"I feel more valued, I think, than I ever have in my whole career."

After more than 20 years in teaching - moving school every couple of years as a military family, and retraining along the way from secondary English to primary - Helen reached a point in her career where she knew something wasn't right anymore. At the time, it felt like a positive choice to move on rather than burnout; but with hindsight she realised how normal she'd let the exhaustion become, dreading Mondays and living for the holidays.

Now working for the police as a Learning & Development Standards Officer, Helen has found a role that leaves her feeling more valued than she ever has in her career, with a flexibility and autonomy she didn't know was possible. The work still feels important to her, she's surrounded by great people, and - for the first time - she's found herself feeling ambitious about what comes next.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• A moment of realisation - "I don't want to be a teacher anymore"
• Normalising exhaustion and clocking it only in hindsight
• The excitement of jobs board browsing
• A workshop that changed her thinking
• Practical support inside the Academy
• The application process with the police
• Creating an interview presentation that stands out
• Flexi-working, feeling valued, and finding ambition she never had
• The art of the reframe

Links:
Teacher Jobs Board

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

"I can't continue like this where my entire identity is wrapped up in being a teacher."

After nearly 18 years in primary education, Rhonda had known for a while that something needed to change. She still loved teaching - it was never about that - but she'd reached a point where she felt like she couldn't sustain the way she was working in school while also being present for her own two children. It wasn't a decision that came overnight, and it took some of the Academy’s early resources to show her just how much her sense of self had become tied to being a teacher.

Now a Learner Success Coach at a remote-first company upskilling workforces in AI and data, Rhonda supports apprentices through their courses. She's getting to do the school run as she’d always wanted to, working somewhere with a genuinely friendly culture, and giving herself the grace to learn without expecting to know everything on day one.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Sensing for years that teaching wasn't sustainable long-term
• Seeing the bigger picture - even when there are still bits of teaching you love
• A squiggly journey out
• Handing in her notice before securing a new role
• Rejoining the Academy and what that shifted
• Using Gold membership for tailored support
• Being unsuccessful first time round - and reapplying after learning from feedback
• Showcasing experience that you might not expect
• Adjusting to remote work (plus all the perks that it brings!)
• Hoping to be somebody else’s workplace ‘buddy’ someday

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

"There are lots of jobs out there for people with the skills that we have as very experienced teachers."

After 30 years in teaching - working across EYFS, KS1, forest school leadership and running pre-schools - Anne had loved every bit of it: learning new things, supporting others, and being in "the thick of it" in the classroom. But last year, burnout caught up with her, and she found herself asking, "how much longer can I keep going?" For the sake of her own health and wellbeing, she knew this wasn't the right path for her moving forwards.

Now working as a Learning and Participation Officer for a national heritage charity, Anne has swapped exhaustion for early morning walks by the sea, beach meditation, and evenings that finally, actually end. She's letting go of her fixer instinct, learning to sit on her hands, and discovering that things don't have to be hard to work.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• The surprising range of roles open to EYFS teachers
• Wondering what comes next after decades in teaching
• Why age doesn't rule anything out
• Slowing down to speed up
• Going through it together, not alone
• Learning to put yourself first
• Landing a competitive role in the heritage sector
• Meditation and beach walks as daily non-negotiables
• The variety - and energy - of life in a new role
• Letting go of the overachiever and learning to rest

Links:
Project Management Fundamentals Training

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

"I wouldn’t have known how to even get going.”

After 15 years teaching reception Hannah loved the job but found herself craving a new challenge. Ready for a breath of fresh air, she just didn’t know what that next step might look like.

Now lecturing at a college, Hannah has found a different rhythm entirely. There's room to listen to a podcast and drink a coffee on the drive between placements, colleagues who've come from all kinds of backgrounds rather than just teaching, and a pace of life that finally leaves some space to breathe.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Not knowing where to start
• "Riding the rapids" when considering career change
• Balancing a career move with salary expectations
• Not waiting for the "perfect" moment to leave
• Leaving teaching positively
• Support from bite-sized career change content
• Transferable teacher skills in similar roles
• Subject expertise in a new role
• A varied week: assessing and teaching
• Life as part of the college ecosystem

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

"I can have an impact on hundreds (of children) through the teachers I train and develop."

After seven years in teaching - including several as Head of Maths - Becca reached a familiar tipping point: a passion that had quietly turned into exhaustion, and a nagging sense there had to be more to life than work. She recognised herself in the "indecision roundabout" from an Academy workshop, and knew that without taking an exit, she'd stay exactly where she was.

