Coming home...?

cmegzc · 12-10-2014 8:05pm #1

Well here's my issue.

I just qualified in May with my PDE and figured it'd be easier to get a full time teaching job in the UK, I was sick of my retail job and sick of being broke so I signed a contract with an agency and accepted a post in a school in the UK.

I am hating it! All I want to do is come home, but I have several issues.

1. How easy is it for me to get subbing work in Ireland? Just covering lessons etc? My parents home is in Kildare so I can commute to quite a few areas around (I also have a car)

2. I'm legally signed into a tenancy agreement until next July here in the UK and if I leave without a replacement being found I will have to pay rent up until July. (Issue of finding someone to take over is going to be tough as the house is rented out only to teachers working within one of two secondary schools, it's linked with the school. Also renting in a 4 bed house and there is only 3 of us currently)

3. I need to give 6 weeks notice to my agency...so I want to make decisions soon if I'm to be home for christmas.

4. Would me leaving before my contract is up severely affect my possible references?

I'm really homesick and I really hate the work here. It's too different. Everyone thinks I should keep going until at least Christmas but I'm struggling so much.

Anyone else in any form of similar situation at all?

PLEASE HELP!

byhookorbycrook · 12-10-2014 8:32pm

Are you primary or secondary?

cmegzc · 12-10-2014 10:20pm

Secondary, teaching humanities (history and geog) to key stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) similar to 6th class to second year

mirrorwall14 · 12-10-2014 10:28pm

cmegzc wrote: »

Secondary, teaching humanities (history and geog) to key stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) similar to 6th class to second year

Are those the subjects the teaching council recognise?

cmegzc · 12-10-2014 11:08pm

I'm qualified to teach English and history in Ireland, recognised by the teaching council

Noccy_Mondy · 12-10-2014 11:57pm

If you are struggling and find yourself homesick then come out of the job. I was in the same position before, (not England though) and I left a job. You will get something nearer home, even if it's subbing. Teaching is hard enough, never mind having to deal with the likes of these added pressures.

gubbie · 13-10-2014 4:21pm

This was me last year... It is so tough

The first thing I'd do, is I would talk to whoever your supervisor is or head of department. I've often found in the UK, they can be very helpful if they know you are struggling.

If they are no help, then I'd up and leave.

Have a rethink about staying until Christmas though - by that time you should have your 300 hours done so you could come home, do the workshops, and be fully qualified.

implausible · 13-10-2014 6:25pm

The first couple of months anywhere if it's your first teaching job are bound to be tough. The planning, workload and classroom management can really take it out of you.

To be honest, professionally, you'd be mad to come home. You have possibly the most common Arts subject combination that you can have and any job you go for will be hugely oversubscribed. You will be competing for subbing with teachers who have years of experience and a large amount of subbing is provided 'in-house' now from teachers who are on part-time contracts. After qualifying, experience is a necessity and where you are, you're getting that. You will be employable after a year's experience in England; you may not be now. Are you willing to throw away valuable experience to live at home on the off-chance of subbing and possibly returning to retail to make ends meet?

I'd strongly advise you to stick it out, unless it's adversely affecting your mental health.

duffyp · 13-10-2014 8:04pm

Hello,
I did 3 years in the UK, It is tough but it does make you a better teacher. You should try and finish the year if you can, as you have only ks3 the level of stress on you regarding exams should't be too bad. I know socially it can be tough there too but try and get your school to get you signed up for lots of CPD which you can stick on your cv for home- it all helps. Not finishing a contract and having a gap on your cv will do you no favours here where the demand for jobs is massive.
Keep the faith,

implausible · 13-10-2014 8:08pm

I forgot to mention that a new colleague of mine recently returned from England. She did a fantastic interview, mostly because of her knowledge and experience of coursework, moderation of results and all that jazz that they're trying to bring in with the new JC. She has been a great help to us, especially with the planning side of things.

who_ru · 13-10-2014 8:16pm

I would echo the others who have advised you not to give up, it's just a single year, until next July, so not even that. It will be the making of you in the long run. I too lived abroad in the past, in a non English speaking country and found it difficult initially but realised that it would remain difficult unless I became pro active, made the effort to integrate, and made the best of my situation. At the end of the year I didn't want to leave but had to in order to finish my degree.

Don't give up. Stick it out. Get active, exercise regularly and think of the benefits of having a year's experience behind you next July as opposed to none, and explaining in interviews that you threw in the towel in a previous job because you found it too tough.

