800.

Idiophreak

OLDBILL wrote: »

I NEED to change career. I am so unhappy in my current job and the hours are round the clock and long.

This really worries me. I think it would be a mistake to start a career in primary teaching hoping to do fewer hours...

OLDBILL_2

Thank you everyone.

I am well researched into the route in... I have GCSEs all A's and B's, A level in French and Art and 60 credits of a degree in French and Education.

And thank you idiophreak but I don't think I explained myself well there. I work earlies, lates and nights with a young family. Night work and children are not a good mix and its not good for your health either. I am very aware that teachers work hard and am not expecting an easy ride.

I am passionate about helping children. I have always had an interest in the way people learn, psychology etc. I have bits and pieces of exprience in schools and have recently done the CACHE level 2 in support work in schools.

I was just hoping for some positive 'you can do it, I have' kind of stories. Not looking good though is it?!

Aryndeneth

Idiophreak wrote: »

This really worries me. I think it would be a mistake to start a career in primary teaching hoping to do fewer hours...

This might depend on the job satisfaction though. I currently work long hours and often take work home with me but I love what I do so this isn't a problem.

In the role before this I was working a 35 hour week in a job that drove me to tears on more than one occasion and even half an hour extra doing that made me so unhappy.

If OP finds s/he loves teaching, the hours won't be an issue in the same way they are now.

dizzyrascal

The good news is that once you have a little bit of experience of life you are more likely to stick to being a teacher.
About 50% of newly qualified teachers will leave after two years as a teacher but this is mostly down to them being young and not really understanding the demands of the job.
You should not dismiss your dream so easily. It will take work and some luck but there are many headteachers who would prefer to take on someone who has seen a bit more of life. You can start building your networks now.

Idiophreak

OLDBILL wrote: »

I was just hoping for some positive 'you can do it, I have' kind of stories. Not looking good though is it?!

Well, you certainly *can* do it - and I don't think anyone on here will ever tell you otherwise!

As long as you are sure it's what you want to do and you're under no illusions about the work involved, just get stuck in!

Each step of the way, there will be challenges, but you just take them one at a time and overcome them, like anything else in life.

Studying will be hard - stick with it, keep working, you'll get through it.

It will be hard to get a place on a course - but you've got life experience in your favour and you can be sensible and apply to plenty of courses.

The course will be tough - but you won't let it beat you. You'll keep getting support from the tutors, your mentors and your colleagues, you'll dig deeper and work harder.

It will be competitive to get a job in a "good" school - so you'll do the best applications you can, brush up your interview technique and give yourself the best shot. If you don't get a "good" school, you'll find a school that you can start off in and pay your dues.

Being a teacher will be hard - but you'll be doing what you love and loving what you do.

heretolearn_2

My advice would be to re-think the Open Degree if you go the OU route. It's best to have a specific named degree if you later change your mind about teaching; employers understand what a History or English or Maths etc degree is, I don't think many understand 'Open'. that's more the choice for people who are just doing it for fun/personal satisfaction rather than career.

Aryndeneth

OLDBILL wrote: »

I was just hoping for some positive 'you can do it, I have' kind of stories. Not looking good though is it?!

Have you tried LinkedIN? http://www.linkedin.com It's networking for business and professionals (like Facebook but fewer pictures of other people's kids and pets ) Once joined, look in the groups function for teaching goups and ask on there. I think you'll get a lot of the doom & gloom stories but there's also people who'll share the positives with you.

In addition, one of the things that's looked for in a teaching application is the appreciation of the challenges as well as the positives. Nothing beats actual experience for this (as per Dizzy's advice) but actual insights from people currently doing the job you're interested in can be helpful too.

You seem keen, you've done your research and you're realistic about this not being a walk in the park. Go for it. Don't kick yourself in 5 years because you didn't try it.

hieveryone

OLDBILL, I'm a primary teacher and did the B.Ed(Hons) 4 year degree.

There was people in my course who had just left school, people like me (who had worked a couple of years first) and older ladies who had school aged children. I can't generalise too much, but at our graduation ceremony - the older ladies mostly got first class degrees! Maybe more focussed?

If it is something you really want to do, then go for it, why not?

Be aware though, times are tough and jobs are scarily scarce. I had to move 100 miles from my home town for a job, and that ended up being in a very specialised sector of education (additional support).

The hours are long and the physical and mental toll it takes on you is unbelievable. People reckon teachers have it easy with holidays etc, but believe me, you work 7 day weeks to deserve those holidays!

It can be done though. Lots of ladies in my school have young children and still work full time. Even 'part time' hours ends up being 3 1/2 days when you take into account non class contact time.

Do your research, look at the jobs websites - are there lots in your area or hardly any advertised?

Get work experience in schools/shadow a teacher. Get to know people - useful for networking.

Also, this part stood out for me 'I've always wanted to help children'. I wouldn't say teaching is 'helping' children as such, it's teaching them. What about other, more pastoral care roles of children? After school club maybe?

Or, as you've just had a new baby, could you look into childminding? You'd be able to stay with your little one whilst looking after other people's children too.