Job Discussion Forums

chinadan · Joined: 19 Nov 2003 Posts: 19 Location: London, UK

I am a Canadian teacher living and working in London. Before coming here I taught in China for 4 years. The experience there was tremendous but the money was, well lets just say it was OK as long as you were in China but try and travel outside the country and you don�t have enough for lunch. Anyway I was told that going to London would be tough and that I should use an agency to help. They found me a job in about 5 days. Pay was about 22,000 pounds per year with 13 weeks holidays. I didn�t think that was bad until I arrived here. Then I found that the agency was taking about 20% of my daily pay, I was treated as a cover teacher and in general expenses here were atrocious. I went to the Head of the school and told him I wanted permanent employment with the school. It cost them 10,000 pounds to buy out my contract and within 2 months I was promoted to Head of Department. New pay of 42,000 pounds per year. I have bought a home and a new BMW. Love it here because I can eat the food, (better than rice and fish) and everyone speaks my language. Come to the UK! There are literally thousands of vacancies. In my borough alone there are 76 positions vacant. DO NOT use a recruiter, they rob you blind are useless as far as assisting you and make it hard to get out of their control unless the school can afford to buy your contract. If you are interested email or post to me and I will see what I can do to help. Good Luck and Cheers.
By the way, you must have an education certificate to teach in the UK. Very Happy

SueH · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy

Dan makes some good points, but it cannot be stressed enough that a purely TEFL qualified teacher will not find the same situation.

I'm a refugee from IT with only the CELTA and the lowest City & Guilds qualification and finding work in my area difficult to come by. A bit of part time Italian is all I have at the moment and I shall be leaving for Italy when finally organised.

The point about recruiters is well made. The schools themselves aren't very happy with the situation, and some of them have formed themselves into consortia to recruit themselves. Firing off CVs, particularly to areas with teacher shortages might well work.

You'll earn your money though!

chinadan · Joined: 19 Nov 2003 Posts: 19 Location: London, UK

Sue is right, credentials are everything in this business. If you don�t have them there is NO descent paid work for non certified teachers in the UK. Work permits are easy to get. Your employer will sort that all out for you. You do not need British TQS. If you are intending to stay and have a go at climbing the admin ladder in the school then you need the status. This is easy to apply for and usually the LEA from the borough will set it up and help you through.
Sue is also right that you do have to work for the money but no more than any other good teacher who comes prepared to class.
Shocked

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

You also need a UK or EU passport right?

What is British TQS (teaching qualification status?)?

What do you mean by an education certificate (in Cdn terms as you're a Cdn)?

Phil_b · Joined: 14 Oct 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Back in London

I stuck something up about this on another forum..... probably should have put it here......

You don't need an EU passport, because the Work Permits Agency recognises "compulsory schooling" (up to 16) as a "shortage occupation" that means it is easy to get a Work Permit - there are a lot of Aussies, South Africans and Jamaicans working here at the moment, to the point that South Africa and Jamaica have complained.
QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) is what you get once you've completed a PGCE or B.Ed in the UK - you might have to work as a teacher for a year first, if I remember right....

International qualifications are recognised, but I don't know which ones and depending on the qualification you might have to do more training (which I think may be subsidised) see www.useyourheadteach.gov.uk for more info.

chinadan · Joined: 19 Nov 2003 Posts: 19 Location: London, UK

You also need a UK or EU passport right?
No you don't need a EU or UK passport. You don't need to be from the Commonwealth either. Your countries passport is fine.

What is British TQS (teaching qualification status?)?
Yes and they will help you get it once you are here but you do not need it to get a job.

What do you mean by an education certificate (in Cdn terms as you're a Cdn)?
I have an education degree an a certificated granted by the College of Teachers in British Columbia. Nothing extra just a piece of paper saying you know how to teach and have passed the program. Here in the UK an Education Degree is sufficient. They recognize degrees from most countries, especially from the West and no you don't need any previous experience. They will hire you straight out of school.

b-boy · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 7:55 pm Post subject:

Howdy,

Thanks for the post. It's great to see that Dave's has opened a UK board!

I'm an American whose going to be emigrating to the UK in the new year with my British wife. The idea of working in a public school really appeals to me.

When you say an education degree, would a Master's in TESOL from a California State university qualify?

Also which borough of London are you in that has so many vacancies?

Thanks,

b-boy

Will. · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 783 Location: London Uk

Keep posting b-boy.
We look forward to receiving a weekly update on your progress after you get here. As a refugee from the state sector of secondary school teaching I can tell you that if you work for an agency you will get a very quick introduction to the worst of the system at a really quick pace. Cover teaching or 'supply' as it is known here is normally in areas where there are teachers taking full advantage of their sick day allowance and making sure thay have had them all. Why? because a day off is better than teaching in the situation they are teaching in.... Beware!
All agencies are not the same all schools differ. I wish you luck in your experience but do update us..
Will.

Jim Bigelow · Joined: 23 Oct 2003 Posts: 175 Location: KSA

I'm not sure if this will help but for for teachers (EFL) that posses a CELTA & Delta then there seems to be alot of work in England. I have no idea about what you could expect to make but after browsing some jobs this morning it seems that you're looking at between 18-20'000 GBP.
Have a look at:
http://www.tefl.com/jobs/results.html[url][/url]

kerodie · Joined: 26 Jun 2003 Posts: 1

Hi All:

I will be completing my Master's in Education in the states this May, however my Master's is in English Education not TESOL, ESL, etc. I am an American, but lived in the UK for a year and would love to return as a teacher. Any suggestions? I almost went the route of going through a recruiter until I read these posts. What schools should I contact? Do I really stand a chance as an American teacher?

Ixchel · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 5:42 pm Post subject:

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

It is an act of immense bravery to even think about teaching in the UK !

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

b-boy - a note on terminology

"Public school" means something different in the US and the UK.

What to an American is a "public school" is in Britain a "state school".

What in Britain is a "public school" eg Eton, Harrow is a "private school for sons and daughters of the obscenely rich" to thos in the rest of the world.

Ixchel · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 4:35 pm Post subject: Re: PUBLIC ?

Will. · Joined: 02 May 2003 Posts: 783 Location: London Uk

"There's always somewhere worse than where your at" has meaning for you then does it not? I bet many of the state school teachers here in the UK do not feel the same. I am sure you read the Tuesday Guardian so you should be up to date with the local problems of teachers. Not all of them appreciate this country in the same way that you do. Of course we could offer to send them over to LA and see how they do in a high school in Watts for a semester or two. I don't think there would be many takers.
The job here would take on a whole new lease of life.