The teaching sector has changed so much in the last ten years you now have a myriad of ways to keep using your hard-earned expertise in a new way. If you are looking for a change of pace but don’t want to move away from teaching all together, why not consider one of these moves?
1. Supply
This is a common and obvious move for experienced teachers who want a better work-life mix and can be flexible on which days they work. Once you have registered with an agency and undergone the DBS checking, you can be deployed at short notice to a wide range of age groups and settings.
Suits you if: you can hit the ground running in a new environment, you communicate well, you can apply behaviour policies to lead a new class quickly, you can innovate and improvise well.
Our advice: use an agency who pays you via PAYE and avoid umbrella companies!
Search supply roles here.
2.Part time in this or another phase – like FE or Secondary
Some phases and institutions have more of a part-time and job share culture than others so it’s worth your while investigating. Many further education colleges and training providers need teachers for evening classes or to deliver training in workplaces.
Suits you if: You would like the flexibility of short term contracts, varying environments, changing age groups, you’re considering evening work.
Our advice: Volunteer to get a real understanding of the role – different phases can be another world!
Search FE roles here.
3.Training – university initial teacher training courses like the PGCE
Many lecturers delivering Initial Teacher Training in universities are ex-teachers. You would normally need to have a long and strong time in teaching behind you to qualify.
Suits you if: You have exceptional subject knowledge as well as a flair for motivating exhausted trainee teachers!
Our advice: speak to your local university about their expectations and register your interest – a position might come up in the next few years.
4. Social support roles working with children
Children’s services such as ARC Counselling or Relate provide absolutely critical services, normally to the children most in need. If you have a background in working with children and a particularly relevant degree, many organisations will train you in counselling and offer annual CPD.
Suits you if: you are strong on the pastoral side of teaching, have a psychology degree or counselling qualification and are relentlessly understanding – and resilient.
Our advice: Your local council can give you a register of local children’s services, including charities.
5. Working for a union or teaching trade body
The education industry has a plethora of national bodies, trade bodies and trade unions now, representing teachers, leaders and all manner of school groups. As a result, they carry out a range of functions from legal representation of teachers, lobbying parliament and arranging online surveys to event management and defending high-profile public demonstrations to the press. Experience ‘in the field’ is invaluable.
Suits you if: you have a passion for the political landscape and other skills such as a pre-teaching background in marketing, journalism, acquisition, finance, law or customer services.
Our advice: Investigate which unions and teaching trade bodies are in your commutable region. Your CV must be hot for these vacancies so show how your skills translate to business strengths.
6. MAT and group services
Schools groups and multi-academy trusts are a relatively new but rapidly growing construct within the education sector. They may be a group of 2 or 20 schools headed up from a central school or an outside office which may or may not be in the same geographical region as its member schools. Their buying power as a large consumer means they use business managers, recruitment experts, payroll services and other central functions to collectively save money for their member schools.
Suits you if: you could perform a specialist role within the school community e.g. recruiting for schools – so you are able to combine previous skills. For example, if you were in marketing then teaching, your skills could be put to very good use creating their social marketing campaigns.
Our advice: Search Eteach for non-teaching roles with MATs and school groups – we don’t just advertise teaching jobs!
Run your job search here.
About the author
Katie Newell
Katie Newell BA(Hons) PGCE is an ex-primary school teacher, Head of Maths, Head of Year five and languages specialist. Katie qualified in Psychology at Liverpool then specialised in Primary Languages for her PGCE at Reading. Katie feels passionately that teachers are the unsung heroes of society; that opening minds to creative timetabling could revolutionise keeping women in teaching, and that a total change to pupil feedback is the key to solving the work life balance issue for the best job in the world.
