Job Discussion Forums

[jmundycastle]

Hi there,

I'm a teacher in the United States (New Mexico) with a British Passport and and American accent (I was born in Scotland and have lived here most of my life). I'd like to go back to Scotland for a year or two and was wondering what the prospects for a school teacher are like there.

I have 6 years of experience with High School English & Journalism (Including three years running student council, yearbook and fundraising), 3 with ESL, hold a CELTA, an MST in Education & English and US Certifications from New York and New Mexico. I've had an article or two published about my classes here in NM and one about my ESL program in NY through Columbia University.

In other words, I'm fairly qualified, but don't know the ropes in the UK and most of my family there are located in London (where I really want to avoid, due to the high costs and overcrowding).

If there are any Scottish school teachers or those who know the system, I'd love to hear from you. I'm especially curious to hear about nice, rural areas to live (I like Edinburgh & Glasgow, but would really like places known for hiking & outdoorsy-type stuff).

Thanks so much - Jenny Mundy-Castle

PS I also have a husband who is less qualified but also holds certifications in Latin and History and has taught for two years. AND I have two small dogs (yikes! I know we'd have to do a variety of things to get them there).

[Caledonian Craig]

Hi there,

I'm a primary teacher in edinburgh, although not a secondary teacher, but I hope I can help. Well first off, I'd recommend having a look at the GTS website- can't remember their address- just google it. This is the general teaching council of scotland, and all teachers (p & s) have to register with them. Thiswould be one of your first ports of call. I'd also suggest you check out the times educational pages (again can't remember address), as well as the education section in the guardian (also a newspaper). Your husband, as you mentioned has qualifications in Latin? I'd get him to check out the independent sector in Scotland as most private schools (well the ones i've worked in) teach latin as part of their curriculum (even at Primary level).

Finally, and I'm sure you're really qualified, but you would have to make sure your american teaching qualifications allow you to teach in scotland. It can be a bit tricky here at times, as we have our own education system, and so people with foreign qualifications have to go through a bit of hassle to make sure they're accepted- again GTC would be the folks to talk to.

Hope this give you some avenues of interest

Craig.

[Caledonian Craig]

Oops, sorry, I'm a moron. It's not the GTS, it's the GTC, and their website is

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/Home/home.asp

[jmundycastle]

Thanks for the help - this is definately what I'm looking for - where is a good place to look for private sector jobs? In the US, private schools pay MUCH less than public - is that the case in the UK as well?

Thanks for the reply!

Jenny

[Caledonian Craig]

Well actually, private sector jobs pay a little more. But it depends on what you want from a job I suppose. You stipulated as one of your criteria working in rural areas for hillwalking and suchlike. To be honest there are waiting lists for a lot of teaching jobs here. I suppose since you are aiming for secondary education it would make thing a lot easier (compared to primary). What I'm saying is I would be just looking in a general sense for secondary jobs in your subject field (English?), instead of stipulating a specific region in Scotland. Good luck and all that. Now is the time to be looking. You might want to try the local council websites. Try googling them, there are a few- like East Lothian, city of edinburgh, midlothian etc,. ...

[jmundycastle]

I'm pretty open when it comes to areas - I'd even consider a city if need be. Where are there the most waiting lists? Where would you think there might be openings?

Why is secondary a higher need area? That's the only certification either I or my husband have.

This is the kind of information I was looking for as it doesn't seem to be on any websites (eg Teach Scotland really seems to encourage people from overseas which makes it sound like there are teacher shortages like here).

Thank you!!!

Jenny

[Caledonian Craig]

I can only really speak for the primary education sector, and most waiting lists would be for places like City of Edinburgh council, and perhaps a few of the Highlands & Islands council, which, from my experience with other teacher I've spoken to, seems to be quite popular with English teachers coming from the south.

As for teacher shortages, the very opposite is true. Especially in primary education- waiting lists to get on to a waiting list etc,. But with regards to the secondary sector, I would imagine that there are more jobs there, as less people want to work with that age group...I dunno. However, within the secondary sector, it would depend on what your teaching subject was. If it was maths, or science, or P.E. for example, then you would find it much easier than someone who teaches English (large amount of people graduating with English degrees??)

The next step you would have to go through would be to get your qualifications cleared by the GTCS. This can be expensive . A Slovakian colleague of mine had to pay �200 for this service. Also once you've done this then I think (could be wrong) they would class you as a 'probationer', and you would have to work for a year on grade 0 (�19'450, I think) then you'd be eligible for full registration as a teacher here. I'm only writing from the primary ed perspective, so please check this out! You should really get on the phone with the GTCS folk and they can set you straight.

[dmb]

Does anyone remember an old film' an american werewolf in London'?

How about "an american teacher in Craigmillar"

Could be scarier.

[grahamb]

Not as scary as "An Irish teacher in Larkhall"!

[jmundycastle]

I guess I'll have to look into working in Craigmillar... just to freak you out...

[jmundycastle]

For those interested, I have contacted GTCS and it appears I can get certified, no problem, for 55 pounds.

I should be on the 5th level for salary as well - GTCS allows overseas teaching experience as long as it's certified and the person has had adequate educational training (the entire American system requires this now as well, because of NCLB laws).

However, I have yet to hear about jobs - it does appear the secondary level has a greater need, but I'm waiting to hear back from GTCS re. whether or not they think they need teachers or are swamped as is.

We'll see.

[Caledonian Craig]

Excellent. Good luck to you!

[canadashirleyblue]

If you want to take the dogs you need to get them pet passported. This takes an absolute minimum of 7 months so you should start now or pretty soon.

You get the dog microchipped. Then you get it vaccinated for rabies. Then you wait a month. Then you have a blood test to see if the titre level is high enough. Then you wait six months. Then you can take the dog into the UK. Of course, you need all the correct paperwork for each step in the process.

You can take the dogs back and forth from any of the places that are on the pet passport scheme (the USA is one) as long as you keep the vaccination for rabies up to date.