Now working in Learning and Development, Becca has her days back in a way she never expected. With the commute gone and a four-day week, she's got the energy for evenings out and weekends that actually feel like weekends. She's also discovered she can still make a difference to the children she used to teach - just from a different angle, at scale.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Using part-time supply teaching to create space to think
• Navigating the grief of leaving a childhood dream job
• Why the CV and LinkedIn training changed everything
• Boosting confidence for interview
• Accessing a new vocabulary through the Project Management Fundamentals training
• Using LinkedIn to catch fast-moving roles
• Trading a reliance on school holidays for genuine work-life balance
• Rediscovering hobbies after teaching
• Staying motivated on the career change journey

Links:
Project Management Fundamentals Training

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

"It's really hopeful, it's really positive - and it's so much better than teaching."

After 11 years in the same secondary school - training as an RE teacher before moving through humanities and eventually leading PSHE - Rachael hit the burnout so many teachers recognise: slow-building, then impossible to ignore. As a noise-sensitive introvert, she realised the problem wasn't ability, but fit - and that the parts of the job she loved (leadership, communication, managing people) didn't require staying in a classroom.

Now a Suicide Prevention Officer with Papyrus, Rachael has her evenings and weekends back - closing her laptop Friday and not thinking about work until Monday. With control over her own calendar and meaningful work that doesn't consume her, she's found something unexpected: excitement about the week ahead.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• The personality mismatch she didn't see coming in teaching
• How leading PSHE opened the door to a completely different career path
• Turning job hunting into a structured, focused process
• Learning to trust flexibility after years of rigid routine
• Why foundational work - values, finances, a skills audit - speeds everything up
• How the Academy community kept her going through the hardest parts
• An interview that felt right from the start
• The variety that comes with the new role
• Feeling connected in a national organisation ("it doesn't feel like it's as big as it is")

Content warning - this episode discusses suicide prevention as part of Rachael's professional role. Please contact Papyrus for support if you're worried about a young person.

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

After years as a primary class teacher and PE leader, Lauren knew it was time to leave. The decision came down to her health and wellbeing, and stepping away from teaching meant stepping into real uncertainty - trying different things, juggling multiple roles at once, and figuring out what she actually wanted.

Now working with young people as a Programme Manager across the creative industries, Lauren has found a role that gives her everything teaching couldn't - variety, creative thinking, and the feeling that she's finally using her brain in the way she always wanted to.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Navigating a "squiggly" exit from teaching
• Working as a chaperone in TV and film - and what it revealed
• When task-switching gives you energy
• Attending our free summer event before joining the Academy
• Putting theory behind practice with the Project Management Fundamentals course
• Using mindset resources to make the transition well
• Growing in confidence on LinkedIn
• Using the interview booklet to reframe transferable skills
• Early worries - and how they played out
• Highlights from the first year
• Moving from fixed-term to permanent - and what's next

Links:
Project Management Fundamentals Training

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨

"Two emotions can exist at the same time. The grief can exist with the relief."

Bex went into teaching straight out of university with her identity firmly attached to it. Quickly finding the environment ‘all-consuming’ and ‘energy depleting’, she spent 12 years in and out of the classroom - always getting pulled back in as she struggled to separate from a career she’d worked so hard for. Following a period of self-reflection, and taking some time to ask who she actually was outside of the job, Bex decided it was time for a new adventure.

Now a Junior L&D Adviser at an accountancy firm, Bex has found something she didn't expect: calm. She works hybrid, has time for yoga, her dog Percy, and the people who matter to her - and with CIPD Level 5 on the horizon, she's excited about what comes next rather than feeling trapped.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Why leaving doesn't mean you've given up
• Getting caught in the "part-time teaching trap" and why it doesn’t work for everyone
• Living for the holidays whilst in teaching
• Finding structure during a career break
• Using LinkedIn to make purposeful connections
• Variety in an L&D role
• Enjoying a less hectic work environment
• Adjusting to desk-based work after years of being on your feet
• Asking the right questions at interview - including the ones that feel scary
• Shifting away from the "job for life" mindset that teaching can instil
• Getting to know yourself

Interested in teacher career change support? JOIN THE ACADEMY WAITLIST for our next open. Be first to hear, first in, and first to claim the launch offer ✨