Case Study: From Primary Teacher to Museum Education Lead

Case Study: From Primary Teacher to Museum Education Lead

Introduction

This client was a primary school teacher with around 12 years of experience who came to me at a point of significant transition in her life. Alongside a demanding teaching role, she was managing major personal changes, including moving house and planning a wedding, which made her current workload feel increasingly unsustainable. She wanted to leave teaching in order to create a better work-life balance, particularly to spend more time with her family. However, she felt overwhelmed and unsure where to start, and lacked the time and structure to focus on making a meaningful career change on her own.

Assessment

At the beginning of our work together, it became clear that while she had a strong skill set, she lacked clarity on what direction to take next. She knew what she didn’t want - long hours, heavy admin, and the pressure of teaching but struggled to define what she did want. Through our conversations, we identified that she particularly enjoyed the creative and delivery aspects of teaching, as well as working with children, but wanted to remove the administrative burden and find a role with more flexibility.

Another key barrier was confidence. Although she hadn’t initially identified this herself, it became clear that her confidence had been impacted over time, particularly in terms of recognising her transferable skills and communicating her value outside of education.

Execution

We worked together over a full 12-week programme, focusing first on building clarity and confidence before moving into practical job search strategies. We explored her strengths, values, and preferred ways of working, which helped us identify roles that would align with both her skills and her lifestyle goals.

Once we had a clear direction, we focused on repositioning her experience for roles outside of teaching, ensuring she could clearly articulate her value. We also worked on interview preparation, with a strong focus on helping her communicate her experience with confidence and clarity.

As part of the process, we explored both the hidden job market and traditional job search methods. While she initially began networking and exploring alternative routes, she ultimately secured her role through a job board, demonstrating her ability to apply strategically and confidently when the right opportunity appeared.

Outcome

She successfully secured a hybrid role within a local museum, leading on the education and curriculum side of the organisation. The role allows her to create educational content and programmes, aligning closely with the parts of teaching she most enjoyed, while removing the elements that had caused burnout.

Although she took a small reduction in salary, she gained significantly in terms of flexibility, with hybrid working, core hours, and a much more manageable workload. Most importantly, she regained a sense of balance and control over her time.

Update

Since transitioning into her new role, she has settled well and reports a much higher level of job satisfaction. She now has the flexibility to prioritise both her career and her personal life, without the constant pressure she experienced in teaching. The change has allowed her to move forward with other important areas of her life with far less stress, and she feels confident in her decision to leave the classroom.