"I just wasn't performing, giving my best"
Nadiya Hussain has revealed she has stepped down from her role as a teaching assistant after just three months.
The chef recently announced her career change after the BBC axed her cookery show in 2025.
But in an Instagram video, Nadiya got emotional as she shared her decision to quit the classroom.
Explaining that she had long wanted to work with young children, she said:
“I’ve always wanted to work with children in younger years as a teaching assistant and I applied for a few jobs, which in itself was difficult for lots of reasons.
“I applied and got a job as a TA [teaching assistant] at a primary school and I’ve got to say, apart from raising my own children, it was one of the best jobs I’ve ever done.
“I loved every second of waking up in the morning with a spring in my step for these beautiful children. I just loved every second of doing that job.”
However, Nadiya said the realities of working in a school environment proved challenging, given her battle with fibromyalgia, a long-term condition that can cause widespread pain and fatigue.
Nadiya continued: “But unfortunately, doing a job like that as somebody with a weakened immune system, it just played havoc with my health.
“As you know, anyone who works in a school setting, there are lots of coughs and cold bugs and I just couldn’t get better.
“So, I was sick all the time and it got to the point where it was affecting my mental health and I just wasn’t performing, giving my best because I was always sick.
“I had to make a really tough decision, one of the toughest I’ve ever had to make was stepping away from that job.”
Nadiya Hussain had been in the role for just over three months but had valued every moment:
“I was there for a little over three months and loved every single second of it and more than anything, I just loved seeing the children grow.
“It made me realise that there are certain sectors I would like to work in and so it’s just focused me in some ways because I know what areas I would like to work in.
“But unfortunately, with a weakened immune system, working as a TA in a primary school was just proving impossible and it was one of the hardest decisions I had to make to step away for it.”
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Thanking her colleagues and the school, Nadiya said:
“I had to do it for the sake of my health but I worked with some amazing people over the last three months and they know who they are.
“I was so lucky the primary school gave me an opportunity to do this job and I loved every second of it but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”
“But it has made me think about what’s important to me and what I wanted to do and sometimes you have to make tough decisions In life.”
Reflecting on the wider lesson, she added:
“These are just little seasons in life, and you have to get through them.
“You have to make difficult decisions, and they are not always easy but you have to make them and sometimes it’s ok to put yourself first.
“In this situation, I had to put my health first. I’m better for it but I’m sad, really sad. I made some great connections and could see things happening and staying there for years.
“Yes, it was a tough decision but it was one I had to make but it’s given me focus and made me realise what I am capable of doing as someone with a weakened immune system.”
Ending on a hopeful note, she said: “So back to the drawing board and figuring stuff out.”
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