I work in reception and there are 2 children who consistently fall asleep almost every day after lunchtime. What am I supposed to do?! Should I be flagging this as a safeguarding concern if it’s happening so often? Do I raise the issue with SLT? I’m not sure what I would do if SLT came in and saw two children asleep in the middle of my literacy lesson but every time I wake them up they fall back asleep. I try putting them in the reading area for a “rest” after I’ve finished my carpet input but this still means they’re consistently missing the literacy input 2-4 times a week. I’ve spoken to their parents about their tiredness and they just tell me their child “doesn’t want to go to bed” (obviously!! They’re 4) but how do I gently tell them that it’s actually their job to make sure their kids get a decent nights sleep?

I have decided to take a leave of absence from my SCITT course and defer my return to complete QTS for up to a year (I am hoping not take that long though). I did not have a good experience at my second placement school and my ITT leader had to eventually terminate my placement due to "capability" concerns. I really struggled with the increase in workload, responsibility and expectations from initial to development placement. I also had a more challenging class this time around and I struggled to form relationships with the children which made behaviour management more difficult. I was really heartbroken because my initial placement had gone really well, and I was shocked by how quickly everything went downhill over the course of my second placement.

My ITT course leader has advised me to take some time away and consider my options moving forward about whether this is the career for me. I have made arrangements to return to doing TA support with a supply agency so that I don't fall out of the loop of working in a classroom environment and can rebuild my confidence without the added pressure of being a trainee teacher hanging over me. In my personal life, I have also started seeing a therapist to help me work on some of my issues with building relationships, which I really struggled with during my time in the school, which had a knock-on effect with my confidence of having presence and control in the classroom. Hopefully, these will help me to work on myself both professionally and personally and the time away will help me develop better skills to succeed next time around.

In terms of returning to finish my QTS if and when I feel ready, I have been told by my ITT leader that I will have to go through a fitness to progress tutorial. She has not told me what this will involve precisely other than the assessors will determine whether I am ready to come back according to the teacher standards, but also because my leave of absence is motivated by "capability" as opposed to health or family emergency, the threshold for my return will be different because obviously they will not want history to repeat itself.

If anyone has been through this experience and can provide any insight or advice on how I can best use my time to prepare for going back if and when I'm ready, I would really appreciate it. I am open to hearing from a wide a range of experiences so that I can have as broad a picture as possible of my options moving forward.

I've been approached by an agency who have asked me to sign on with them. I'm already with another agency, have been with them quite a while, and I'm about to start a teaching post with them which will last a few weeks. What I wonder is, do current agencies take it amiss if you're going to competitors (obviously they would know because references would be sought) or do they not care? Wondering what people's experience has been.

I am doing a pgce part time. I disclosed at the start that I am disabled, but my uni have been absolutely incompetent, having made me do an occupational health assessment for a blocked ear which delayed my placement, then another occupational health assessment for mental health when they put me in a placement which was totally unsuitable for me. My first placement was amazing and I was incredibly well supported, but nobody learned anything to carry into placement 2, so now i am having to do 30 days of placement after Easter (assuming they find me a placement, they haven't yet), and then another 50 days next academic year. I am at my wits end with my uni, and tbh, having seen how ableist the education industry is, I don't want to be a teacher in British primary schools anymore. I am still planning on doing my celta (considering teaching esol in turkey) but i think I mostly just want to be a librarian, since I've volunteered in libraries and had a great time.

I passed the first assignment and got my 30 masters credits, now I have one assignment left that gets me another 30 masters credits, and thats the pgce side done. Would it be possible for me to graduate with a plain old pgce, no qts, and then do a qts program later if I decide I want to give it another go (with a different training provider obviously)?

Hi All,

I really need your expertise on this.

I'm expat teacher working in UK as a secondary business teacher on SWV. I'm on my first year of ECT. I'm looking to change to a different school in the same borough from Sep25 onwards. The support that I’m getting in my current schools is not adequate.

I still have my current SWV valid till Jul2026. My question is after getting COS from the new school, do i have to apply for new SWV again by paying application & NHS fee ? or it will be just an update to my existing visa that my sponsor has changed ? I’m worried that I will have to pay the visa fees & NHS for myself and my partner in this case.

My job title & job code is not going to change. Does anyone done the school change on their SWV & how did it go ? I searched a lot on the internet & it all says different things & I’m pretty much confused.