This article was originally published on 29 May 2021
Right from the first moment I stepped into a school, the trajectory I was on was clear. Although I was starting out as a teaching assistant, I would then train to teach, move into middle leadership and then senior leadership and, in all likelihood, headship.
This is often the way things work in schools, and there’s an assumption that everyone wants to walk this same path. Step by step by step, along a well-worn and very linear route.
The only problem was that this wasn’t the path I was quite sure I wanted to take. Despite taking on a whole-school responsibility in my NQT year and a leadership responsibility in year two, I was never comfortable with this route for me.
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Increasingly, however, a teaching career isn’t a straight line, but more of a labyrinth - and one where many different paths can still lead you to an end.
So, what are the options?
1. New in-school roles
There are a huge number of new roles emerging in schools: research leads, project leads linked to specific contextual needs, and coaches.
These are often accompanied by time or even a TLR, and they give you an opportunity to experience a range of satisfying elements alongside teaching.
From learning how to manage change, developing people and exploring some of the best bets in pedagogy, these roles can be invaluable in developing not only the school but the individual, too.
2. Working for outside organisations
Working with exam boards - and not only as a marker - can be a really good way to develop your career. Opportunities to train markers, develop materials and review their effectiveness are all out there.
I have worked with people who have been team leaders and those who have contributed to writing exam materials as part of the group. Not only is this fantastic professional development, but also a chance to be at the pointy end of assessment and helping to inform change.
There are also opportunities for teachers to work for organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation, Teach First and other groups that sit alongside schools, again allowing you to explore a range of different contexts and develop your own career in a different direction.
3. Writing about education
This is obviously an option close to my heart, and I have been honoured to be able to share my practices, my research and my general musings with a range of publications.
Magazines like Tes are always looking for teacher-writers, and having the opportunity to get your voice out to such a wide audience and support others is brilliant. It is also a really good way to support your own reflections and hone your practice.
Not all publications pay for contributions, but I have very much enjoyed writing reviews of a number of books recently, which has broadened my reading and again encouraged me to reflect.
Of course, the other approach is to write your own book, and it is always great to see teachers doing just that. But contributing case studies and chapters can also lead to other opportunities, including delivering CPD and further requests for writing.
4. Carving out your own role
I have been very lucky that I have now had four opportunities to carve out my own role in an institution.
If you don’t want to move into leadership, having a conversation about responsibilities that you could take on, and being able to define what these might be is both exciting and challenging.
5. Leaving teaching - and yet not leaving teaching
Local authorities do still exist and there are school improvement careers that highly value the knowledge and experience that teachers bring to the role.
There are a similar roles in academy chains, and also opportunities to work with universities and delivering elements of initial teacher training courses. These are often open to those within and outside teaching.
I also work alongside people who have taken the brave step into consultancy, going it alone and offering a variety of services to schools. Most of them seem able to put food on the table and are having a whale of a time.
6. Never say never
It is now just over a year since I closed my classroom door after more than 20 years. Am I done then with teaching?
I’m not sure, and certainly in the future I can see myself returning in some capacity. The smell of the whiteboard pens and the chatter of children may be too much for me to resist.
However, that again shows that careers don’t need to be set on a linear path. Some might see it as a step back, but I just see it as a step: the step I want to take now. One step among many.
Sideways, upwards or upside down, my career path is mine to decide - and many, like me, see that we can go any way we want.
Zoe Enser is a former teacher. She tweets @greeborunner