Good luck and stay focused!

cmegzc · 14-10-2014 4:22pm

Yeah I won't be staying, I'm too stressed even missed work today because I felt I'll with stress. Any advice on telling my agency would be appreciated

Heydeldel · 19-10-2014 3:37pm

PMed you.

ianryan1000 · 19-10-2014 6:12pm

Is it so tough teaching in UK?
A friend of mine told me her experience as teacher assistant and she was quite content. Nevertheless, after reading these posts I wonder if she had been lucky with the school she was assigned. It was in Scotland.

Afroshack · 20-10-2014 8:01pm

ianryan1000 wrote: »

Is it so tough teaching in UK?
A friend of mine told me her experience as teacher assistant and she was quite content. Nevertheless, after reading these posts I wonder if she had been lucky with the school she was assigned. It was in Scotland.

Yeah it's quite tough. Being a teaching assistant would be okay, since you are helping kids one-on-one mostly. There's very little marking or admin.

gubbie · 20-10-2014 10:07pm

Afroshack wrote: »

Yeah it's quite tough. Being a teaching assistant would be okay, since you are helping kids one-on-one mostly. There's very little marking or admin.

That depends on the school. Our school brought in reports that the TA's had to write reports after every class about the progress of the SEN kids.

This past year they also invited them all into a meeting and fired every one of them, and then asked them to reapply for their jobs back... but there was 3 less jobs available.

aunt aggie · 21-10-2014 5:07pm

gubbie wrote: »

That depends on the school. Our school brought in reports that the TA's had to write reports after every class about the progress of the SEN kids.

This past year they also invited them all into a meeting and fired every one of them, and then asked them to reapply for their jobs back... but there was 3 less jobs available.

Yikes, I find that secondary schools in England have very detailed procedures and policies on reporting but they vary considerably from school to school. Some schools want detailed planning from their teacher, others prioritize regular reports home.

I was lucky but still had one or two moments when I wanted to jump ship. Whatever you decide OP, you can spin your time in England to make yourself more employable when you to return to Ireland.

2011abc · 21-10-2014 6:54pm

I HOPE it's a myth that having been worked to the bone with ludicrous paperwork in England makes a teacher more employable back home .At that rate if you spent a year in a Bangladeshi sweat shop making t shirts for some of the cheap clothes chains you could walk into a job as a principal on return .Utter nonsense!

aunt aggie · 21-10-2014 7:05pm

2011abc wrote: »

I HOPE it's a myth that having been worked to the bone with ludicrous paperwork in England makes a teacher more employable back home .At that rate if you spent a year in a Bangladeshi sweat shop making t shirts for some of the cheap clothes chains you could walk into a job as a principal on return .Utter nonsense!

It's not nonsense. Someone with the OPs subjects would find it difficult to get experience in his subject area. OP now have classroom experience rather than few days subbing in different schools. That will be a positive as they begin job hunting in Ireland.

I worked in England for two years and my classroom never resembled a sweat shop. What that your own experience of teaching abroad?

implausible · 21-10-2014 9:44pm

It's not a myth. Sure the new curriculum for Junior Cycle English is close to the British one, anyone with experience of moderation meetings and coursework has a natural advantage over those of us (i.e. most of us) who don't.

Dave0301 · 22-10-2014 4:25pm

Working full time, gaining experience of classroom management, preparing exam classes, assessment for learning, moderation of coursework, improving teaching and learning, dealing with pastoral issues or a few days subbing here and there.

Which gives you more experience should be clear. The English system certainly has its flaws, but an Irish NQT not gaining transferrable experience to bring back to Ireland is not one of them.

2011abc · 22-10-2014 6:04pm

Of course working full time is preferable to being unemployed or working part time .Thats (clearly) not what I meant .Im referring to the silly idea that anyone who comes back from " being out foreign " is automatically superior to an irish teacher .Irish teachers are on a par with the best in the world .We managed to come in the top six in a survey of thirty something countries recently .Considering the underfinancing or education Id say that makes us amongst the very best in the world .

implausible · 22-10-2014 6:13pm

2011abc wrote: »

Of course working full time is preferable to being unemployed or working part time .Thats (clearly) not what I meant .Im referring to the silly idea that anyone who comes back from " being out foreign " is automatically superior to an irish teacher .Irish teachers are on a par with the best in the world .We managed to come in the top six in a survey of thirty something countries recently .Considering the underfinancing or education Id say that makes us amongst the very best in the world .

