garys

I have been a secondary school teacher for 13 years. Although I did my PGCE in History, I have taught mathematics for the past 8 years up to GCSE foundation level. We plan to emigrate to Queensland, house sale permitting, this summer. I intend to apply for maths positions but only at A and B level, (Level C is way beyond my capabilities!). At this moment I really need some good advice on teaching in Australia, preferably in the Brisbane/Gold Coast area.
What are the chances of finding work?, what is classroom discipline like?, academic standards,? etc ,etc , compared to England. Any advice greatly appreciated!.
Thanks in advance.
Gary

comet555

I can't comment at all about finding work, but I will say that in order to work there you will need to be registered with the Queensland College of Teachers.

http://www.qct.edu.au/

It takes quite a while to be processed so it'd be best if you started the process well before you left. I applied within Australia after I arrived and it took a full 4 months. That was back in 2007 so no idea how long it takes now but I really don't think it's any shorter. I never did teach there as I still had a young child at home.

There's also a teacher forum on this site so I'd have a read through there.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=80

comet555

Most importantly, do you have a visa that will allow you to work?

Pollyana

It appears from his other post that he has PR with sponsorship from the Northern Territory.

garys

Once again Pollyana you appear to have hijacked my post, written in good faith, without any meaningful advise as requested. WHY?

Pollyana

If you read the post above, the question was asked as to whether you had a visa allowing you to work. I provided the answer so that someone who knows about teaching (not me, cos I don't) could post an answer. Sounded quite helpful to me...........

comet555

No need to be rude. You might not realize it but Pollyana was being very helpful. Sometimes when people are posting from outside of Australia the time zone can become a pain when you're asking questions. So for example if Pollyana posted that she happen to read on another discussion that you didn't have a visa (although I see you do) then it could leave the window open for someone else to post a response before you even get up for work in the morning. It just speeds things along.

Her post was "written in good faith". There's no need to be so jumpy... she was really trying to help. However after having a read from the other thread I can see why you were so jumpy towards Pollyana.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=707099

In all fairness I can understand why you received the reactions you did. When you get a sponsored visa to work in a specific state you are supposed to work there because they need your skills, which is why they helped you get the visa. Now I can understand how you may have known nothing about how the visa works if you used an agent. Although I do wonder why you didn't question him/her more about why they the northern territories would help you get a visa if you wanted to move to QLD. That part seems to be a logical question, to me anyway. What the agent has done is irresponsible in my opinion because they knew full well you weren't going to move to the northern territories.

Part of the reason people get so upset about this sort of thing is that they can only sponsor so many people. So someone, somewhere will miss out on a visa and won't get the chance to move to Australia and work in NT where there skills are needed.

I'm not trying to preach to you I'm just trying to explain why people get so ticked off about it.

Now, back to the teaching. As it appears you are in possession of a a valid working visa then you do have the right to work. Just make sure you get your police check from the UK before you leave and try to apply as early as possible.

Did you check out the link to the teaching forum I sent you? I ask because some posters have mentioned issues getting certificates in other states with only a PGCE and had to do a few courses in university prior to being registered. It would be well worth checking out the rules for QLD to make sure you'd be able to get one right away. I'm Canadian so I don't know anything about the PGCE but I do know it has caused a few issues for people. Getting the visa is just the first step, you also have to get yourself registered which is a whole different process. It's not a foregone conclusion that you'll have the requirements to be registered.

Now, as for jobs you'll have to look here:
http://education.qld.gov.au/hr/

I would imagine you'd have to do some relief teaching first as jobs are harder to come by in the more desirable areas like Brisbane/Gold Coast (ie, urban areas not the NT). So here's the link for relief teaching work. Not all school boards use this website but a lot do. So if you want to do relief work you'll have to register for them and they will contact you if/when there's work.

http://www.tracer.qld.edu.au/

Hopefully someone will come along with some more info and personal experiences. In the meantime try to remember that most of the time we are trying to be helpful even if we sometimes have an opinion.

bezzanbob

Garys,
In response to your question as I understand it the key issues for you are your registration with the Queensland College and then making yourself available for teaching.
With regards to the first you should be able to arrange reciprocal arrangements with any other Institutes of Teaching / Colleges with which you have registered – an NT registration should be able to be transferred although I gather NSW run their own show..
I have no experience with state education but my understanding is that registration with them, (Diff. to the Inst or College) does not automatically lead to employment and even if it does your geographical location would be determined by the board and not you.
My experience is in the independent sector (35 % of schools in Oz are independent) where the demand for your skills are more the key issues.
In general there has been much growth in the GC and Brissie area and whilst this equates to more children it is generally seen as a good place to live …. Outback Queensland might be a less popular location but opportunities may be better. Depends on what you offer.
Hope this helps
Bezza