Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Hi !

OH & I are newbies here!(1st post) So bear with us !!

I am a primary school teacher in Ireland (10yrs teaching exp. - 4yrs primary)
My partner & I are just about to send off our 136 application (OH as de facto), I was wondering if there is a good website you could recommend to look for temp/sub/perm jobs . We are planning on moving to Perth or Melbourne , not decided yet :blink: !!

Mr.Goateyes works in property (sales) and also has 10yrs exp. so he is confident in finding work (hopefully 3/4 days a week to de-stress from Ireland!):thumbup:

I would really appreciate any advice on which primary schools are good to work for , any major differences in Oz than Ireland. Is there a massive difference between the state/private schools there?? Working hours? Holidays? Pay?

Thanks in advance!

Mrs.Goateyes ............

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

In WA, don't even consider the state sector.

You will have to jump through more hoops, fill in more paperwork and deal with more precious staffers at the Department for Education that you'll have lost the will to live within 6 months.

(And if you survive you will have to work in the bush for at least a year or two)

Start sending your CV to private schools in Perth early. Although from the experience of a friend of mine, getting work as a primary teacher in Perth (especially a foreign one) can be difficult - not impossible but difficult.

Are you Catholic? If so you will probably have a good chance in the large Catholic sector. Contact the Catholic Edcuation Office in Leederville (Ruislip Road/Street)

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Thanks so much for your help, I will send off my CV early (even before I have my visa! - can't hurt I suppose!)

Any other teachers in Perth with any advice with regards to where I should apply / wages / hours ?

Thanks again !:thumbup:

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

WA is desperate for teachers... I would recommend settling in an area you like, then sending your CV to all the local primary schools and getting supply work. Then you have got a foot in the door and if you impress then you will be offered jobs that come up (might only be temporary work -one term etc-at first.) I know several people who have scored permanent jobs in private schools by doing it this way.

Good luck!

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Just curious about something. If you get a job at a private school would you still have to go through the same process in having your qualifications recognized that you would with a public school?

We're going to NSW and since I don't plan on working for a couple of years and I hadn't planned on getting my qualifications recognized until I was ready. But if a job popped up at a private school and I wouldn't have to jump through hoops then I might go back to work earlier.

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Hi,

I am a UK teacher, now (finally) working in WA.

To teach in the private OR public sector, you need membership of the Western Australian College of Teaching. You send off lots of certified documents, do this about 8 weeks before you leave. Here is the link:

http://www.collegeofteaching.wa.edu.au/

When you arrive you need to complete an Australian Criminal Records check. You don't get membership until that's completed. The quickest way is to rock up at the WACOT office and sign and date the form. After this, you get your membership certificate approx 2 weeks later in the post.

With a WACOT certificate, you can now teach in the private sector.

To teach in the public sector, you need to send more documents to the department of education. Here is the link:

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/teaching/

Click on the employment tab and go from there. You cannot start this process until you have WACOT membership.

When your application is processed (approx 8-10 weeks) you are called to attend a curriculum course in Perth. (If you live rurally you can do an alternative thing by correspondence but I recommend going to Perth). I enjoyed this, it was a chance to meet others and parts were very interesting.

After the course, you choose to do 10 days paid relief teaching as and when, or 10 days unpaid, but consecutive in a kind of 'prac'. They pick a local school to you. Most do the latter because it is quickest. Once you've done your 10 days, you wait for your magical ID number. Approx time: 2 weeks.

THEN, you go online and apply for an interview (Perth, or phone interview). If all goes well, after your interview you THEN are eligible to apply for jobs to teach in the state sector, although you can do relief as soon as you've done your curriculum course.

I arrived in November, was super-organised, and still haven't received an ID number, so be prepared to seek alternative income for a while.

I disagree about the 'no chance' of getting a job in Perth argument. In the public sector, around 25-33% of schools 'merit-select' their teachers, ie principals interview and pick and choose their staff like the UK. The link for merit select jobs is:

http://apps.det.wa.edu.au/SitVac/temp/

The incentives of going to the country to teach is that sometimes you get a bit more money, sometimes subsidised housing, but mainly it's that you accummulate 'transfer points.' So if you don't go for a merit-select job, then you have to tell the government where you're willing to go and work. If teacher x has more transfer points than teacher y, and they both want to work in A, then x will get the position, regardless of y's skills, CV etc.

Relief teaching is simpler, you simply send your CVs to schools you want to work at.

This is it in a nutshell. Also, WA will NOT recognise teachers who have been 3-years trained. You MUST have 4 years, eg 4 year BeD, or 3 year + PGCE. GTP is NOT accepted.

Phew. Hope this helps, I wish someone had done this for me this time last year, - so good luck!

Gemma

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

That clarifies things a little for me. Thanks so much.

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Since you ask about Melbourne, it is a similar system to that outlined for WA in that you have to be registered to teach in all sectors and there is one body for all registration.

http://www.teaching.vic.gov.au/becom...gistration.htm

Jobs?

http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/teachers/career.htm

Good luck!

OzTennis :)

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Just as a matter of interest (I see you make this same point about how teachers are employed in your education thread) would you prefer a lax, decentralised system? Would you really want teachers from other countries just coming in off the street, having an interview directly with a primary head (who has no training in Human Resources Management, is unable to verify qualifications and there would be no central planning of manpower when every teacher would just want to teach in the best bits of Perth etc)?

OzTennis :)

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Do you know there is a Teacher specific bit of this site?..go to

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forum...sprune=-1&f=80

Re: Any teachers out there?! Help needed please.
 

Wow ! Now thats what I call an answer ! Thank you so much for your help!