Pay and benefits
On the whole, teaching is pretty secure. There aren’t that many people that’re made redundant. That’s obviously just happened to me but job security is quite good.
Pay - it depends on what you compare it to. Do I get paid fairly for what I do? No. I’m sure I could probably earn what I earn now in lots of other jobs that don’t need the same qualifications or that don’t have the same pressures. When I was a head of year, for example, I was managing 180 children and eight adults. I think I was on maybe less than £40,000, whereas in the private sector, if you managed that many people you would be on a lot more money.
Development opportunities
When I was young and didn’t have children, I got promoted very quickly. To get on in teaching you have to give a lot of your own time. When I was 22, I could do that. I was more than happy to do weekends and residentials. Whether I could work my way back up now, I don’t know.
When I was being made redundant, and I started applying for Assistant Headteacher positions, they all said, ‘Desired: have worked in numerous schools’. That’s why I ended up back as a Classroom Teacher. If I was to do my time again and speak to younger people in teaching, I’d say, ‘Every few years, to get those higher positions, you need to move on.’
I can’t, off the top of my head, tell you when I last went on a course for teaching. It was probably over ten years ago. We do training in school, but it tends to be the same training. I’ve listened to the same talk about child protection so many times – I’ve given that talk. If I could have CPD in maths or science to make me a better teacher, that’s what I’d like. I was offered some last year, but it was in the evening. I haven’t got time to do it outside of work hours and there’s no flexibility to do it within work hours.
If you’d asked me a few years ago whether furthering my career was important, I’d have said yes. I miss the money that I got – I’ve taken a big pay cut – but at the minute I just couldn’t move back up. I couldn’t fit it in with two children and everything else. So at the moment it’s not that important. There’s no promotion opportunities in this school in any case, but I might be able to apply to other schools later now I’ve worked in another school.
Relationships at work
It’s very difficult to make real relationships at work because you don’t come out of your room. I’ve got a lovely faculty, but we don’t get to spend time together. Our breaks are split breaks, and our lunches are split lunches where they run at different times. At break – because you’ve only got 15 minutes, I just go to the toilet and set up the next lesson, so don’t have a break. It’s the same with lunch – I don’t come out of my classroom.
My head of faculty is the person I would go to if I had any problems. Obviously, if it wasn’t dealt with, I’d go to my line manager and then the Headteacher. I’ve never had to go above my head of faculty because I have a really good relationship with him. This school is very supportive. If you’ve got any problems, it will be sorted out.
Generally though, I’m just left to it in the classroom. I did get observed today by the Headteacher – he’s like the ultimate boss. He came in for 20 minutes, watched my lesson and I will get feedback at some point about it. I’d say every term, somebody will come in and just check that you’re doing your job well.
Voice and representation
I’m a member of a union and used them a lot when I was made redundant from my previous role. In this school, I haven’t needed the union. Staff here are listened to and they do lots of questionnaires about the job and wellbeing. We then talk about the issues raised in the questionnaires in staff meetings.
An example is that people have moaned about the split break. It meant that people that had their break after period one, then had to teach three periods without a break – three hours – which people said was too much. They’ve now moved it so everybody gets a break after period two. It’s still not perfect but they’ve listened and done what we’ve asked of them.
When I first started here, they had a meeting after a few months to just check I was OK, or if there was anything that I needed. That was really nice – I never had that in my old school. They also do wellbeing meetings once a year, where the head sees everybody for ten minutes. It’s ten minutes a year, but still, I thought that was nice.
Reflections
I’d say I’ve got a good job, because I like working with teenagers and it’s very rewarding. I’ve had lots of ex-students come back and tell me that I’ve made a difference to their lives. I’ve even been invited to some of their weddings. But I would say it’s not an easy job. I’ve seen a lot of people come into teaching because they think it’s an easy option. It’s one of those careers – you’ve got to love it or you couldn’t do it.
It comes back to the children I’ve taught over the years and the relationships I’ve got with them. When I was a head of year, those kids are now are in their 30s and I still speak to a lot of them. They still come to me for help to write out job applications. So, yes, the relationships you build, and also the time that it gave me with my own kids in the holidays.
This is a difficult job, so having support is what makes a ‘good’ teaching job. If you know that you can go and speak to someone and you'll be listened to. The head here thanks us for coming to staff meetings, even though we have to go, but little things like that mean so much. You know you’re actually appreciated for doing your job.
