Work in your late 50’s

Nannytopsy speaks as one of the managers who would have been ‘all over you’ and then she escaped to the private sector.

Speaking as an ex NUT rep. you need to stand up to these types. They are middle people who pass on the pressures from above to those at the ‘chalk face’. They are only following orders! They don’t care about stressed teachers (or nurses or police etc) and are indeed part of the problem.

It says much that you are thinking, like many others, of leaving the profession. I’d like to see more fight from the inside to restore hard fought-for terms and conditions, not just for the sake of the profession itself but for our grandchildren who have to be taught within this system by disillusioned and stressed-out teachers.

This also applies to other public sector workers ???

GabriellaG54 - I don’t presume to give advice, didn’t and never would; I might ask for it. As stated, I am a cynic and that is reflected in my post. Plus I don’t know the chant you are talking about. Maybe we played in ‘different’ playgrounds .

The chant was before my time. It's an old one or from another part of the country.
I beg your pardon if my post inferred that you were giving advice. It seemed that way to me, albeit very discreetly, kind of a wink and a nod.
I now know that you were only making reference to the past behaviour of aquaintances.

I was told I was going to be 'restructured' last March; my job in a school office was still there but 33% of my income would vanish! I took redundancy and because I was 60 I could also take my school pension. I applied for every suitable job that I saw, put my revamped CV on Indeed and started going on interviews. I got offered a job in June and started in September. Employers are looking for people with experience who want to work, aren't going to have babies or clock watch.
You can do it!

I'm a former teacher.

Please do not underestimate what you have.

Supply is ok, but tough. I did some time in a local secondary and it practically finished me off.

I took a career break and started volunteering at CAB. I've now got a full time job.

The pay is crap but it's interesting work. I have a balance now that I wouldn't have had in teaching. After teaching, it's a doddle.

I didn't think that employers were allowed to ask your date of birth any more. Could you possibly cut to part-time and do some private tutoring as well

Employers are technically not allowed to ask your date of birth (afaik).

Also, an employer can no longer ask a person to leave when they reach retirement age as it's discriminatory if that person wishes to continue.

I think the problem the OP is going to have is maintaining her pension contributions, getting the balance she would like and maintaining her pay levels.

I don't think she realises quite how hard it is now to find alternative work commensurate with your experience and qualifications if you're older.

You're competing with younger, more malleable and impressionable people who have been used to poorer terms and conditions than you.

As a teacher, the OP may be able to make additional pension contributions if that's what she wants?

There are other options as you get older too - perhaps equity release, downsizing, moving area. becoming a TA?

Many of my teacher friends have already retired and loving it. Without the costs of working they have found themselves financially better off than they hoped.