I don't think that is what people are implying. Teachers coming back from England have experience with mountains of paperwork and are familiar with learning outcomes, making their own resources, coursework and moderation, all of which is coming our way. Any teacher I've spoken to who has returned from England has found teaching here easier because the paperwork is way less onerous and they can get on with teaching.

It's not a superior system, far from it, but the teachers who survive it are well able to cope with the demands of the Irish system at present, and how it's changing.

aunt aggie · 22-10-2014 8:10pm

2011abc wrote: »

Of course working full time is preferable to being unemployed or working part time .Thats (clearly) not what I meant .Im referring to the silly idea that anyone who comes back from " being out foreign " is automatically superior to an irish teacher .Irish teachers are on a par with the best in the world .We managed to come in the top six in a survey of thirty something countries recently .Considering the underfinancing or education Id say that makes us amongst the very best in the world .

I really didn't get any of this from your previous post.

Starkystark · 24-02-2015 11:04am

Hi there,

I'm kind of in the same predicament at the moment. I'm in a school in the UK through an agency. I started the end of August and am here since. My contract as a supply teaching Geography is to run up in July and the school has re-advertised my position for permanency.

They have encouraged me to apply - but to be honest I'm up in arms. I find it really difficult here. The behavior in my school is awful and the management isn't great either. We seem to take any student that has been kicked out of their previous school in. I ended up getting really depressed last term but was still managing going into school. However I had an incident the last week of term where a student aggressively approached me after putting him in isolation for the previous days grievances and began verbally abusing me. As an NQT as well as being slightly depressed - I dealt with this really badly and broke down crying in School!

The Headteacher heard of this and is under the impression that I'm not really permanent teacher material. My interview is next Tuesday and I've been told by my line manager that I should be prepared to be grilled by the head teacher about Emotional Resilience. I know what he's like - he's not very pleasant at all and I'm petrified that he will grill me about this issue as I don't think I would cope under the pressure.

To be honest - I don't know what I'm really getting at here - I would feel better at home in Ireland with my family, friends and boyfriend. But I am too afraid of being unemployed in Ireland too. I feel like withdrawing my application and asking can I just finish my NQT year, and getting out of there.

Any thoughts or opinions I would be very grateful?

Noccy_Mondy · 24-02-2015 11:42am

Whatever about the job, your health, well being and happiness NEED to come first. If you aren't happy there then finish up and come home. Something will turn up, things always work out in the end. I wouldn't for love nor money go abroad in search of work, I'm too much of a home bird. I'd rather just get a job in a completely unrelated sector until I could secure something. The job is so much easier when you have the support of your family behind you and can come home to them each night. Anyway, that's just me, others think completely different. OP, do what feels right for you

gubbie · 24-02-2015 11:44am

Starkystark wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm kind of in the same predicament at the moment. I'm in a school in the UK through an agency. I started the end of August and am here since. My contract as a supply teaching Geography is to run up in July and the school has re-advertised my position for permanency.

They have encouraged me to apply - but to be honest I'm up in arms. I find it really difficult here. The behavior in my school is awful and the management isn't great either. We seem to take any student that has been kicked out of their previous school in. I ended up getting really depressed last term but was still managing going into school. However I had an incident the last week of term where a student aggressively approached me after putting him in isolation for the previous days grievances and began verbally abusing me. As an NQT as well as being slightly depressed - I dealt with this really badly and broke down crying in School!

The Headteacher heard of this and is under the impression that I'm not really permanent teacher material. My interview is next Tuesday and I've been told by my line manager that I should be prepared to be grilled by the head teacher about Emotional Resilience. I know what he's like - he's not very pleasant at all and I'm petrified that he will grill me about this issue as I don't think I would cope under the pressure.

To be honest - I don't know what I'm really getting at here - I would feel better at home in Ireland with my family, friends and boyfriend. But I am too afraid of being unemployed in Ireland too. I feel like withdrawing my application and asking can I just finish my NQT year, and getting out of there.

Any thoughts or opinions I would be very grateful?

Remember, you're not alone. What you've gone through and what you've felt, it's not uncommon for teachers in their first year in the UK. We had a new teacher turn around and tell her line manager to... well a lot of profanities about the school and the system.

