So you've decided that teaching and the education sector is no longer for you, but perhaps you'll miss working with children and young people. Below are just some starting ideas of alternatives careers you can look into, not necessarily within the education sector.
Social Work/Welfare
This covers a wide range of areas and there are some routes that require further training.
To become a social worker you
will usually need to undertake another degree - but there are a few fast-track schemes out there to support this:
Step Up To Social Work : this is a 14-month full-time programme that offers you a £19,833 tax-free bursary to train. You will gain a post-graduate diploma in social work.
Frontline: A two-year practical programme that qualifies you through a MSc in Advanced Relationship-Based Social Work Practice with Children and Families. You are paid a £18,000 to £20,000 bursary during year 1 and paid as a Newly Qualified Social Worker in year 2 (between £21,000 – £33,000 location and trust dependent). You are not required to pay any fees towards the MSc.
Think Ahead: this is very similar to the FrontLine programme but focuses on mental health social work specifically. The bursary in year 1 is £17,200 to £19,100 and you will be paid as a Newly Qualified Social Worker in year 2 - you will also gain a master's degree in social work.
Some children struggle to find their voice in difficult situations - such as during divorce negotiations or looked after children regarding their care. An Advocacy Worker helps vulnerable people - such as children or young people - make decisions and to express their feelings. You may work for a charity advocacy service that specialises in a certain area - such as legal issues - or a statutory independent advocate for your local authority. You might need to undertake a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification in Independent Advocacy.
But, maybe you're not in a position to re-train. You might consider something like a Education Welfare Officer (EWOs) within a local authority or private agency. An EWO will usually focus on attendance issues caused by problems such as bullying, illness, truancy and parents taking their child on holiday during term time. You usually won't need a separate qualification, but experience working with children, young people and their families is required. Salary will vary - and may be paid pro rata term-time only - but could be in the range of £19,000 - £30,000.
If you enjoy working with parents, you may also want to consider becoming a Parent Partnership Officer (PPO) - which supports parents of SEND children and young people make decisions about their education and support. A Family Support Worker works with wider issues from housing issues, language barriers to abuse. You might expect to earn in the region of £18,000 and £24,000 when you start - and up to £35,000 with more experience.
Youth Work
You will usually organise and run community programmes for young people - helping them build confidence and skills. You might also work with high-risk young people vulnerable to gangs and/or substance abuse.
As well as organising activities, you might act as a mentor and monitor and track their progress. It is likely you will contribute to multi-agency meetings - such as TAF (Team Around the the Family). You might manage a team of volunteers, source funding and manage budgets.
Youth Support Workers (not fully trained) can expect to earn between £18,117 and £28,017. Qualified Professional Youth Workers can earn £24,636 to around £41,575 (depending on experience) - with local authority youth service managers usually earn 40k+.
Youth Support Workers, might only need to have a Level 2, 3 or diploma in youth work practice. But a professional youth worker will need to have a postgraduate diploma or master's degree.
Play Work
You might like to work with children outside a traditional educational setting. You might find a playworker in a school or community setting doing many of the tasks an early years or primary school teaching assistant may do. You could earn between £15000 to £25000 and even though a teaching qualification and experience may be sufficient there are other Level 2 and 3 qualifications you can do.
There are also opportunites to move into health care - such as a Health Play Specialist. This is where you will use play to help children prepare for operations and procedures and act as an advocate for the child when interacting with their healthcare team. You might start out as a health play assistant where you can earn around £19,737 to £21,142. A fully qualified health play specialist can earn between £21,892 and £24,157, rising to between £24,907 and £30,615 for more senior roles.
To qualfiy as a health play specialist, you need to undertake a part-time (over two years) foundation degree in healthcare play specialism and registration with the Healthcare Play Specialist Education Trust (HPSET). You will need to complete a 200-hour hospital placement each year during the course if you are not already employed by a hospital.
A Play Therapist will use play to help children and young people work through their issues - such as depression, bereavement and abuse. Salaries vary, but newly qualified play therapists typically start at around £32,000, rising to £45,000 for experienced therapists. You will need a postgraduate qualification from the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT) or Play Therapy UK (PTUK) - or a master's degree from an accredited programme in play therapy. Some of these organisations run one-day introductory courses to see if it is right for you.
Charities, NGOs and International Development
There are many organisations that work with children and young people - both in the UK and internationally - and will most likely hire staff to work directly with their service users. You will need to decide what 'cause' is closest to your heart - for example:
Child protection and social care
Education
Mental and Physical Health
The range of roles and organsations are vast, so you could look on websites such as Charity Choice, Charity Jobs and Bond for some ideas. Jobs in this sector are often competitive, so it is worth starting out as a volunteer. Try smaller, local charities first - perhaps offer to volunteer - in order to get some experience and make connections. It is much easier to move sideways in this sector once you have a foot in the door.
Youth Custody/Justice work/Secure Children's Homes
Although potentially very challenging, you might be interested in working with 15-18 year olds as a Youth Justice Worker. You will look after those young people in custody by managing day to day activities, giving 1:1 support and helping to bring routine into their lives. You can expect to earn £23k - £31k and be fully trained including a funded Level 4 child focused qualification.
Secure Children’s Homes (SCH) look after children between the ages of 10 -17 years old. The children and young people will often have complex histories and problems and you will need to equip them with techniques to help them successfully reintegrate into society.
Young people placed in SCHs are either sentenced or on remand through the justice system or placed due to local authority concerns that a young person is a serious risk to themselves or others.
Salaries for Secure Children's Home Practitioners vary dependent on roles and location, but something in the range of £21,403 to £32,000 - to include sleep-ins, weekend and evening work. An Assistant Practitioner may be paid something in the region of £10- £13ph.
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