I don't think things are rose gardens back home, with happy smiling students and good, easily found work. Is your boyfriend able/willing to travel?

From the sounds of it, it sounds like you've got a very unsupportive school. I'd a tough school, but it was supportive. If I were you, I'd try looking for a better school

I couldn't agree more with the quote above about your health. It's just not worth it. It's emotionally draining. Friday used to be Criday for me

until I found a much better school

duffyp · 24-02-2015 2:03pm

You poor yolk, first of all big hug to you. I also worked in UK and found it tough but stuck it out 3 years. My first year was an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs as I found my way of controlling poor behaviour in the classroom (there was actually a press in the prep room for teachers which had tissues and sweets you could have after a crap lesson). My second year was so much easier as I had a reputation as a hard ass as I followed up on every incident and never let anything go. My third year was actually enjoyable.

Your school sound very unsupportive, do you have an NQT mentor you can talk to? My school wasn't great in behaviour management so I spent a lot of time calling external parent meetings and following up with phone calls home, this really helped I only had to do a few before the news got around the students.

Don't worry about the tears, it happens and if your employers pick up on this in the interview perhaps you could explain how the situation could of been handled better by them e.g. holding a reconciliation meeting between yourself and this difficult student prior to letting him out- this is good practice if there is a fear of aggressive behaviour. If they don't like the 'formative feed back' they can go run and jump.

About coming home now there are pros and cons. At the moment your confidence is at a low and you haven't gained a massive amount of experience so perhaps you could apply to nicer schools in your area and start from scratch and get your confidence in your behaviour management up? The pro of coming home is obviously your family and boyfriend but you may struggle to get work with only your NQT year completed. I really feel that encountering that sort of behaviour and conquering it made me as a teacher so although its tough its all valuable experience.
Hope it goes well for you.

spurious · 24-02-2015 4:10pm

Don't make the mistake of thinking that Irish schools are all free from the same sort of discipline problems as described.

ustazjoseph · 26-02-2015 7:50pm

2011abc wrote: »

I HOPE it's a myth that having been worked to the bone with ludicrous paperwork in England makes a teacher more employable back home .At that rate if you spent a year in a Bangladeshi sweat shop making t shirts for some of the cheap clothes chains you could walk into a job as a principal on return .Utter nonsense!

I can only speak for myself and im along time out of england but after 7 years in london schools i came back to ireland. The range of situations and people dealt with , the wealth of life experience in the staffroom , the world view , the broad interest in education and social issues internationally was huge. Teachere were more mobile , had more responsibility and often engaged more personally with students than many did here.
I'm not sure i was more employable. The old myth that teaching in england was a mixture of riot control and paperwork was very common as was the frankly silly idea that the "irish system is the best in the world "
That view was often expressed by people who thought saturdays irish times and going to Dublin the odd time showed a high level of cultural awareness. BUT
I was a better teacher for my time there and I learned a lot.

2011abc · 26-02-2015 8:32pm

ustazjoseph wrote: »

I can only speak for myself and im along time out of england but after 7 years in london schools i came back to ireland. The range of situations and people dealt with , the wealth of life experience in the staffroom , the world view , the broad interest in education and social issues internationally was huge. Teachere were more mobile , had more responsibility and often engaged more personally with students than many did here.
I'm not sure i was more employable. The old myth that teaching in england was a mixture of riot control and paperwork was very common as was the frankly silly idea that the "irish system is the best in the world "
That view was often expressed by people who thought saturdays irish times and going to Dublin the odd time showed a high level of cultural awareness.

Would have to disagree with practically every word of that ...Mostly untrue although some of it eg 'teacher mobility' is irrelevant to education per se .Can't help but sense the gist of it all is that ' Most schools here are staffed by stereotypical graduate HDipEd 'clones' who teach white Irish students Gaeilge and GAA ' , you do know there's a school with over 90% non Irish students in Adamstown ?

If not the best in the world( all those beatings do wonders for the South Korean kids' motivation !) , on a per Euro basis it would be hard to find a better one in Europe than ours .English system is in big trouble with rise of privatisation / Academies , chronic teacher burn out etc etc .

The way we have coped with the seismic changes in society in barely a decade is amazing and in my opinion adds to and vindicates our highly admired system .

(Last sentence quoted a tad narrow minded , especially considering all that rich immersion in English schools system ?)

Coming home...?

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